Tara Norris is an American professional cricketer who has represented the United States in the shortest format of the sport (T20Is), as a frontline pace bowler. She has played domestic cricket in her adopted country, England, primarily owing to the much higher standard of cricketing competition there (compared to her home country, the United States)
Tara Norris Quick Info
Height
5 ft 7 in
Weight
63 kg
Date of Birth
June 4, 1998
Zodiac Sign
Gemini
Eye Color
Green
Tara Norris is an American professional cricketer who has represented the United States in the shortest format of the sport (T20Is), as a frontline pace bowler. She has played domestic cricket in her adopted country, England, primarily owing to the much higher standard of cricketing competition there (compared to her home country, the United States) – representing Sussex (2014-Present), Southern Vipers (2020-2022), and North West Thunder (2023-Present) across all formats. In franchise-based T20 cricket, Tara has turned out for Southern Vipers (2017) and Loughborough Lightning (2018-2019) in the WCSL (Women’s Cricket Super League); and the Delhi Capitals (2023) in the WPL (Women’s Premier League). She has also played for Southern Brave (2021-Present) in The Hundred, a professional franchise 100-ball cricket tournament that was introduced by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) as a new format of cricket that was played for the first time in July and August 2021. Besides her career in cricket, Tara is a certified nutritionist.
Born Name
Tara Gabriella Norris
Nick Name
Noz, Tino
Tara Norris as seen in an Instagram Post in February 2023 (Tara Norris / Instagram)
Sun Sign
Gemini
Born Place
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Residence
She splits her time between the United States, and Brighton, City of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.
Nationality
Education
Tara had attended the Portslade Aldridge Community Academy, a secondary school located in Portslade, an area in the City of Brighton and Hove.
She later studied at Loughborough University, a public research university in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. She graduated from there in October 2021.
Occupation
Professional Cricketer
Tara Norris as seen in an Instagram Post in July 2021 (Tara Norris / Instagram)
Tara Norris as seen in an Instagram Post in January 2022 (Tara Norris / Instagram)
Race / Ethnicity
White
She is of British descent on her father’s side and Italian descent on her mother’s side.
Hair Color
Blonde
Eye Color
Green
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Toned physique
Center-parted, shoulder-length, straight hair
Charming smile
Radiant face
Has a mole below her left eye
Brand Endorsements
She has been sponsored by Bear Cricket, an English cricket equipment manufacturer.
Tara Norris as seen in an Instagram Post in July 2019 (Tara Norris / Instagram)
Tara Norris Facts
Born in Philadelphia, United States, her family moved to Barcelona, Spain, when Tara was still an infant. She grew up there playing tennis and soccer. In 2006, when she was about 8 years old, the family moved to Sussex, England. It was there that she first came across cricket and began practicing the sport.
In 2015, she was a member of the Sussex squad that won the Women’s Twenty20 Cup (the premier (until 2019) domestic T20 cricket competition in England and Wales). It was the 7th edition of the tournament and the 2nd time that Sussex had lifted this title.
In 2020, representing the Southern Vipers, Tara played in all 7 of her team’s matches in the inaugural edition of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy (the premier domestic one-day cricket competition in England and Wales) – including her team’s 38-run victory in the final over the Northern Diamonds.
With 12 wickets to her name, she was the joint-3rd-highest wicket-taker in that tournament that is named after the legendary former English women’s cricket team captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint (d. 2017).
In 2021, representing the Southern Vipers, she was the joint 2nd-highest wicket-taker in the inaugural edition of the Charlotte Edwards Cup (the premier (since 2021) domestic T20 cricket competition in England and Wales) – with 13 wickets to her name.
In the 2021 (2nd) edition of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Tara played a key role with the ball again – picking up 11 wickets. In the final match of the tournament though, it was her exploits with the bat that led the Southern Vipers to their 2nd consecutive title. She struck a career-best 40 runs not out and was involved in an unbroken stand of 78 runs for the 8th wicket which helped her team recover from a catastrophic score of 109/7 to win the match by 3 wickets and just 2 balls to spare.
She made her WT20I (and international) debut for the United States in October 2021 in a match against Brazil that was the opening fixture of the 2021 ICC (International Cricket Council) Women’s T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier. Tara bowled a stellar spell of 2/5 in 4 overs in that match and was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for her performance.
She played 5 of her team’s 6 matches in the tournament, taking 4 wickets at a sensational bowling average of 7.75 runs per wicket. The United States finished on top in the 4-team tournament, winning 5 of their 6 matches, and progressed to the 2022 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament. Tara did not participate in the latter tournament where the United States lost all 3 of its group-stage matches and finished at the bottom of the 8-team competition.
In the 2022 edition of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, she was the tournament’s joint 3rd-highest wicket-taker – with 12 wickets to her name. The Southern Vipers, however, could not complete a hat-trick of titles as the Northern Diamonds defeated them by just 2 runs in the final. Interestingly, it was the Northern Diamonds that the Southern Vipers had defeated in the final of the previous (and first) two editions (2020 and 2021) of the tournament.
As of February 2023, Tara had not added to her tally of 5 international matches for the United States – all of which she had played during the aforementioned 2021 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier. This gave some credence to rumors that she was planning to switch her allegiance to England, where she has spent the majority of her time (since the mid-2000s).
In February 2023, in the auction for the upcoming inaugural edition of the WPL (Women’s Premier League), Tara was acquired by the Delhi Capitals for her base price of INR 10 lakhs.
She was the only player bought in the auction who belonged to an associate cricketing nation. This meant that the Delhi Capitals would be the only team in the 5-team competition that could field 5 overseas players in a playing XI (making use of the rule that allowed a player from an associate cricketing nation to not be counted as one of the 4 overseas players (maximum) that could be fielded in a playing XI).
In March 2023, in the 2nd match of the inaugural edition of the WPL, Tara created history by becoming the first player in the WPL to record a five-wicket haul (5/29).
