Rory Burns

Rory Burns is a left-handed opening batsman who is also considered to be a very assured wicketkeeper. He plays for Surrey in the English Domestic Circuit. In 2018 he was appointed as the captain of Surrey in both FC and List A formats.

A stylish and elegant player at his peak, Burns made his first-class debut for Surrey against Cambridge MCCU in May 2011. In his second season in the team, he was a mainstay. Rory finished the season after scoring 741 runs at an average of 49.4. He played all of Surrey's games in 2013 and 2014. In June 2015, in a match including the Sussex Sharks and Arundel Castle, an unfortunate incident occurred. Burns collided with team-mate Moises Henriques in an attempt to take a catch. Both players were injured horribly, knocked unconscious, with Burns needing stitches on his face and Moises Henriques suffering a broken jaw. The game was abandoned due to the injuries. Burns returned to the team in late-June and finished the season with 1019 First-Class runs at an average of 48.52. In his first match as the captain of Surrey, Burns made his highest score of 219 not out against Hampshire.

It seemed that the pressure or pleasure of captaincy suited Burns. He was instilled as permanent skipper of Surrey in the 2018 season. Rory led his team to their first County Championship since 2002. In the process, he scored over 1000 County Championship runs for the fifth consecutive season, finishing as Division One's top run-scorer, with 1359 runs at an average of 64.71.

Burns was handed his Test debut against Sri Lanka in November 2018 post the retirement of Alastair Cook. He was not able to impress much in his first 7 Tests. The selectors though showed confidence in his potential and picked him in the Ashes squad of 2019 where he will be hoping to make the most of the home advantage and make a mark on the international scene.