Hamza Tahir, Scotland – Age: 25
Left-arm orthodox spinner Hamza Tahir has made a stunning start to his career since making his debut in 2018. An ODI bowling average of 21.33 and a T20I average of 19.55 speak volumes about the sort of consistent performances that he has put in across the two white ball formats.
With his low arm action and flattish bowling trajectory, Tahir relies more on subtle variations rather than outrageous spin to deceive batters. It’s a trait that he shares with compatriot Mark Watt. Affectionately dubbed “the spin twins” due to their same age and bowling styles, it’s Tahir’s superior ODI record that sees him pip Watt to this list.
Interestingly, Tahir has not played T20I cricket since the 2019 Qualifiers; with the Scots preferring Watt in the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe at home. However, Tahir continues to feature in every game of the ongoing 50 over CWCL2 matches in Oman; so he definitely won’t be short of match practice. With the conditions at Al Amerat unlikely to change next month, expect Scotland to unleash the “spin twins” against opposition batters again at the World Cup.
Fun Fact: Tahir is the cousin of former Scotland spinner Majid Haq; who represented Scotland from 2002 to 2015 and played in two ODI and two T20 World Cups.
