Being able to talk cricket with Warne was great: Isa Guha

When Shane Warne first asked Isa Guha her opinion on cricket, and respected that, she felt she had arrived as a commentator. One of the pioneering female pundits, she is a popular voice on both television and radio.

The former England seamer is also one of the voices of the cricket season in Australia, where she has a big following, thanks in no small measure to her subtle sense of humour and the freedom with which she expresses herself, especially when she shares the mike with Kerry O’Keefe or Adam Gilchrist.

Her favourite commentator remains the late Warne. “I would say Warnie, because of his cricket brain,” Isa tells The Hindu.

“Being able to talk cricket with him was great. He gave me a lot of encouragement. He was asking me and genuinely respecting my opinion.”

Isa, who took 148 international wickets during her decade-long career for England, also relished her experience of commentating on the IPL. And she is delighted that women’s cricket is now getting its due.

“I remember back then we were just the curtain-raiser to the men,” she says. “No one really knew that we were playing. And now they have a super huge stage all to themselves.”

That certainly wasn’t the case when England won the 2009 World Cup, beating New Zealand in the final at Sydney.

One of the highlights

It remains one of the highlights of Isa’s career. She was the bowler who provided the breakthrough for England in the New Zealand innings.

Her finest spell, however, came in a Test match, a year earlier. She took nine wickets in the Ashes Test at the Bradman Oval in Bowral.

“In the few games before, I hadn’t really been playing, so I was low in confidence,” she recalls. “But I got to Bowral and I really want to play there. It had an aura about it that felt quite special. The home of Don Bradman. Trees everywhere. White picket fence.”

And she got the nod. “I just really wanted to do well,” she says. “And I got an early wicket and then it just flowed.”

And she helped England retain the Ashes.