Philadelphia’s new cricket star: Tara Norris
Introduction: Tara Norris, a new cricket star from USA

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is known for its historical ties to cricket and includes the CC Morris Library, which houses the largest collection of cricket books and artifacts in the Western Hemisphere. Now, a new addition to the game of cricket has come to the fore – Tara Norris, a 24-year-old left-arm swing bowler from Philadelphia, has created history by becoming the first American to take a five-wicket haul in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India.
Big thanks from USA Cricket Director
🗣️: Thank you for putting us in the history books 🫡🇺🇸
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 6, 2023
📽️| USA Cricket Director-Female player, Nadia Gruny congratulates Tara Norris for her incredible performance in #RCBvDC! #YehHaiNayiDilli #CapitalsUniverse #TATAWPL @usacricket pic.twitter.com/dZu5E4kdLq
Norris’s Journey:
From Pennsylvania to the party in the WPL, it’s been quite the ride for Tara Norris 🇺🇸
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 6, 2023
She was the only Associate player bought in the #WPL2023 auction. This is her story: https://t.co/cNNBLMtJ1G pic.twitter.com/gKw7zRsrPY
Norris’ journey to the WPL has been unique in more ways than one. Born into a family of mixed heritage, Norris grew up in Barcelona and Spain, playing tennis, soccer and swimming. However, after moving to Success in England in 2006, she was first introduced to cricket and quickly made a name for herself in the Sussex women’s teams. He eventually received a full-time contract with the Southern Vipers and played for the South Vipers team for the first time in the inaugural season of The Hundred tournament, which included the final match at Lord’s.
However, her cricketing journey in England was cut short midway, prompting the then USA women’s head coach Julia Price to reach out to her. After valuable advice and encouragement from coach Charlotte Edwards ( Head coach of Vipers and Braves), Norris decided to represent the country of her birth country (USA). She made an immediate impact and helped lead the USA to victory in the ICC Americas Women’s T20 Qualifier and the ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifier, to be held in Mexico City in 2021.
Tara Norris performance at WPL
First player from an Associate Nation in #TATAWPL ➡️ First player to take a 5️⃣-fer in TATA WPL 💫
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 5, 2023
Tara Norris Supremacy 🤩#YehHaiNayiDilli #CapitalsUniverse #RCBvDC pic.twitter.com/R8zEfTDcgZ
Norris’ performance in the very first match of the WPL was exceptional considering that she was the only Associate player bought at the auction for a minimum base price of just Rs 10 lakh (about US$12,200). In her first match, Norris took five wickets for 29 runs in four overs, helping her team Delhi Capitals win. As the only Associate player in the tournament, she has been instrumental in enabling Delhi to use the rule that allows five overseas players in an XI, provided one of them is from an Associate country.
WPL 2023: How performed Tara Norris
Tara Norris, the fifth overseas player in the Capitals’ lineup, was the first to get the big wicket of Perry as RCB’s batting got on track and Ellyse Perry looked dangerous. Perry was soon followed by Disha Kasat caught in the deep off a pull shot. In her very next over, she added two more wickets to her account, dismissing Richa Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja in successive deliveries.
Heather Knight and Schutt kept Delhi Capitals away from victory by putting up a tough resistance, but both could not do this work for long and Delhi Capitals won soon.
A half-century partnership between Knight and Schutt off just 28 balls gave the Capitals a much-awaited win, but the result was foregone. Norris took the fifth wicket by dismissing Knight and broke the pair of Knight and Shoot, who were becoming a hindrance in the Capitals’ victory, and won the Capitals.
Tara Norris won PoTM Award
✨Player of the Match: Tara Norris👏🙌
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) March 5, 2023
She displayed a brilliant bowling performance by scalping the tournament’s first 5 Wicket Haul against Royal Challengers Bangalore💪
Sign up: https://t.co/VyPuIfrbaV @betway#CricketTwitter #WPL2023 pic.twitter.com/I97azrPJmw
Norris also won the player of the match award for her performance. She took five wickets for 29 runs in four overs,
conclusion:
Norris’ performances in the WPL have catapulted him into the limelight and his stock could rise significantly if he re-enters the Hundred Draft. She has already created history as the first player and the first American player to take a five-wicket haul in the WPL and her progress in cricket is worth keeping an eye on.