Birthday special: Isa Guha – The flagbearer of women’s cricket in England

A reliable right-arm medium pacer, Isa Guha came into the international circuit as a 16-year-old in 2001, in the Women’s European Championship. She became the first woman from Asia to represent the England women’s team when she made her debut in 2002 and was named BBC Asian Network Sports Personality of the Year in the same year.

Career highlights

Two years later in 2004 against New Zealand, her return of 5/22 in the penultimate game of a five-match series meant that her side secured a series win. She took five wickets in the Test series and eight in the ODIs against India in 2006.

She had earlier been with the England U-19 side during the ACB Under State Tournament when she travelled to Australia and grabbed the Bowler of the Series award as the U-19 team clinched all six games. After an impressive 2002-03 season, she went on to be named the Player of the Tournament for claiming seven wickets in the U-19 European Championship.

In an international career spanning close to 11 years, Guha played eight Tests, 83 ODIs and 22 T20Is. She claimed 101 ODI wickets at an average and strike rate of 23.21 and 37.20 respectively, while her tally in Tests and T20Is read 29 and 18 wickets respectively.

Her finest in the longest format came in 2007-08 in the Bowral Test when her match-winning nine-wicket haul assisted Egland to retain the Ashes. She was also a part of the successful side which won the Women’s World Cup and World Twenty20 tournaments in 2009, and the Ashes in 2005. At the age of 26, she bid goodbye to the game and found a career in cricket commentary and broadcasting.

Off the field

Five years after her retirement, Guha became the first woman to be appointed to the board of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, as she took the role of a non-executive director of the players’ union. She also holds the distinction of being the first female feature on BBC Test Match Special in 2014, which was only a year before she co-hosted ESPN’s coverage of the 2015 ICC ODI World Cup in Australia.

Post-retirement, she has taken up multiple television and media assignments, which also includes the commentary stints in the Indian Premier League. She was a part of the panel in the 2019 World Cup in England and the recently-suspended 14th edition of the league as well. In a game that has been largely dominated by men, Guha has been a true frontrunner for both England and Women’s cricket.