Jacob Duffy

A well-built, tall, right-arm seamer, Jacob Duffy, who can hit heavy lengths and extract extra bounce, but it is his ability to pitch the ball up and swing it that makes him an exciting pacer.

Duffy is a professional cricketer for New Zealand who became the first Southlander to debut for New Zealand in international cricket since Jeff Wilson in 1993.

Duffy, the Otago white-ball captain, was among the most consistent performers in domestic cricket and was massively impressive for New Zealand A. He joined the senior side on the back of a six-wicket haul against the touring West Indians in a four-day fixture. 

Prior to that, he was the leading wicket-taker, with 22 strikes in five matches in the 2019-20 Plunket Shield. He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2019-2020 Ford Trophy with 20 scalps.

As for his T20 credentials, Duffy fronts up to bowl the tough overs at the death, and nobody has taken more wickets than him during this phase in the past four years in New Zealand's domestic T20 competition. He grabbed 15 wickets in 18 innings in the slog overs, making him one of the lethal bowlers in modern-day cricket.

Notably, Jacob Duffy was picked by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the IPL 2026 auction and finished 2025 as the leading wicket-taker (81) across formats in international cricket.

Jacob Duffy T20I Career

On December 18, 2020, Jacob Duffy made his T20I debut for New Zealand against Pakistan. The 6-foot-tall bowler had a sensational start, taking 4 wickets for 33 runs in his four overs and earning Player of the Match honors, marking one of the best T20I debuts for a New Zealander.

However, since picking up the four-for on T20I debut, Duffy made only sporadic appearances for New Zealand over the next three years before earning his first New Zealand central contract in 2024.

In 2025, the New Zealand bowler had a phenomenal year in T20Is, becoming a top-ranked bowler, claiming 35 wickets in 21 T20Is at impressive stats (around 18.9 avg, 7.89 eco, high dot ball rate), contributing to New Zealand's success. 

By April, he had become the top-ranked bowler in the ICC Men's T20I rankings, earning praise for his consistent performance and solidifying his place in the T20 World Cup 2026.

Jacob Duffy ODI Career

Jacob Duffy played his maiden ODI on 12 July 2022, for New Zealand against Ireland.

Similar to his T20I career, Duffy went in and out of New Zealand’s ODI squad until 2025. Duffy had an exceptional 2025 in ODIs, taking 21 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 21.48. Thus, he became a key bowler for the Blackcaps and a standout performer across all formats.

Jacob Duffy Test Career

Years into the national set-up, Jacob Duffy received his maiden Test call-up in 2025 in the New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe.

Duffy went on to bag his bag maiden five-wicket in his first year in Test cricket, taking 5/34 against the West Indies, establishing him as a key fast-medium bowler in red-ball cricket.

(As of February 2026)