Lea Tahuhu

One of the greatest fast bowlers to have ever played for the New Zealand women’s team, Lea Tahuhu is a right-arm fast bowler who leads the bowling unit of White Ferns. Interestingly she hasn’t yet picked a 5 wicket haul in her international career but considering her quality it hardly matters, she is known for getting wickets in crunch situations.

Tahuhu started playing domestic cricket at the age of 18 for Canterbury Magicians. Her incredible performances in the domestic circuit meant saw her included in the New Zealand squad within two years of her debut.

Tahuhu’s journey as an international cricketer began against arch-rivals Australia in 2011. The tour didn’t go according to her plan as she leaked runs to a power-packed Australian batting lineup. After a frustrating debut series, she saw herself in and out of the squad quite often.

Her experience and consistent performances at the domestic level helped her to bounce back as she was named in the White Fern’s squad for the 2013 Women’s World Cup that was held in India. She picked up 7 wickets in the tournament, which also included her career-best 4 for 27 against Sri Lanka. In December 2017, she was named as one of the players in the ICC Women’s T20 Team of the Year.

Since her comeback, she has been a regular member of the squad and turned into the go-to bowler for New Zealand’s team. Her ability to bowl economically in crunch situations helped her get contracts in global leagues around the world. She was signed by the WBBL giants Melbourne Renegades in the second edition of the WBBL. One of the two vice-captains for the Renegades, Tahuhu is one of the fastest bowlers in the WBBL with a damaging short ball. She quickly made her mark in her debut season picking up 9 wickets in 13 matches and overall 53 wickets in 61 innings so far in WBBL.

(As of March 2021)