After finding his opportunities to play limited at Hampshire he had joined Derbyshire on loan but retired after just two matches with the team.

Later in his career, Ervine returned to Zimbabwean domestic cricket with the Southern Rocks in 2010 before going on to play for Mountaineers and Matabeleland Tuskers.

He had begun to show signs of maturing into a genuine international player with his last three Test innings all half centuries, 53 against Australia, and 86 and 74 against Bangladesh.

Arguably his best moment in international cricket came in the 2003–04 VB Series in Australia against India when he scored a century before being run out for 100 during an ultimately unsuccessful run-chase at the Adelaide Oval.

[12] Batting with Stuart Carlisle, Ervine contributed to what was Zimbabwe's highest partnership for any wicket in ODIs, putting on 202 runs between them.

[13] It seemed he might make an unlikely comeback for the country at the 2011 World Cup when he was named in their squad for the tournament, having had some preliminary discussions about the possibility, but later pulled out, reversing his decision due to the financial security that a guaranteed county contract with Hampshire brought.

[19] Ervine's brother, Craig is also a Zimbabwean international cricketer who has played Test, ODI and T20I matches for the country.