At just 17 years old, Isa Guha became the first woman of South Asian origin to represent England in any sport, when she made her international cricket debut in 2002. Since then, she has continued to build a successful career and can currently be seen at two major sporting events - The Commonwealth Games and The Hundred.
Originally from Buckinghamshire in High Wycombe, Isa, now 37, started playing cricket with her older brother when she was about eight, and was selected for the Development England side at 13. She went to Wycombe High School, a state school for girls. She graduated with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and gained an MPhil in neuroscience, both at University College London.
Having ignited her passion for cricket at a young age, the sportswoman made her Test debut at 17 against India during their tour in 2002. As part of the same tour, Isa played in the 2002 Women's Tri-Series, and performed well, taking three wickets in England's loss against New Zealand in the final.
Read more: What is The Hundred cricket competition? Rules, teams and fixtures
In 2008, Isa was recognised as the ICC Ranked Number One Women’s Bowler in a period where she registered career best Test figures of 9-100 to help England win the Ashes in Australia for the first time since 1934/35. She was also involved in the Ashes winning team in 2005, which helped England regain the Ashes on home soil, after 42 years.
In 2009, Isa was part of one of the most successful teams in English sporting history after England won two World Cups, an Ashes and inflicted an ODI series whitewash over Australia. When she retired in April 2012, she was positioned as the second highest wicket taker in the all-time England Women’s ODI List and sixth in the world, having been awarded 113 caps. Despite her many sporting victories, Isa's career would continue to flourish in the years that followed, breaking boundaries not only in sport, but in broadcasting.
Isa's presenting debut during ITV’s Indian Premier League (IPL) coverage in 2011 led to several other opportunities, soon becoming a mainstay with the BBC and Sky Sports (UK), and affiliations with broadcasters globally including Star Sports, Sony Max (India), and ESPN (West Indies, US), and production companies IMG and Sunset & Vine.
Regularly finding herself in unchartered territory, she became the first woman to commentate on an Indian Test Series for Star Sports, on any global T20 men’s fixture during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the highly esteemed Sky Sports Test cricket coverage, as well as Triple M Radio in Australia.
In 2020, Isa became the lead presenter and commentator of BBC’s cricket coverage as they acquired the highlights and brought live cricket back to the BBC TV for the first time in 21 years. This role would lead to her hiring as the main presenter of the BBC's coverage of The Hundred in 2021 - a format that was designed to encourage younger people to get into cricket. The tournament gave equal weight to both men's and women's sides, with almost all the matches taking place as back-to-back double-headers at the same venue on the same day.
Aside from her roles in both sport and broadcasting, Isa is also a charity ambassador. She is an Ambassador for Sporting Equals and the British Asian Trust. On her website, she says of her charity work: ''My ambassadorial roles have allowed me to influence change in several areas and it is a great privilege to be involved with so many inspiring charities. The British Asian Trust handles various life changing projects within the U.K. and across South Asia, while Sporting Equals encourages diversity and participation in any form of physical activity. "
Isa is married to long-time boyfriend, musician Richard Thomas of the band, Brother and Bones. The pair tied the knot in September 2018. For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
The Hundred's coverage begins on BBC Two on Wednesday, August 3 at 7pm
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