Colin Ackermann

Batting allrounder Ackermann relinquished his South African qualification to sign with Leicestershire on the strength of his EU passport, becoming part of the late-2010s exodus that reshaped South African cricket, and went on to appear for Netherlands in international cricket.

A product of Grey High School in Port Elizabeth, he topped the CSA Under-19 three-day competition run-scorers table in 2009, averaging 200 with two centuries. He led the four-day Sunfoil Series batting averages in 2016-17, and might have been in contention for Test honours had he not taken the well-trodden English county route.

Ackermann captained the T20 team in his first season at Leicestershire, taking on the job full-time the following year, and in 2019 stepped up to lead the 50-over side as well, and topped the run charts in both formats. That year, he also made his Netherlands debut.

The following summer he was named Leicestershire captain, and in 2022 he made history when his career-best 277 not out in a Championship-record fifth-wicket stand of 477 with Wiaan Mulder helped Leicestershire to their highest first-class score, 756 for 4 declared.

In the 2022 World Cup in Australia, Ackermann's unbeaten 41 was pivotal to Netherlands' stunning upset of South Africa in Adelaide. He turned out for them in the next two T20 World Cups and also the 2023 ODI tournament in India. On the tour of Oman late in 2024, his offspin took centre stage, fetching him 3 for 15 in a big win.