On March 8, 2026, New Zealand fast bowler Lea Tahuhu put curtains on her 15-year-long ODI career. The 35-year-old, who last featured for the White Ferns in ODIs in the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India, announced her retirement after being in the setup for more than a decade and making 100-plus ODI appearances. Her decision was communicated by the White Ferns in a post on X which was captioned, “Lea Tahuhu has called time on her 15-year ODI career.”
It is to be noted that the Canterbury pacer made her ODI debut aged 20 years in a match against Australia in Brisbane. Overall, the 35-year-old now calls her time in the ODI format with 103 appareances and finishing as the all-time leading ODI wicket-taker with 125 scalps. She is also one of the 12 players to have played over 100 matches, along with four World Cups.
Confirming her decision to retire from the format, Tahuhu said as quoted in the press release, “It’s always been a privilege and honour to pull on the WHITE FERNS shirt in ODI cricket. To get one game was an amazing feeling. To have been able to wear the shirt and represent my country and my family over 100 times in ODI cricket is something I never could have dreamt of.” “I’ll treasure every moment and walk away from the ODI game incredibly proud of what I’ve been able to achieve in the format,” she further added.
Lea Tahuhu to continue playing T20Is for White Ferns
Moreover, the Christchurch born further asserted to continue playing the shortest format. In her statement, she added, “There’s plenty of exciting things ahead and I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to this team in the T20 format.” Looking back at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 win, Tahuhu asserted, “Winning the T20 World Cup in 2024 was a huge achievement and I’m really motivated to be over in England later this year to help this team defend our title.”
Tahuhu was regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the women’s game, and featured in four ODI World Cups – 2013, 2017, 2022 and 2025. Her 36 wickets in ODI World Cups are the most for a New Zealand bowler in the tournament.
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