WPL 2023: Born in the USA, shining in India — Norris’ Tara-fic journey

Express News Service

CHENNAI:  Tara Norris is the talk of the town in India on Sunday. A fifer in her first game of the Women’s Premier League against Royal Challengers Bangalore (5/29) — with Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh and Heather Knight among her victims — helped Delhi Capitals register a massive 60-run win at the Brabourne Stadium. And why not? After all, she is the lone associate nation (USA) player in the 2023 WPL.

When Delhi Capitals safely secured her in the WPL auction almost a month ago, it was considered a steal. She is a new-ball swing bowler, bowls left-arm, and had put her name up on the docket as a USA national — Norris had made her USA debut in October 2021. What more, her selection meant, DC became the only team that could field five overseas players in a XI. According to the rules, a team can play one additional overseas player if she is from an associate nation.

As Norris ran through RCB’s star-studded middle-order, social media went haywire. An USA representative flying the associate nations’ flag high in the biggest stage for a women’s T20 competition — the fairytale story that anyone could have asked for. However, there is more to it.

Born in Philadelphia, USA, Norris never thought she would play for the USA, leave alone the WPL until 2020. Growing up, Norris had moved to the United Kingdom at the age of eight after spending a few years in Spain. In England’s domestic set up, she rose through the ranks quickly — played for Sussex at 15, was the second-leading wicket-taker in the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020 representing Southern Vipers. Then came The Hundred that changed her life.

When asked to provide some background on her journey in the lead up to the tournament, Norris shared her background and where she was born. It caught the eye of former Australia international Julia Price, who was then the USA coach. Price got in touch with Norris through Charlotte Edwards and the rest, as the social media buzzed on Sunday, was just a fairytale journey. “She (Price) asked if I could get my passport renewed, which was about 20 years out of date. About four weeks later, I was on a flight to San Francisco with absolutely no idea what was going to happen,” Norris told The Cricketer recently.

What happened later? Norris made her USA debut in October 2021 during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Americas Region Qualifier, taking four wickets in five matches at an economy of 1.72. She represented USA in the Fairbreak T20, got an England A call-up in June 2022, missed the main Qualifiers for USA due to representative commitments in England, reached the final of The Hundred 2022 with Southern Brave, got picked at the WPL auction for Rs 10 lakh as a USA player and now, she is the player of the match on debut in the second match of the tournament.

“I never thought I’d have an opportunity like this in my career so this has been absolutely amazing. The fact that I got a chance to play and having to bowl has been awesome,” Norris said after the match. England captain Knight, who has seen her from close quarters, summed up what Norris’ journey meant.  “Back home, she struggles to get into the Southern Brave team. It is nice to see her actually playing here. I played with her in Fairbreak last year and against her a little bit here and there. I saw the potential she has, she is a real competitor on the pitch,” said Knight.

It should not come as a surprise if Norris gets to play for England in the near future and when it happens, she will not come into the WPL as an “associate player”. But her story isn’t about that. Norris’ journey is about taking a leap of faith in pursuit of opportunities and making the most of it when she gets it. That is exactly what she did on Sunday. And even if she comes back to WPL as an England player in the coming years, she has shown the world enough to get picked irrespective of who she represents. 

Brief scores: DC 223/2 (Shafali 84, Lanning 72, Kapp 39*) bt RCB 163/8 (Mandhana 35, Norris 5/29).

<br /> CHENNAI:  Tara Norris is the talk of the town in India on Sunday. A fifer in her first game of the Women’s Premier League against Royal Challengers Bangalore (5/29) — with Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh and Heather Knight among her victims — helped Delhi Capitals register a massive 60-run win at the Brabourne Stadium. And why not? After all, she is the lone associate nation (USA) player in the 2023 WPL.</p> <p>When Delhi Capitals safely secured her in the WPL auction almost a month ago, it was considered a steal. She is a new-ball swing bowler, bowls left-arm, and had put her name up on the docket as a USA national — Norris had made her USA debut in October 2021. What more, her selection meant, DC became the only team that could field five overseas players in a XI. According to the rules, a team can play one additional overseas player if she is from an associate nation.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>As Norris ran through RCB’s star-studded middle-order, social media went haywire. An USA representative flying the associate nations’ flag high in the biggest stage for a women’s T20 competition — the fairytale story that anyone could have asked for. However, there is more to it.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });</p> <p>Born in Philadelphia, USA, Norris never thought she would play for the USA, leave alone the WPL until 2020. Growing up, Norris had moved to the United Kingdom at the age of eight after spending a few years in Spain. In England’s domestic set up, she rose through the ranks quickly — played for Sussex at 15, was the second-leading wicket-taker in the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020 representing Southern Vipers. Then came The Hundred that changed her life.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>When asked to provide some background on her journey in the lead up to the tournament, Norris shared her background and where she was born. It caught the eye of former Australia international Julia Price, who was then the USA coach. Price got in touch with Norris through Charlotte Edwards and the rest, as the social media buzzed on Sunday, was just a fairytale journey. “She (Price) asked if I could get my passport renewed, which was about 20 years out of date. About four weeks later, I was on a flight to San Francisco with absolutely no idea what was going to happen,” Norris told The Cricketer recently.</p> <p>What happened later? Norris made her USA debut in October 2021 during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Americas Region Qualifier, taking four wickets in five matches at an economy of 1.72. She represented USA in the Fairbreak T20, got an England A call-up in June 2022, missed the main Qualifiers for USA due to representative commitments in England, reached the final of The Hundred 2022 with Southern Brave, got picked at the WPL auction for Rs 10 lakh as a USA player and now, she is the player of the match on debut in the second match of the tournament.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“I never thought I’d have an opportunity like this in my career so this has been absolutely amazing. The fact that I got a chance to play and having to bowl has been awesome,” Norris said after the match. England captain Knight, who has seen her from close quarters, summed up what Norris’ journey meant.  “Back home, she struggles to get into the Southern Brave team. It is nice to see her actually playing here. I played with her in Fairbreak last year and against her a little bit here and there. I saw the potential she has, she is a real competitor on the pitch,” said Knight.</p> <p>It should not come as a surprise if Norris gets to play for England in the near future and when it happens, she will not come into the WPL as an “associate player”. But her story isn’t about that. Norris’ journey is about taking a leap of faith in pursuit of opportunities and making the most of it when she gets it. That is exactly what she did on Sunday. And even if she comes back to WPL as an England player in the coming years, she has shown the world enough to get picked irrespective of who she represents. </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Brief scores: DC 223/2 (Shafali 84, Lanning 72, Kapp 39*) bt RCB 163/8 (Mandhana 35, Norris 5/29).<br />