Jul 02, 2024

Q&A with Isa Guha

Isa made her international cricket debut at just 17-years-old and became the first South Asian woman to represent England in any sport. During her decade-long career, she was part of the national team that retained the Ashes and won the World Cup. In 2009, Isa was named the ICC No 1 ranked bowler in the world.

Since retiring from International Cricket in 2012, Isa has become an increasingly in demand host and commentator. Initially working as a co-presenter for ITV’s coverage of the Indian Premier League she has gone on to helm coverage for all the main broadcasters including BBC, Sky, Channel 4 and Fox Australia.

In 2020 Isa became the lead presenter of the BBC’s test match and ODI highlights show. In 2022 she made her Wimbledon and Commonwealth Games presenting debuts for BBC1. In 2024, Isa can be seen returning for the BBC’s Summer of Sport hosting a range of high-profile international tournaments across a range of disciplines.Isa is the founder of Take her Lead, a charity which aims to advance equity and inclusion, and increase participation, in all areas of cricket for women and girls.

What do you like the most about cricket?

I love the different formats. I know it gets a bad rep sometimes, but I love the fact that it has formats that can appeal to loads of different people. The 5-day format, the 3hr T20, the 100, and I love how global it is as well. That’s my favourite thing about cricket, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel a lot with it.

What’s your favourite sports memory?

Too many to mention but probably winning the world cup in 2009. That was super special to go on that journey and be a pretty average team in 2002 with England to going on this incredible journey with an amazing group of people, to becoming the best team in the world. It was super special, I’ll always remember that.

How do you feel about pilates and yoga?

Love them! I wish I could do them more, I love them both equally and I kind of do them depending on how I’m feeling on the day. I am not flexible at all so yoga is something that I hope to improve.

Can you one secret that one shouldn’t miss to get to the top?

Dedication which isn’t really a secret, I think you have to try and manifest what you want so I did a lot of visualisation. I’d always watch people that I admired on television and learnt from them and saw how they went about their business. The same in broadcast as well, but it was also important to develop my own kind of style and what worked for me.

Which is your food or drink to stay fit and healthy?

Food wise, probably a nice tuna salad which has good protein in there. In terms of drink, it’d be sparkling water with a bit of lime. That’s always good for me if I’m trying to get off the grog.

What music do you like to listen to when training?

I kind of stick to the same playlist, a lot of my friends make music, so I generally listen to them when I’m training so from my husband, R.D Thomas, to Ben Howard to Sam Fender, and I love a bit of Jimi Hendrix in there as well.

Does your training outfit impact your performance?

Yeah, when I’ve felt good in my training kit I always generally felt like I was performing better, it’s always good when you feel good in what you’re wearing. That’s something that’s been quite important to me.

What is your favourite place to train?

Obviously, Lord’s Cricket Ground, I specifically decided to rent a place close to Lords so I can train there most days. I obviously don’t get to do that now, but I love going there for work.

Who do you like training with?

I used to love training at Bisham Abbey, there was a group of us. Clare Taylor, Beth Morgan and I all trained together and we would kind of inspire each to be better in all the different aspects of our training and I’ll always remember that.

Who do you admire?

There are so many people that I admire in the world, so many change makers. Malala Yousafzai, I would love to meet her one day and just anyone who is trying to influence change in a positive way.