Isa Guha is a former England cricketer who played for the team as a specialist seam bowler from 2002 to 2011. After his significant contribution in many of England’s historic victories, Guha became a cricket commentator and presenter.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Isa Guha was born on Tuesday, 21 May 1985 (age 38 years; as in 2023) in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He did his schooling at Wycombe High School in Buckinghamshire. Additionally, he pursued undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University College of London (UCL). He also completed his MPhil in Neuroscience from the same university. He started playing cricket at the age of eleven with his elder brother in the backyard of his house. Seeing his interest, his parents decided to enroll him in the local cricket club. There, he was selected for the development England team at the age of 13. He recalled that time in an interview,
“There were no other girls there, so I just started playing with the boys. I liked getting him out. When I was 11 years old, I was selected for the Thames Valley under-21 team and everything grew from there. I met Charlotte Edwards a year later when she was 16 and playing for England, and that’s when I realized I also wanted to play for England.”
Her family was equally supportive as they always accompanied her whenever she played any sport for the local team.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 1″
Hair color: Dark coppery brown
Eye colour: dark brown
Family
parents and siblings
His father’s name is Barun Guha who worked for the brand ‘Waitrose & Partners’.
Isa Guha’s father, Barun Guha
His mother’s name is Roma Guha who died due to cancer at the age of 65.
Isa Guha’s mother, Roma Guha
She has an older brother whose name has been removed upon request. His sister’s name is Panchali Guha.
husband and children
Isa Guha is married to Richard Willian Donald Thomas, a lyricist and composer of the rock band ‘Brother and Bones’.
Isa Guha’s husband, Richard Thomas
The couple tied the knot on 16 September 2018 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall (England).
Isa Guha’s wedding
signature/autograph
Signature of Isa Guha
livelihood
International debut
Examination
He made his Test debut on 14 August 2002 against India at Taunton (England).
ODI
He made his ODI debut on 10 August 2001 against Scotland in Reading (England).
t20
He made his T20I debut against New Zealand on 5 August 2004 at Hove (England).
record
- First British Asian woman to represent England in any sport
- First female commentator to cover Test cricket for Sky Sports
- Highest ODI partnership for the ninth wicket in women’s cricket with Lynsey Askew.
statistics
bowling statistics
WTestMatch- 8 innings- 15 overs- 248.3 Maiden- 81 runs given- 549 wickets- 29BBI- 5/40BBM- 9/100 Average- 18.93 Economy rate- 2.20 Strike rate- 51.45w- 1
Women’s match – 83 innings – 81 overs – 627.5 Maidens – 85 runs given – 2345 wickets – 101 BBI – 5/14 Average – 23.21 Economy rate – 3.73 Strike rate – 37.24 W – 25 W – 2
WT20I Match- 22 Innings- 22 Overs- 76.3 Maidens- 5 runs given- 451 Wickets- 18BBI- 3/21 Average- 25.05 Economy Rate- 5.89 Strike Rate- 25.5
batting statistics
WTestMatch- 8 Innings- 10 Not Out- 3 Runs Scored- 113 Highest Score- 31*Average- 16.14 Balls Faced- 443 Strike Rate- 25.500s- 14s- 86s- 0
Women’s ODI Match- 83 Innings- 32 Not Out- 18 Runs Scored- 122 Highest Score- 26 Average- 8.710 Seconds- 5
WT20I Match- 22 Innings- 6 Not Out- 1 Runs Scored- 39 Highest Score- 13*Average- 7.80 Balls Faced- 34 Strike Rate- 114.700 Seconds- 14 Seconds- 26 Seconds- 0
Domestic/State Teams
Her journey in international cricket began at the under-17 and under-19 levels, where she was in the England under-19 team during the ACB Under State Tournament. There, he won the ‘Bowler of the Series’ and Player of the Tournament awards for taking seven wickets in the Under-19 European Championship. In 2001, she made her international debut at the age of 17 against Scotland in a women’s ODI match. Later, she played a women’s tri-series against India and New Zealand in July 2002.
Isa Guha on the field
In the final of that series, he took three wickets in the losing team against New Zealand. In 2004, she took 5 wickets for 22 runs against New Zealand in a women’s ODI match. After this, in 2006, she took five wickets in the Test series against India and eight wickets in Women’s ODI. In 2008, he gave his best bowling performance when he took 5 for 14 against the West Indies. She emerged as the number one women’s ODI bowler in the International Bowling Rankings on 31 December 2008. In February 2008, he gave his best Test bowling performance of 5 wickets for 40 runs against Australia in his seventh Test match at the Bradman Oval in Bowral. This five wickets of Isa helped England retain the Ashes trophy.
Isa Guha in action against Australia at Bankstown Oval in 2011
She was part of the England team that won the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2009, the Twenty20 Cup in 2009 and the Ashes in 2005. On 9 March 2012, he retired from international cricket at the age of 27. However, he continued to play county cricket for Berkshire. In an interview he revealed,
“I have decided to retire from England this year. It was a huge decision because cricket has been a part of my life for a long time. But I was struggling more and more with my back, and I had to choose which path I wanted to go – when you play cricket only semi-professionally, as women’s cricket does, there comes a point. That’s when you need to think about earning a decent living as well.”
post retirement
After retirement, he started working as a commentator for various sports channels. She also writes a column for the BBC Sports website. In April 2012, she became co-anchor of ITV4’s coverage of 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 main presenter of the new BBC TV Test and ODI Highlights show in 2020.
Isa Guha is commentating at SCG
Controversy
‘Carrom ball’ controversy
This controversy came to light in December 2021 when there was a discussion going on about ‘Carrom Ball’ in the commentary panel during a Big Bash League (BBL) match. Adam Gilchrist and Isa Guha were part of that commentary panel. One commentator noted how coaches select carrom ball bowlers based on the size of their middle finger. He further said,
“The person or child with the longest middle finger was identified as a potential carrom-bowler.”
To which Isa Guha replied,
“How big is yours?”
As soon as the finger was pointed towards Isa Guha. His comment was misinterpreted.
A fair question from @isaguha
-Alexandra Hartley (@AlexHartley93) 12 December 2021
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- BBC Asian Network Sports Personality of the Year in 2002
- Sports Celebrity of the Year at the British Asian Sports Awards in 2009
- Sony Asian Sports Personality of the Year in 2010
- Awarded ‘World’s Best Female Cricket Commentator’ by Fox Sports in March 2021
Favorite
- Cricketer(s) – Darren Gough and Charlotte Edwards
- Cricket Ground- Lord’s Cricket Ground
- Commentators- Shane Warne and Phil Tufnell
- Food- Ilish Mach, Mangsho and Posto
- Jewellery- decorative earrings and necklaces
Facts/General Knowledge
- She is a resident of Ballygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal. His parents moved to the UK in 1970.
- She retired on the same day as famous Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid retired, i.e. on 9 March 2012.
- Apart from cricket, he has also anchored the Rio Olympics for ESPN.
- During an interview he talked about his fitness. He said,
“I run six kilometers regularly, and I have just invested in Peleton. I go through phases of lifting weights, but it can be hard to maintain a routine when I’m doing test matches or travelling. I miss doing heavyweight. I love yoga and pilates but I don’t do them enough. Thai massage is always very therapeutic and restorative: during Covid, I have missed the strength and depth of muscle tissue massage. In terms of general health, I love catching up with my mates and having a nice meal with a glass of bubbly. And I’m happiest when I’m by the water, so if I’m working somewhere near the ocean, you’ll find me running along the coast on my days off.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn