Middlesex allrounder Ryan Higgins declined interest over the winter from Zimbabwe Cricket but has refused to rule out ever taking up an offer from the country of his birth.
Higgins, 29, has been a consistent source of runs and wickets in county cricket for much of the last decade but, since representing England at under-19 level, has not come in for higher honours.
The allrounder, who re-joined Middlesex in 2022 after a successful spell at Gloucestershire, was born in Zimbabwe and spent the first 13 years of his life in the country.
Speaking to The Cricketer as part of a wider interview, he explained that Zimbabwe had been in touch before Christmas but that he had turned down the approach.
Representing the country of his birth would mean he could only play in county cricket as an overseas player.
Despite turning down the initial approach from Zimbabwe Cricket, Higgins says he would not completely rule out representing his country of birth.
“I don’t think I’d ever make it a definite no,” he told The Cricketer.
He added: “It is a tough question, but a good one. With a young family now, it’s trying to work out if I could commit to something like that.
“But in my head, I still want to try and play for England. Without losing my words, I wouldn’t ever say it’s something that I don’t want to do. But it’s also like, with a young family, committing to moving back to Zimbabwe, and also with what my parents gave up to move to England, it would be a tough one.”
29-old yearHiggins has developed into one of the leading players on the English County circuit over the last couple of years.
Early this month the gifted allrounder was named the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) Player of the Month for April.
During the opening month of the season, Higgins excelled with both bat and ball – scoring 448 runs at an average of 112.00, which included a career-best score of 221 against Glamorgan, his maiden double-century in first-class cricket.
Higgins faced stiff competition for the award in a month which favoured batters right across the country with 30,520 runs scored across 32 fixtures. Nottinghamshire’s Joe Clarke (480 runs) was also nominated alongside Warwickshire duo Alex Davies (481 runs) and Rob Yeates (386 runs & 11 wickets).
In addition, he was named in the PCA’s Team of the Month.
Ryan Higgins said of the recognition: “It was really nice to win the award again, scoring some runs and taking wickets has been great, I suppose parts of my game are suited to the early season.
“Scoring a double hundred at Lord’s was incredible, it was very favourable towards the batters but it was a great feeling.
“The Kookaburra was a nice challenge to bowl with but the conditions didn’t suit that style of ball, wickets have been quite slow with all the weather around.
“One of the main aims for the season is to get promotion to Division One and put our stamp down in the Vitality Blast, we’ve had some good recruitment which should help our chances, it’s an exciting side to be a part of.
“It means a lot to know that the fans are recognising my performances, I’m very appreciative of all those supporters that still turn up on the cold days in April, it’s been amazing to see the love for county cricket.”