About Leigh Meghan Kasperek:
Name: Leigh Kasperek
DOB: February 15, 1992
Bowling Style: Right arm Offbreak
Batting Style: Right hand bat
Place of Birth: Edinburgh, Midlothian
Role: Bowler
Teams: New Zealand Women, Otago Women, Scotland Under-21s Women, Scotland Women, Wellington Under-21s Women, Velocity, Wellington Women, Western Australia Women
Bio:
Leigh Kasperek is an impressive right-arm off-break bowler who made her ODI debut on June 28, 2015, against India during the ICC Women’s Championship in Bengaluru, where she performed exceptionally well and managed to take 3 wickets in 10 overs at an economy rate of 3.90. After the World Cup, Kasperek made her T20 International debut on July 11, 2015, against India during the New Zealand women’s tour of India, where she took 2 wickets in 4 overs at an economy rate of 4.50. By showcasing exhilarating performances on both her ODI and T20I debuts, she made a great impact at the international level for White Ferns.
Kasperek is the only player from the current New Zealand Women’s squad who has played international cricket for two different countries. She started playing cricket in Scotland and went on to make her international debut for Scotland at the tender age of 15. She then, after moving to New Zealand, started playing domestic cricket for Wellington. After that, she changed her team and moved to Otago. Following a successful 2014-15 domestic season, Kasperek made her T20 World Cup debut in the 2016 T20 World Cup in India and subsequently played in the 2017 ODI World Cup in the UK.
Leigh Kasperek set a record for taking the joint-fastest 50 T20I wickets in just 29 matches, in Women’s cricket. She achieved this record against the mighty Australia at the 2018 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. She also won the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield while captaining the Wellington side in the 2022-23 season. Her only ODI international century came in June 2018 against Ireland when Amelia Kerr scored a record-breaking 232 runs and the White Ferns made an undefeatable total of 440 runs against Ireland.
Kasperek also has good experience playing in different domestic leagues. She represented Velocity in 2020 at the BCCI-run Women’s T20 Challenge in the UAE and also played for Wellington in the 50-over tournament and the Rose Bowl series at home. At the age of 15, she represented English County Teams in the 2007 County Challenge Cup. She also played for Western Australia in 2011-12 during the Women’s National Cricket League.