Guha switches from cricket to join BBC team for Wimbledon
Isa Guha, the former England cricketer turned presenter, will join the BBC television team for Wimbledon this summer, Telegraph Sport understands.
Guha finished her decade-long England career in 2011. The first woman of Indian heritage to play for England, she has since converted herself into a successful broadcaster, and anchored the BBC’S coverage of the Hundred last year.
Beginning her switch with ITV’S coverage of the Indian Premier League in 2011, Guha has been a mould-breaker in the commentary box, leading a new generation of female voices into what was previously an all-male preserve.
She has also worked for Sky Sports, BT Sport and Fox’s coverage in Australia, but this will be the first time that she has taken on such a high-profile role outside cricket.
Broadcasting transfers from one sport to another can work with greater or lesser success. Both Michael Vaughan and Gary Lineker have worked on the BBC’S golf coverage, although there are always purists who insist former sportspeople should stick to what they know. In Guha’s case, she is a polished screen presence and, at 36, will significantly bring down the average age of the BBC’S Wimbledon team.
Last year, it was noticeable that the same commentators, pundits and presenters had returned after the pandemic cancellation of 2020.
There will also be additional opportunities for on-court interviews at the All England Club this summer, with the intention being to extend the idea – which only came in for the first time last season – to Court Nos2 and 3 as well as the two main stadiums (Centre and No1).
They were a side-effect of the pandemic, stemming from the need to keep media interactions in the open air wherever possible, but they added to the whole spectator experience.
Guha’s presence in SW19 will require her to miss two of the summer’s Test matches – New Zealand at Headingley and India at Edgbaston – which she would normally cover as presenter of the BBC’S TV highlights package, and as a radio commentator for Test Match Special.