Hamza Tahir
CountryScotland
Birth date9 November 1995 (age 30)
Birth placePaisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
BattingRight-handed
BowlingSlow left-arm orthodox
RoleSpin bowler
FamilyMajid Haq (cousin)
Internationaltrue
Odidebutdate17 August
Odidebutyear2019
OdidebutagainstPNG
Odicap69
Lastodidate17 February
Lastodiyear2023
LastodiagainstNepal
T20idebutdate12 June
T20idebutyear2018
T20idebutagainstPakistan
T20icap49
Lastt20idate14 March
Lastt20iyear2024
Lastt20iagainstUAE
Columns4
Column 1ODI
Matches 131
Runs 126
Bat avg 14.33
100s/50s 10/0
Top score 113
Deliveries 11,316
Wickets 140
Bowl avg 125.82
Fivefor 11
Tenfor 10
Best bowling 15/38
Catches/stumpings 15/–
Column 2T20I
Matches 217
Runs 23
Bat avg 23.00
100s/50s 20/0
Top score 23*
Deliveries 2372
Wickets 223
Bowl avg 222.26
Fivefor 20
Tenfor 20
Best bowling 24/30
Catches/stumpings 25/–
Column 3LA
Matches 332
Runs 326
Bat avg 33.71
100s/50s 30/0
Top score 313
Deliveries 31,508
Wickets 340
Bowl avg 326.60
Fivefor 31
Tenfor 30
Best bowling 35/38
Catches/stumpings 35/–
Column 4T20
Matches 417
Runs 43
Bat avg 43.00
100s/50s 40/0
Top score 43*
Deliveries 4372
Wickets 423
Bowl avg 422.26
Fivefor 40
Tenfor 40
Best bowling 44/30
Catches/stumpings 45/–
Date5 August 2024
Sourcehttp://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/751151.html Cricinfo

Hamza Tahir (born 9 November 1995) is a former Scottish cricketer.[1][2] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Scotland against Pakistan on 12 June 2018.[3] He made his List A debut for Scotland against Oman on 20 February 2019, following the 2018–19 Oman Quadrangular Series. He was born in Paisley to Pakistani parents.[4]

In June 2019, he was selected to represent Scotland A in their tour to Ireland to play the Ireland Wolves.[5] The next month, he was selected to play for the Glasgow Giants in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament.[6][7] However, the following month the tournament was cancelled, reportedly after the organizers ran into financial difficulties.[8]

He was part of Scotland's One Day International (ODI) squad for the 2019 Scotland Tri-Nation Series.[9] He made his ODI debut for Scotland, against Papua New Guinea, on 17 August 2019.[10] In his next match, against Oman, he took his first five-wicket haul in ODI cricket.[11][12]

In September 2019, he was named in Scotland's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[13] In September 2021, Tahir was named in Scotland's provisional squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[14]

In June 2024, Tahir announced his retirement at age 28 from professional cricket after being dismissed from the Scotland national team. He blamed racism as the reason for his retirement. He also threatened to take legal action against Cricket Scotland. A spokesperson for Cricket Scotland said Tahir was a "tremendous servant to the Scotland men's national team."[15]

References

  1. ^ "Hamza Tahir". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Hamza Tahir, Scotland – Age: 25". Emerging Cricket. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. ^ "1st T20I, Pakistan tour of Ireland, England and Scotland at Edinburgh, Jun 12 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. ^ "2nd Match, Scotland tour of Oman at Al Amarat, Feb 20 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Scotland A Squad Selected for Ireland Trip". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Eoin Morgan to represent Dublin franchise in inaugural Euro T20 Slam". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Euro T20 Slam Player Draft completed". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Inaugural Euro T20 Slam cancelled at two weeks' notice". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Scotland squad announced for Cricket World Cup League Two". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  10. ^ "13rd Match, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 at Aberdeen, Aug 17 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Cricket World Cup League 2: Scotland beat Oman by 85 runs". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Five-star Tahir sees Scotland to victory". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Squads announced for T20I Tri-Series in Ireland and ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Captain Coetzer leads Scotland squad to ICC Men's T20 World Cup". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Bowler in legal threat over Cricket Scotland racism allegation". www.bbc.com. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.