Three instances of brothers representing two different countries
There have been numerous occasions when we have seen siblings playing international cricket together on the field. Some of the most famous sibling pairs who represented their country are Mark and Steve Waugh, Morne and Albie Morkel, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan and David and Michael Hussey. But, there have been really few instances when two brothers have played international cricket for two different countries. In this list, we will discuss three such sibling pairs who played international cricket for separate countries:
Darren Pattinson (England) and James Pattinson (Australia)
Most cricket fans are aware of James Pattinson, the Australian fast-bowler. What a lot of people don’t know is that he has an older brother who represented England in one Test match back in 2008. Born in England, Darren, the elder brother of James, moved to Australia along with his family. After making his first-class debut for Victoria, Pattinson was dropped from the side due to lack of consistency.
During this time, he had gone to England to play some county cricket for Nottinghamshire. Right in the middle of the English summer, the national team found it difficult to get a proper fast-bowler. Darren, who had a good record in first-class cricket that season, was asked to play for England and he did. He picked up two wickets in the match but never got to play another Test. His brother made his debut for Australia a few years later. James has played 21 Tests, 15 ODIs and four T20Is for Australia and taken 81, 16 and three wickets respectively.
Ed Joyce (England/ Ireland) and Dom Joyce (Ireland)
The renowned Irish cricketer Ed Joyce belongs from a family of cricketers. He has two brothers, Gus and Dom, who have played international cricket for Ireland while two of their sisters, Cecelia and Isobel have also played for the Ireland women’s cricket team.
However, something which a lot of people don’t remember is the fact that Ireland is not the only country for whom Ed has played international cricket. As a solid left-handed opening batsman, Ed made his international debut for England in 2006. He played 17 ODIs for England between 2006 and 2007, even playing in the World Cup for them. Interestingly, the two brothers, Ed and Dom made their ODI debuts in the same match. However, Ed was playing for England while Dom was the opener in the Irish team.
Frank Hearne (England and South Africa) and Alec Hearne and George Hearne (England)
The family of Hearne was a famous name back in the early days of international cricket. The three brothers were known faces in first-class cricket which were happening at the time in England. It was only in 1889 when Frank made his debut for England and played two matches. Back in those days, sometimes matches were being played first and then awarded the status of a Test match later. Frank then went on to play for South Africa in another four Tests after he had moved from England to South Africa.
His two brothers, Alec and George were names that a lot of cricket fans were aware of. But, the two got to play for England only once. Their first-class record is outstanding though. Both were terrific all-rounders with numbers that spin anyone’s head.
