Jayden Lennox puts his name in the big, bright lights of India as he makes that long journey from Hawke’s Bay to Rajkot.
Jayden Lennox outbowled India’s spinners in Rajkot during his ODI debut, demonstrating exceptional poise and control while working closely with his captain, Michael Bracewell. With stats of 10-0-42-1, he pinched players like Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill for space and hardly overpitched the ball.
After years of hard work in domestic cricket in Hawke’s Bay and Central Districts, the 31-year-old’s international success was sweet.
“Cricket is one of those games that you sacrifice so much time to be successful in the first place,” Lennox said after the Rajkot game. “I think obviously my family, my wife, we’ve been together for ten years, so she’s been there through the whole – the start of my professional career and we’ve sacrificed a lot to sort of be where I’m today.
“But it’s certainly not a journey that you do by yourself. And then also my club at Hawke’s Bay, Napier Tech and then Hawke’s Bay themselves have always been big supporters and kind of given me opportunities since I was a young fella. So to be here today, yeah it’s just one of those things that it’s not a journey of one person, it’s a journey of a whole community. So to be able to represent those people is really special.”
“Probably the big thing in my head was just remember it’s just another game of cricket,” Lennox said. “I grew up in a cul-de-sac playing cricket when I was a kid, it’s kind of just a hyped-up version of that. So playing the same game that I’ve played for the last 20-odd years, obviously on a bigger stage. But I think the nerves weren’t really as much as what I expected, to be honest.”
Lennox has spearheaded Stags’ scouting even when he isn’t the captain, and he enjoys having a tactical advantage over the competition. Due to a conflict with IPL 2026, the senior players may not be available for the forthcoming away series against Bangladesh, but his strong debut and leadership abilities should keep him in the running. Prior to that, though, he has another opportunity to establish himself in India and assist New Zealand in winning their first bilateral ODI series there.
“Lenno is a brilliant story, really. He made his professional debut late in the game. He played a lot of club cricket and played really well for Hawke’s Bay for a long period of time and earned that chance at Stags,” Young said. “As a left-arm spinner at Stags, you’re competing with Ajaz Patel, which is no mean feat. But he has managed to have a successful white-ball career so far for the Stags and through sheer performances he’s put his name up in the lights and got the nod on this tour.”