Jayden Lennox is making his international debut against India at Rajkot today (January 14) - here’s all you need to know about the New Zealand left-arm spinner.
The 31-year-old replaces leg-spinner Adithya Ashok in the XI for the second ODI on Wednesday (January 14). Lennox received a maiden call-up to New Zealand’s ODI squad for the series after several first-choice players missed out due to various reasons. The absence of skipper Mitchell Santner further opened the door for Lennox, who was identified as a “player of interest” by head coach Rob Walter.
He said: "Jayden has been an identified player of interest for some time and has some good New Zealand "A" experience under his belt. He has consistently been one of the top performers in white-ball cricket domestically for several seasons.
Playing in the sub-continent is obviously very different to what we're used to in New Zealand, so any opportunity we can get to expose our guys to those conditions can only be a good thing, especially before a T20 World Cup in the subcontinent."
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Who is Jayden Lennox, the spinner making his ODI debut vs India?
Lennox made his List A debut in 2019 for Central Districts. He picked up 12 wickets in nine games in the 2020-21 season of The Ford Trophy, before picking up eight for the team the following year. His breakout season came in the 2023/24 Super Smash, New Zealand’s 20-over tournament, when he picked up 13 in 11 games at 15.23 with an economy rate of 7.33.
He carried his form in the next season as well: In the 2024/25 Ford Trophy, he got 16 wickets, ending as Central’s second-highest wicket-taker in the season. He also guided his team to the Super Smash trophy last season, picking up nine wickets with an economy rate of 7.30.
It helped him gain a call-up to the New Zealand A squad for the series against Bangladesh in May last year. In five unofficial ODIs, he picked up six wickets, including bagging two each in the last three games. He also played two unofficial Tests on that tour, ending with 10 wickets, including a six-for in the second. Lennox was later picked to play against South Africa A.
Lennox has also been making his mark in first-class cricket: In 21 matches, he has 48 wickets, 31 of which came last season. He ended the 2024/25 season with an average of 24.35. He has also played in the Global Super League in Guyana, where he ended with four wickets at an economy rate of 5.07.
Overall, he has picked up 69 wickets in 54 List A games at 31.63, along with 60 T20 wickets at 18.66.
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