From Hawke's Bay to Rajkot, Lennox puts his name up in the lights

On ODI debut, Jayden Lennox showed remarkable control and composure, combining well with his captain Michael Bracewell to outbowl India's spinners in Rajkot. He barely overpitched the ball and cramped the likes of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma for room, coming away with figures of 10-0-42-1.

International success was sweet for the 31-year-old after he had toiled away in Hawke's Bay and Central Districts in domestic cricket for years.

"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."

In his first international game, Lennox, who replaced legspinner Adi Ashok, displayed traits that have made him a reliable bowler in domestic cricket on the small grounds in New Zealand. He bowled across phases, including in the powerplay and the death, and gave up just two fours in all. He was rewarded with the wicket of Harshit Rana in the 48th over, which cost New Zealand just three runs. Lennox's right-hand was heavily strapped and he was up against India's superstars in front of a partisan crowd, but nothing fazed him. He just played like he did in the streets while growing up.

"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."

The early success in India caps a remarkable 12 months for Lennox. In February 2025, he was a key part of the Central Stags side that won the Super Smash and went on to impress in the Global Super League (GSL) in Guyana later that year. He also stepped out of Ajaz Patel's shadows at Central Districts and even captained them. Will Young, who has had a front-row seat to Lennox's rise in domestic cricket, isn't surprised by Lennox's performance on international debut.

"It's obviously such an exciting time for Lenno to make his debut," Young said after New Zealand arrived in Indore for the third ODI. "We were under pressure after nine overs [in Rajkot] and the skip gave him the ball for the last over of the powerplay. As soon as he came on, he knew exactly what field he wanted to bowl to. He was calm, he looked exactly the same as he's been playing well in domestic cricket at home for a number of years now.

"So, it's no surprise to me to see him excelling in conditions which clearly suit him and the occasion didn't seem to stress him out at all. He just went about his business as normal - the normal cool, calm, collected Lenno. So, it was great to see him have some success and he really swung the momentum back in our favour."

Even when he isn't the captain, Lennox has led Stags' scouting and relishes being a step ahead of the opposition in terms of tactics. His impressive debut and leadership skills should keep him in the selection frame for the upcoming away series against Bangladesh for which the senior players may not be available because of a clash with IPL 2026. But before that, he has another chance to make his mark in India and help New Zealand to their first bilateral ODI series win in the country.

"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."