Isa Guha
Femaletrue
CountryEngland
FullnameIsa Tara Guha
Birth date21 May 1985 (age 41)
Birth placeHigh Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
RoleBowler
Internationaltrue
Internationalspan2001–2011
Testdebutdate14 August
Testdebutyear2002
TestdebutagainstIndia
Testcap137
Lasttestdate22 January
Lasttestyear2011
LasttestagainstAustralia
Odidebutdate10 August
Odidebutyear2001
OdidebutagainstScotland
Odicap94
Lastodidate21 October
Lastodiyear2011
LastodiagainstSouth Africa
Odishirt19
T20idebutdate5 August
T20idebutyear2004
T20idebutagainstNew Zealand
T20icap5
Lastt20idate29 October
Lastt20iyear2011
Lastt20iagainstSouth Africa
Club 1Thames Valley
Year 11998–1999
Club 2Berkshire
Year 22000–2014
Columns4
Column 1WTest
Matches 18
Runs 1113
Bat avg 116.14
100s/50s 10/0
Top score 131*
Deliveries 11,491
Wickets 129
Bowl avg 118.93
Fivefor 11
Tenfor 10
Best bowling 15/40
Catches/stumpings 13/–
Column 2WODI
Matches 283
Runs 2122
Bat avg 28.71
100s/50s 20/0
Top score 226
Deliveries 23,767
Wickets 2101
Bowl avg 223.21
Fivefor 22
Tenfor 20
Best bowling 25/14
Catches/stumpings 226/–
Column 3WT20I
Matches 322
Runs 339
Bat avg 37.80
100s/50s 30/0
Top score 313*
Deliveries 3459
Wickets 318
Bowl avg 325.05
Fivefor 30
Tenfor 30
Best bowling 33/21
Catches/stumpings 34/–
Column 4WLA
Matches 4205
Runs 41,556
Bat avg 414.67

Isa Tara Guha (born 21 May 1985) is an English former England cricketer and now a sports television commentator and radio broadcaster. She played in the 2005 South Africa World Cup and the 2009 Australia World Cup.[1]

As a right-arm medium bowler and right-handed batter, Guha represented England in eight Test matches, 83 One Day Internationals and 22 Twenty20 Internationals between 2001 and 2011.[2] She was appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2025 for services to Inclusivity and Cricket [3]

Early years and education

Born at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, her parents (Barun Guha and Roma née Deb) emigrated from Calcutta in West Bengal, India to the United Kingdom in the 1970s.[4] Guha started playing cricket with her older brother when she was about eight[4] and was selected for the Development England side aged 13.[5]

Guha attended Wycombe High School, a grammar school for girls,[6] before attending University College London where she read biochemistry and molecular biology (graduating BSc), then neuroscience (MPhil).[7][8]

Cricket career

A right arm fast-medium bowler, Guha played minor counties cricket for Berkshire CCC and for Thames Valley CC.[2]

Guha made her Test cricket debut at 17 against India during their tour of England in 2002.[9] During that tour, Guha played in the 2002 Women's Tri-Series and performed well, taking three wickets in England's loss against New Zealand in the final.[10] She became the first woman of Indian heritage to represent England at cricket and was subsequently named the 2002 BBC Asian Network Sports Personality of the Year.[11]

Guha's career best Test bowling figures were 5 for 40 in her penultimate Test match against Australia at the Bradman Oval in February 2008, where she took 9 wickets in the match and received the Player of the Match Award[12] as England retained The Ashes.[13] Her best bowling in 83 ODIs was 5 for 14 against the West Indies later in 2008.[14] In the same year, Guha rose to become the number one bowler in the ICC Women's One-Day International rankings.[15]

Guha was an integral part of the England team which won the 2009 World Cup, later citing this as her playing career highlight.[16]

Guha announced her retirement from international cricket on 9 March 2012, stating she would continue to play county cricket for Berkshire.[17][18]

Guha with Lynsey Askew shared the world record batting partnership for the ninth wicket in WODIs of 73 runs from 2007 until 2024.[19][20]

Media work

Guha writes a column for the BBC Sport website[21] and is a Test Match Special commentator.[22] She joined ITV Sport in April 2012 as a co-presenter of ITV4's coverage of the Indian Premier League.[23][24][25]

In 2016, Guha was a member of the inaugural Triple M radio Test cricket commentary team in Australia.[26] In 2018, she was a commentator for Sky Sports for the England/Pakistan Test matches,[27] and was named as a commentator for Fox Cricket for their Australian cricket coverage.[28] She was also a member of the commentary team at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[29] In 2020 she was the lead presenter of a new BBC TV Test and ODI cricket highlights show.[30][31]

For the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Guha presented a nightly highlights show for the BBC alongside JJ Chalmers.[32] In 2023, Guha joined the tennis presenting team for the BBC's coverage of the Wimbledon Championships.[33] She presented a nightly highlights show with Mark Chapman for the BBC during the Paris Olympics in 2024.[34]

Charity interests and philanthropy

Isa Guha is an Ambassador (or "Supporter")[35] for Sporting Equals[36] and the British Asian Trust.[25][37] In 2023, she launched the Got Your Back initiative in order to support female cricket players.[38]

Personal life

On 16 September 2018, Guha married her long-time boyfriend, British musician Richard Thomas, a member of the band Brother & Bones.[39]

In 2024, Guha found herself in the middle of a controversy after referring to Indian player Jasprit Bumrah on commentary as the "most valuable primate". She later issued an apology to Bumrah.[40]

References

  1. ^ Isa Guha Archived 28 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine ESPN Cricinfo
  2. ^ "Isa Guha". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  3. ^ "www.ecb.co.uk/news/4425657/individuals-from-cricket-receive-new-years-honours". England Cricket Board. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  4. ^ Qureshi, Huma (2012-10-10). "Isa Guha: 'England is leading the way in women's cricket'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  5. ^ Kumar, K. C. Vijaya (2014-07-25). "I had the best of both worlds: Isa Guha" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived 28 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  6. ^ "Wycombe girl named under 17s Cricketer of the Year". Bucks Free Press. 28 February 2002.
    Dunhill, Lawrence (12 July 2010). "Nine decades of pupils attend renunion". Bucks Free Press. Archived 10 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  7. ^ UCL (2006-08-15). "Student cricket star". UCL News. Archived 3 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  8. ^ "How Isa Guha is Changing Perceptions about Cricket Presenters | Forbes India Blog". Forbes India. Archived 10 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  9. ^ "Isa Guha". Cricinfo. Archived 4 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  10. ^ "Isa Guha NZ". Independent.co.uk. 20 July 2002. Archived 8 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  11. ^ "Isa Guha: First Asian in the England cricket team". Get Bengal. 19 February 2021. Archived 10 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Full Scorecard of Australia Women vs England Women Only Test 2008 – Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  13. ^ "England women win to retain Ashes". 2008-02-18. Archived 24 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  14. ^ "Full Scorecard of England Women vs West Indies Women 2nd ODI 2008 – Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Archived 4 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  15. ^ "Isa Guha ICC ODI Bowling Ranking". Reliance ICC Rankings. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  16. ^ Walker, Phil (23 Oct 2012). "A Drink With… Isa Guha". All Out Cricket. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  17. ^ Isa Guha retires from international cricket ESPN Cricinfo, 9 March 2012
  18. ^ "England's Isa Guha retires from international cricket". BBC Sport. 2012-03-09. Archived 24 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  19. ^ "12th Match: England Women v New Zealand Women at Chennai, Mar 3, 2007 | Cricket Scorecard |". Cricinfo. ESPN. Archived 18 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  20. ^ "Records | Women's One-Day Internationals | Partnership records | Highest partnerships by wicket |". Cricinfo. ESPN. Archived 3 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  21. ^ Isa Guha column: 'I've picked a winner with the Black Keys' BBC Sport, 15 February 2012
  22. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Test Match Special, The 2019 Men's World Cup Final". BBC. Archived 1 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  23. ^ Indian Premier League cricket returns to ITV4 Archived 8 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine ITV Press Centre, 21 March 2012
  24. ^ The Indian Premier League returns to ITV4 and ITV.com Archived 27 January 2013 at archive.today ITV.com, 30 March 2012
  25. ^ ITV Snap up England's Women Cricket Star Isa Guha to present IPL coverage Archived 22 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Total Sport Promotions, 15 April 2011
  26. ^ Triple M Delivers Best Ever Ashes Commentary Team Triple M Melbourne, 22 September 2017
  27. ^ "Isa Guha is 'new face of cricket' on the BBC...". www.asian-voice.com. Archived 9 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  28. ^ Commentary Team Archived 21 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine Foxtel
  29. ^ Burley, Oli (12 May 2019). "First-ever Street Child Cricket World Cup held at Lord's". skysports.com. Archived 10 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  30. ^ "Cricket on the BBC: Isa Guha to present Test & ODI highlights shows". BBC Sport. 4 June 2020. Archived 22 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  31. ^ Martin, Ali (2020-06-04). "Geoffrey Boycott could end TMS career after BBC omit 79-year-old from lineup". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  32. ^ "Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on the BBC". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  33. ^ "Who is Wimbledon presenter Isa Guha?". www.radiotimes.com. 27 June 2023. Archived 3 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  34. ^ "Olympics: Paris 2024". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived 10 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  35. ^ "Isa Guha". Supporters. Sporting Equals. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  36. ^ Brand Ambassadors Archived 9 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Sporting Equals
  37. ^ "VIVO IPL 2017 Schedule". Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017. British Asian Trust, September 2016
  38. ^ "Guha launches initiative to support women in cricket". BBC Sport. 2023-02-28. Archived 1 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  39. ^ "These dreamy pictures from ex-English cricketer Isa Guha's wedding are bound to make your day". Daily News & Analysis. 21 September 2018. Archived 9 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  40. ^ Ng, Kelly (16 December 2024). "Commentator Isa Guha sorry for calling cricketer 'primate'". BBC News. Archived 16 December 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 December 2024.