Leigh Kasperek
Kasperek bowling for New Zealand during the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup
Personal information
Full name
Leigh Meghan Kasperek
Born (1992-02-15) 15 February 1992
Edinburgh, Scotland
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleBowling all-rounder
International information
National sides
ODI debut (cap 133)28 June 2015 
New Zealand v India
Last ODI23 September 2021 
New Zealand v England
T20I debut (cap 46)11 July 2015 
New Zealand v India
Last T20I12 July 2023 
New Zealand v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2011/12Western Australia
2012–2013Essex
2012/13Wellington
2013/14–2018/19Otago
2018–2019Yorkshire
2019Yorkshire Diamonds
2019/20–presentWellington
2020Velocity
2022Northern Diamonds
Career statistics
Competition WODI WT20I
Matches 39 46
Runs scored 299 104
Batting average 17.58 6.11
100s/50s 1/0 0/0
Top score 113 19
Balls bowled 1,904 1,010
Wickets 65 75
Bowling average 19.43 14.13
5 wickets in innings 2 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 6/46 4/7
Catches/stumpings 12/– 12/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 3 October 2022

Leigh Meghan Kasperek (born 15 February 1992) is a Scottish cricketer who plays internationally for the New Zealand national team. She previously played for the Scottish national side, but switched to New Zealand in order to play at a higher level.[1]

Scotland career

Born in Edinburgh, Kasperek made her senior national debut at the age of 15, playing for Scotland against English county sides in the 2007 County Challenge Cup.[2] Her international debut came later in the year, when she appeared against Ireland and the Netherlands at the European Championship.[3] Early in 2008, Kasperek was selected in Scotland's squad for the 2008 World Cup Qualifier in South Africa. She went on to play in four out of a possible five matches, but had little success, scoring only four runs and failing to take a wicket from her ten overs, while conceding 57 runs.[4]

Over the next few years, Kasperek firmly established herself as one of Scotland's leading all-rounders. One of her first notable performances came against Hampshire in the 2009 edition of the County Championship, when she took 3/2 from six overs to help bowl the side out for 76.[5] Later in the year, against the Netherlands at the 2009 European Championship, she scored a maiden half-century for Scotland, making 58 from 106 balls (including a 135-run partnership with Kari Anderson).[6] During the 2010 County Championship season, Kasperek scored 218 runs from her ten matches, behind only Kathryn White for Scotland.[7] Her best performance was an innings of 68 against Hampshire, which was her only half-century.[8]

Overseas experience

For the 2011–12 season, Kasperek signed for the Western Fury, a team in Australia's Women's National Cricket League (WNCL), also playing club cricket for Midland-Guildford.[9][10] For the 2012 County Championship season, she switched from Scotland to Essex, although later in the year she did play one final international tournament, the European Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland.[2] Having been named Essex's player of the year, later in the year Kasperek signed for the Wellington Blaze, which plays in the New Zealand State League.[11]

In 2022, Kasperek signed for Northern Diamonds as an overseas player for the upcoming season.[12] She played 13 matches for the side that season, across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, taking 14 wickets.[13][14]

New Zealand career

Kasperek had little success in her first season in New Zealand, with her eight matches yielding only 86 runs and a single wicket. For the 2013–14 season, she switched to the Otago Sparks (based in Dunedin), and went on to score two half-centuries. Kasperek impressed more with her bowling, taking 18 wickets to finish as the competition's leading wicket-taker,[15] including figures of 6/8 in one match against Canterbury.[16] The next season, she returned 15 wickets to be Otago's leading wicket taker and equal-fourth in the competition, but also lifted her batting, scoring 313 runs to place behind only Suzie Bates for Otago (and tenth in the competition).[17]

After three seasons in the New Zealand domestic competition, Kasperek met the ICC qualifications for representing the national team, although that had not been a specific goal of hers when she first moved there.[1] In May 2015, she was unexpectedly named in the squad for the 2015 tour of India.[18] Kasperek went on to play in every game on the tour, which comprised five One Day International (ODI) and three Twenty20 International matches.[19][20] On debut in the first ODI, she took 3/39 from 10 overs.[21] Later in 2015, against the touring Sri Lankans, Kasperek took 4/27, her maiden ODI four-wicket haul.[22]

In a Twenty20 International against Australia in February 2016, Kasperek took 4/7 from three overs. Amy Satterthwaite is the only New Zealander to take better figures.[23]

In August 2018, she was awarded a central contract by New Zealand Cricket, following the tours of Ireland and England in the previous months.[24][25] In October 2018, she was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.[26][27] She was the leading wicket-taker for New Zealand in the tournament, with eight dismissals in four matches.[28]

In January 2020, she was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.[29]

During the 2nd WODI of the Australia tour of New Zealand in 2020-21, Kasperek took all bar one of the seven wickets to fall in the Australian innings,[30] finishing with figures of 6/46 from 10 overs,[30] the 17th best innings figures in Women's ODI history.[31] She finished as the leading wicket taker in the ODI leg of the series with 9 wickets, despite playing only two of the three matches.[32]

References

  1. 1 2 Steve Hepburn (13 May 2015). "Cricket: Long and winding road to call-up" – Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 Women's miscellaneous matches played by Leigh Kasperek – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Scotland women's matches played by Leigh Kasperek – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Records / ICC Women's World Cup Qualifying Series, 2007/08 - Scotland Women / Minor cricket (one-day/limited overs) / Batting and bowling averages – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Hampshire Women v Scotland Women, LV Women's County Championship 2009 (Division Three) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Netherlands Women v Scotland Women, Women's European Championship 2009 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Batting and fielding for Scotland Women, LV Women's County Championship 2010 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Hampshire Women v Scotland Women, LV Women's County Championship 2010 (Division Three) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  9. ↑ (6 October 2011). "Scot Set to Unleash Fury" Archived 29 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine – WACA. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Women's Australia league matches played by Leigh Kasperek Archived 5 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Leigh Kasperek arrives to help Blaze" – scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Diamonds sign all-rounders Leigh Kasperek and Yvonne Graves". Northern Diamonds. 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Records/Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy 2022 - Northern Diamonds/Batting and Bowling Averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Records/Charlotte Edwards Cup, 2022 - Northern Diamonds/Batting and Bowling Averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  15. ↑ Bowling in New Zealand Women's One-Day Competition 2013/14 (ordered by wickets) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  16. ↑ Otago Women v Canterbury Women, New Zealand Women's One-Day Competition 2013/14 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  17. ↑ Women's limited-overs matches played by Leigh Kasperek – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Leigh Kasperek included in NZ women squad" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  19. ↑ Women's ODI matches played by Leigh Kasperek – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  20. ↑ Women's International Twenty20 matches played by Leigh Kasperek – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  21. ↑ India Women v New Zealand Women, ICC Women's Championship 2014 to 2016/17 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "Priest ton sets up big New Zealand Women win" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  23. ↑ (28 February 2016). "Kasperek's four-for sets up easy win for New Zealand" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  24. ↑ "Rachel Priest left out of New Zealand women contracts". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  25. ↑ "Four new players included in White Ferns contract list". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  26. ↑ "New Zealand women pick spin-heavy squads for Australia T20Is, World T20". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  27. ↑ "White Ferns turn to spin in big summer ahead". New Zealand Cricket. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  28. ↑ "ICC Women's World T20, 2018/19 - New Zealand Women: Batting and bowling averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  29. ↑ "Lea Tahuhu returns to New Zealand squad for T20 World Cup". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  30. 1 2 "Full Scorecard of AUS Women vs NZ Women 2nd ODI 2020/21 - Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  31. ↑ "Records. Women's One-Day Internationals. Bowling records. Best figures in an innings". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  32. ↑ "Australia Women tour of New Zealand, Australia Women in New Zealand 2020/21 score, Match schedules, fixtures, points table, results, news". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 April 2021.

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