Isa Guha is a former England cricketer who played for the side as the specialist seam bowler from 2002 to 2011. After her significant contribution to England’s many historic wins, Guha became a cricket commentator and presenter.
Wiki/Biography
Isa Guha was born on Tuesday, 21 May 1985 (age 36 years; as of 2021) in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Her zodiac sign is Gemini. She did her schooling at Wycombe High School in Buckinghamshire. Further, she went on to pursue her Bachelors and Master in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from the University College of London (UCL). She also completed her MPhil in Neuroscience from the same university. She started playing cricket at the age of eleven along with her elder brother in the backyard of their house. Seeing her interest, her parents decided to enrol her at the local cricket club. There, she got selected for the Development England side at the age of 13. She recalled that time in an interview,
“There were no other girls, so I just started playing with the boys. I loved getting them out. When I was 11, I got selected for the Thames Valley Under-21 side, and it all spiraled from there. I met Charlotte Edwards a year later when she was 16 and playing for England, and that’s when I realized I wanted to play for England too.”
Her family was equally supportive as they would always accompany her while she play any game for the local team.
Physical Appearance
Height : 5′ 1″
Hair Colour: Dark Coppery Brown
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father’s name is Barun Guha who was worked for the ‘Waitrose and Partners’ brand.
Isa Guha’s father, Barun Guha
Her mother’s name is Roma Guha who died at the age of 65 due to Cancer.
Isa Guha’s mother, Roma Guha
She has an elder brother and a sister. Her elder brother, Kaushik Guha, is seven years older than her.
Isa Guha’s brother, Kaushik Guha
Her sister’s name is Panchali Guha.
Husband & Children
Isa Guha is married to Richard Willian Donald Thomas who is a songwriter and musician for the rock band ‘Brother & Bones.’
Isa Guha’s husband, Richard Thomas
The couple tied the knot on 16 September 2018 at Carbis Bay in Cornwall (England).
Isa Guha’s wedding
Signature/Autograph
Isa Guha’s signature
Career
International Debut
Test
She made her Test debut on 14 August 2002 against India at Taunton (England).
ODI
She made her ODI debut on 10 August 2001 against Scotland at Reading (England).
T20I
She made her T20I debut on 5 August 2004 against New Zealand at Hove (England).
Records
- First British Asian Woman to represent England in a sport
- First female commentator to cover Sky Sport’s Test cricket
- Highest ODI partnership for the ninth wicket in Women’s cricket along with Lynsey Askew.
Stats
Bowling Stats
WTest
Matches- 8
Innings- 15
Overs- 248.3
Maidens- 81
Runs Conceded- 549
Wickets- 29
BBI- 5/40
BBM- 9/100
Average- 18.93
Economy Rate- 2.20
Strike Rate- 51.4
5w- 1
WODI
Matches- 83
Innings- 81
Overs- 627.5
Maidens- 85
Runs Conceded- 2345
Wickets- 101
BBI- 5/14
Average- 23.21
Economy Rate- 3.73
Strike Rate- 37.2
4w- 2
5w- 2
WT20I
Matches- 22
Innings- 22
Overs- 76.3
Maidens- 5
Runs Conceded- 451
Wickets- 18
BBI- 3/21
Average- 25.05
Economy Rate- 5.89
Strike Rate- 25.5
Batting Stats
WTest
Matches- 8
Innings- 10
Not Outs- 3
Runs Scored- 113
Highest Score- 31*
Average- 16.14
Balls Faced- 443
Strike Rate- 25.50
0s- 1
4s- 8
6s- 0
WODI
Matches- 83
Innings- 32
Not Outs- 18
Runs Scored- 122
Highest Score- 26
Average- 8.71
0s- 5
WT20I
Matches- 22
Innings- 6
Not Outs- 1
Runs Scored- 39
Highest Score- 13*
Average- 7.80
Balls Faced- 34
Strike Rate- 114.70
0s- 1
4s- 2
6s- 0
Domestic/State Teams
- Thames Valley
- Berkshire
Her journey to international cricket started at Under-17 and Under-19 levels where she was in England’s under-19 team during the ACB Under State Tournament. There, she won the ‘Bowler of the Series’ and Player of the Tournament for taking seven wickets in the U-19 European Championship. In 2001, she made her international debut at an age of 17 against Scotland in a WODI match. Later, she played the women’s tri-series against India and New Zealand in July 2002.
Isa Guha on field
In the finals of that series, she took three wickets against New Zealand on a losing side. In 2004, she took 5 wickets for 22 runs against New Zealand in a women’s ODI match. This followed up with five wickets in a Test series and eight in the WODI against India in 2006. In 2008, she gave her best bowling performance when she took 5 wickets after conceding 14 runs against West Indies. She emerged as the number one WODI bowler on 31 December 2008 in an international bowler’s ranking. In February 2008, she gave her best Test bowling performance in her seventh Test match of 5 wickets for 40 runs against Australia at the Bradman Oval in Bowral in February 2008. This five-wicket haul of Isa helped England retain the Ashes Trophy.
Isa Guha in action against Australia at the Bankstown Oval in 2011
She became part of the England team that won the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2009, Twenty20 Cup in 2009, and Ashes in 2005. On 9 March 2012, she retired from international cricket at the age of 27. However, she continued to play county cricket for Berkshire. In an interview, she revealed,
“I took the decision to retire from England this year. It was a huge decision to make because cricket has been part of my life for so long. But I was struggling more and more with my back, and I had to make a choice about which way I wanted to go – when you play cricket only semi-professionally, as women’s cricket is, then there comes a point when you need to think about earning a proper living too.”
Post-retirement
Post-retirement, she started working as a commentator for various sports channels. She also writes columns for the BBC Sports website. In April 2012, she became the co-presenter of ITV4’s coverage for the Indian Premier League (IPL). In 2016, she joined the inaugural Triple M radio Test cricket commentary team in Australia, and she also became a member of the commentary team at the 2019 Men’s Cricket World Cup. She then became the lead presenter of the new BBC TV Test and ODI highlights show in 2020.
Isa Guha doing commentary at SCG
Controversy
‘Carrom Ball’ Controversy
This controversy came to light in December 2021 when, during a Big Bash League (BBL) match, in a commentary panel, a discussion was going on regarding the ‘Carrom Ball.’ Adam Gilchrist and Isa Guha were part of that commentary panel. One of the commentators said how the coaches select Carrom Ball bowlers based on the size of their middle finger. He further explained,
“The guy or kid with longest middle finger was identified as a potential carrom-bowler.”
To which, Isa Guha replied,
“How big is yours?”
As Isa Guha was pointed towards his finger. Her comment was interpreted in the wrong way.
A reasonable question from @isaguha
👀😂😂😂😂😂😂
pic.twitter.com/Tzu5F2emUg
— Alexandra Hartley (@AlexHartley93) December 12, 2021
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- BBC Asian Network Sports Personality of the Year in 2002
- Sports Personality of the year at the British Asian Sports Awards in 2009
- Sony Asian Sports Personality of the Year in 2010
- ‘World’s best female cricket commentator’ award by Fox Sports in March 2021
Favourites
- Cricketer(s)– Darren Gough and Charlott Edwards
- Cricket Ground– Lord’s Cricket Ground
- Commentator(s)– Shane Warne and Phil Tufnell
- Sports– Golf
- Food– Eilish Maach, Mangsho, and Posto
- Jewellery– Decorative Earrings and Necklace
- Skincare Brand– Evolve
- Footwear– Block Heel
Facts/Trivia
- She belongs to Ballygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal. Her parents shifted to the UK in 1970.
- She retired on the same date when the noted Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid retired i.e., on 9 March 2012.
- Apart from cricket, she has also anchored Rio Olympics for ESPN.
- During an interview, she talked about her fitness regime. She said,
“I do regular six-kilometer runs, and I’ve just invested in a Peleton. I go through phases of doing weights, but it can be hard to maintain a routine when I’m doing Test matches or traveling. I do miss doing heavyweights. I like yoga and Pilates but I don’t do them enough. A Thai massage is always very therapeutic and restorative: during Covid, I’ve missed that strength and depth of muscle tissue massage. In terms of general wellbeing, I love catching up with my mates and having a great meal with a glass of bubbles. And I’m at my happiest when I’m by the water, so if I’m working somewhere near the sea, you’ll find me running along the coast on my day off.”
