Six Cricket Couples Who Have Represented Teams At International Level
Published - 09 Mar 2020, 08:33 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:04 AM
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Over the years, the game of cricket has evolved in more aspects than one. While the action on the field has swelled by leaps and bounds and is still growing, the activities behind the scenes have been equally interesting.
With women’s cricket also rising along with the ranks of popularity, cricket couples have also come into the light. And there are a few elite ones in which both of whom have represented the teams at the international or highest level.
Also Read: Watch: Sophie Molineux’s Heartwarming Gesture To Differently-Abled Fan After Australia’s T20 World Cup Triumph
Alyssa Healy’s husband Mitchell Starc witnessed his wife’s whirlwind innings of 75 from 39 deliveries on Sunday against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Cricket Australia’s (CA) approval to let Starc leave from South Africa — to watch his partner script glory in front of a massive Melbourne crowd also deserves applause. It was even five years ago that Starc spearheaded Australia’s men’s team to their fifth 50-over World Cup at the same venue. That also gave plenty of fans some couple goals.
Well, Starc and Healy got engaged in 2015 only to tie the knot on 15th April 2016.
Keeping this in mind, we take a look at other pairs or cricket couples who have represented teams at an international level:
Roger Prideaux and Ruth Westbrook:
English opening batsman Roger Prideaux, who graced the game in the late 1960s, tied the knot to female team player Ruth Westbrooke. While Roger played only three Tests for the national side, he featured in 446 first-class fixtures, scoring over 25000 runs.
On the other hand, Ruth was a former wicketkeeper and the one who could bat was the first permanent coach for England women’s team in 1988.
Under her, England won the 1993 World Cup. Ruth passed away in April 2016 at the age of 65.
Guy de Alwis and Rasanjali de Silva:
Sri Lankan cricketer Guy de Alwis represented his national team in 11 Tests and 31 ODIs between 1983 and 1988. He tied the knot to Sri Lanka’s women cricketer Rasanjali Silva, who featured in a solitary Test and 22 One-day internationals (ODIs).
She also played in 1997 and 2000 Women’s Cricket World Cup in India and New Zealand respectively.
Sir Richard Hadlee and Karen Ann Marsh:
Sir Richard Hadlee was one of the greatest New Zealand cricketers and along with Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, and Ian Botham was amongst the best all-rounders of their era.
Hadlee was the first bowler to take 400 wickets in Test cricket and played a significant role in Kiwis’ first and the only Test series victory till date in Australia back in 1985-86.
He married Karen Ann Marsh, who had a low-profile international career. She represented the Black Caps in one ODI back in 1978 against England in Hyderabad.
Lea Tahuhu and Amy Satterthwaite:
Over the years, several nations have relaxed the regulations on same-sex marriage. New Zealand was amongst them, who became liberal in 2013. In the wake of the same, New Zealand’s cricketers Lea Tahuhu and Amy Satterthwaite got engaged in 2014 and married in March 2017.
Satterthwaite is the current captain of New Zealand, having represented the national side in 101 ODIs and 75 T20Is.
On the other hand, Lea Tahuhu is a potent fast bowler, who has played in 48 ODIs and 32 T20Is. In January, Satterthwaite gave birth to their first child.
Katherine Brunt and Natalie Sciver
Katherine Brunt is an English fast bowler, who has played 12 Tests and 123 ODIs for England. She is an aggressive fast bowler and also one of the greatest English bowlers. She has 150 wickets in 50-over internationals along with 41 in Tests.
On the other hand, Nat Sciver is an all-rounder, having played five Tests, 67 ODIs, and 75 T20Is. Born in Tokyo, Sciver grew up playing cricket in Netherlands. In terms of batting, her strongest suit is that of One-dayers in which she averages 39.27 with 1885 runs. With the ball, her best format is T20Is in which she has 58 scalps at 19.50. The couple announced their engagement in October 2019.
Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp:
Proteas’ cricketers Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp tied the knot in July 2018.
Van Niekerk is the current captain of the South African team, having captained the nation in the 2020 T20 Women’s World Cup.
On the other hand, the 30-year old Marizanne Kapp is also one of the handy all-rounders for South Africa. She has scored 1834 runs in 108 ODIs apart from snaring 123 wickets.
