New Zealand · Pace-bowling all-rounder

Zak Foulkes Stats, Test Debut Record and Teams

Zak Foulkes is a New Zealand pace-bowling all-rounder whose full name is Zakary Glen Foulkes. Born in Christchurch on 5 June 2002, he was 24 on 24 August 2026. He reached all three international formats, took a New Zealand debut record of 9 for 75 against Zimbabwe and earned a second consecutive BLACKCAPS central contract. Chennai Super Kings bought him for ₹75 lakh, but he played zero IPL matches in 2026.

By StumpScope Cricket Desk · Edited by StumpScope Editorial Team

Right-hand batterRight-arm medium-fast bowlerBorn 5 June 2002

Current squadChennai Super KingsIndian Premier League · 2026

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Full nameZakary Glen Foulkes

Age24As of 24 August 2026

Date of birth5 June 2002Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

Batting styleRight-hand batter

Bowling styleRight-arm medium-fast

Career overview

Zak Foulkes cricket career

Zakary Glen Foulkes was born in Christchurch on 5 June 2002 and represents New Zealand as a right-handed batter and right-arm pace bowler.

Canterbury Cricket lists his senior provincial debut season as 2021/22 and his club as Darfield.

He entered the BLACKCAPS squad in April 2024, then appeared in T20I, ODI and Test cricket over the next sixteen months.

His Test debut produced 4 for 38 and 5 for 37 against Zimbabwe, giving him record New Zealand debut-match figures of 9 for 75.

The current NZC archive snapshot lists six Tests, nine ODIs and 22 T20Is, plus 82 first-class and 77 senior T20 wickets.

Chennai Super Kings acquired him for ₹75 lakh at the IPL 2026 auction, but the completed season record contains zero matches.

Career story

Zak Foulkes career and playing journey

Who is Zak Foulkes?

Zak Foulkes is a New Zealand international cricketer from Christchurch. His registered full name is Zakary Glen Foulkes. The ICC classifies him as an all-rounder, while Canterbury describes a right-handed batter and right-arm medium-fast bowler. His senior teams include Canterbury, New Zealand, Birmingham Bears, Durham and Chennai Super Kings; the statistics below keep each competition and format separate.

Bowling has supplied most of his senior impact. He can swing the new ball, hit the pitch from a tall release and return later in a limited-overs innings. His batting record shows a lower-order role rather than a specialist top-order position. The all-rounder label reflects a usable second skill: first-class scores include three fifties and a high of 75 not out, while his T20 work has often placed him in finishing positions. Each format table below keeps batting and bowling figures separate.

Zak Foulkes age, birthplace and playing style

Foulkes was born on 5 June 2002 in Christchurch, Canterbury, and was 24 on 24 August 2026. The NZC archive and ICC records agree on his date of birth, right-handed batting and right-arm medium classification. Canterbury uses medium-fast, and the IPL auction list uses fast-medium. Those labels describe the same seam-bowling role without supplying a measured top speed.

Canterbury's official profile connects him to Darfield Cricket Club and places his provincial debut in 2021/22. Christchurch and the wider Canterbury pathway matter to his identity because his school, club, country-district and provincial cricket all developed in the same region. A common shortened name can produce spelling variants such as Zac or Zach online.

Canterbury pathway and early representative cricket

Foulkes played school and age-group cricket before entering Canterbury's senior system. Canterbury's 2018/19 annual report places him in the regional under-17 squad, while NZC's school tournament history records him with St Andrew's College in 2019. Those entries establish a local development path without turning youth results into senior statistics. School, club and provincial-age matches sit outside his first-class, List A and senior T20 totals.

He made his List A debut for Canterbury on 20 February 2022 and his first-class debut against Auckland on 3 March 2022. Canterbury awarded him a first professional contract before the 2022/23 season. The sequence moved quickly from age-group promise to three-format provincial cricket, yet selection did not guarantee an international place. He first needed to build repeatable new-ball spells and show that his lower-order batting could survive pressure rather than function only as occasional hitting.

Domestic breakthrough across three formats

The 2023/24 Canterbury season changed his standing. When New Zealand called him into the Pakistan T20I squad, coach Gary Stead said Foulkes had led Canterbury's wicket tally in all three domestic competitions. That is a stronger measure of season-wide value than one isolated haul. It shows he handled red-ball workloads, 50-over new-ball duties and short-format phases during the same campaign. NZC also highlighted his batting skill when announcing the call-up.

His Super Smash record through 2024/25 contained 39 wickets in 29 matches at 17.61, with an economy rate of 7.36 and best figures of 4 for 23. Those numbers explain why national selectors viewed him as more than a development prospect. They also need a date boundary. Later international and county matches belong in the overall T20 row, while the 29-match line covers Canterbury's Super Smash record through the archived season range only.

Ford Trophy finals and white-ball growth

Foulkes contributed to Canterbury's consecutive Ford Trophy titles in 2023/24 and 2024/25. In the 2024 final, he shared the new ball as Canterbury restricted Auckland before winning a shortened chase. One year later he took 3 for 40 from ten overs in the final at Dunedin. Canterbury held Auckland to 250 and won by six wickets. The second performance provides a clear individual contribution to a team trophy rather than a squad-only association.

His domestic one-day development included earlier landmarks. NZC recorded a career-best 3 for 38 and his maiden List A wicket against Central Districts in January 2023. In another match he made 49 not out at better than a run a ball while Chad Bowes dominated with a record double-century. These innings and spells show two sides of the role: front-line swing bowling and lower-order support. The current career table gives the larger 38-match sample around those selected performances.

First BLACKCAPS call-up and T20I debut

New Zealand added Foulkes to the April 2024 tour of Pakistan after Adam Milne suffered an ankle injury. NZC's announcement described it as his first BLACKCAPS squad. His T20I debut came in Rawalpindi on 18 April, although rain ended the match after two balls. A washed-out debut still counts as an official cap, but it offered no meaningful performance sample. His next appearances supplied the evidence selectors needed to assess him against international batters.

He later took 3 for 20 against Sri Lanka, the best T20I figures in his checked record. By 24 August 2026 the NZC archive listed 22 T20Is, 22 wickets and 100 runs. His batting strike rate of 149.25 came from 14 innings, seven of them not out, which fits a late-order role. His bowling economy of 8.99 reflects the demands of modern international T20 cricket and should be read beside a strike rate of 19.22 balls per wicket.

ODI debut and growing 50-over role

Foulkes made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on 19 November 2024. Rain stopped the match after New Zealand reached 112 for 1, so he neither batted nor bowled. The cap belongs in his career timeline, while the abandoned game offers no basis for judging his ODI skill. Later matches expanded the record and allowed him to take the new ball rather than remain an unused name on a rain-shortened scorecard.

The current NZC archive snapshot lists nine ODIs, 13 wickets and best figures of 4 for 41. It also records 49 runs from five innings, with three not-outs. NZC's 2026/27 contract announcement credits Foulkes with seven wickets in New Zealand's one-day series win over England, including 4 for 41 in the opening victory. That series contribution sits inside the complete nine-match aggregate rather than forming a separate career total.

Record Test debut against Zimbabwe

Foulkes entered New Zealand's Test squad in August 2025 after Nathan Smith suffered an abdominal injury during the first match in Zimbabwe. He debuted in the second Test at Bulawayo. Zimbabwe made 125 in the first innings, with Foulkes taking 4 for 38. New Zealand then built a lead of 476 before he returned 5 for 37 in the second innings. His match figures of 9 for 75 set a New Zealand record for a bowler on Test debut.

ICC and NZC both record the same landmark, which removes the ambiguity that can arise from secondary record lists. New Zealand won by an innings and 359 runs, the country's largest innings victory at the time. Foulkes' five-wicket haul formed part of that result, though Devon Conway won Player of the Match for 153 and Matt Henry took the series award. Crediting those distinctions keeps the account accurate instead of assigning every match honour to the debutant.

Zak Foulkes Test record through August 2026

The checked archive snapshot lists six Tests, 21 wickets and a bowling average of 25.61. Foulkes delivered 1,077 balls, conceded 538 runs and recorded an economy rate of 2.99. His 5 for 37 remains the best innings return, and the Zimbabwe debut remains his only five-wicket innings in the six-match sample. Those totals show that his Test career continued beyond the debut headline and into New Zealand's 2025/26 and 2026 programmes.

His Test batting line contains 45 runs from six innings, three not-outs and a high score of 23 not out. The average of 15.00 describes a small lower-order sample. New Zealand selected him for the May and June 2026 Tests against Ireland and England, while the 2026/27 central contract list retained him after 36 total international appearances across formats. Selection depth around Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke means his place rests on performance rather than an uncontested role.

Warwickshire and Durham county experience

Foulkes played seven Vitality Blast matches for Birmingham Bears in 2024 and took eight wickets. Durham signed him for the 2025 group stage after that first county exposure. The club described a tall seamer who could hit the pitch, bowl in several phases and finish an innings with the bat. County cricket gave him experience in English conditions before his Test debut and broadened his T20 record beyond the Super Smash.

His combined Blast snapshot covers 17 matches and 16 wickets, with best figures of 3 for 22, a bowling average of 27.81 and economy of 8.21. The batting return was 22 runs from nine innings. That balance supports a bowling-led all-round role. It would be misleading to present the county spell as a major batting success, just as it would be incomplete to ignore the contract because the runs were limited.

IPL 2026 auction and Chennai Super Kings record

Chennai Super Kings bought Foulkes for ₹75 lakh at the IPL 2026 auction. The official auction table lists a ₹75 lakh base price and winning bid, while the IPL squad directory confirms his Chennai place. The completed season contains zero matches for Foulkes, so the contract did not add an IPL appearance or playing statistic.

The ₹75 lakh figure is a team auction value, not a performance measure. NZC separately retained Foulkes on its 2026/27 central contract list after he had played across all three formats and contributed seven wickets to the ODI series win over England. The IPL purchase and national contract describe different agreements and remain separate from match totals.

Career statistics and the all-rounder label

Foulkes' overall senior record shows why teams lead with his bowling. The snapshot contains 82 first-class wickets, 52 List A wickets and 77 T20 wickets. His batting totals are 605 first-class runs, 486 List A runs and 291 T20 runs. A first-class high of 75 not out and three fifties prove that he can build an innings, while the T20 strike rate of 129.33 reflects a lower-order job with limited time at the crease.

Role labels vary because selection needs change by format. ICC and IPL call Foulkes an all-rounder; Canterbury lists his right-handed batting and medium-fast bowling; scorecards show a bowler who contributes lower-order runs. Pace-bowling all-rounder captures the primary skill and usable second discipline without predicting a fixed batting position or overs allocation.

Cricketing relatives in the Canterbury pathway

The NZC archive records a cricketing family connection. Foulkes' father, Glen, represented Canterbury Country in the Hawke Cup. His brothers Liam and Robbie also appear in the archive: Liam played Canterbury Country and school cricket, while Robbie represented New Zealand Under-19s and Canterbury Country.

Those entries identify separate playing records rather than adding their matches to Zak's career. The shared Canterbury pathway provides useful cricket context, while every player's statistics remain attached to the correct identity.

New Zealand central contract and published IPL value

NZC awarded Foulkes his first BLACKCAPS central contract for 2025/26 and retained him for 2026/27. The later announcement links that retention to appearances in all three formats and his seven wickets during the ODI series win over England.

The public IPL figure is Chennai's ₹75 lakh auction purchase. NZC's announcement does not assign an individual contract amount, and the county releases do not publish private terms. These agreements therefore remain labelled by competition without being combined into an unsupported personal-finance total.

Zak Foulkes records

Zak Foulkes career statistics and records

Batting, bowling and fielding figures are kept separate by competition and format.

Tests through 24 August 20266matches