Jacob Duffy's winning hand

Jacob Duffy's X bio carries a poker reference: "Pocket Twos." It began as an inside joke during online sessions with teammate Michael Rae. They would aggressively play the statistically weak hand. Duffy smiles explaining it, but the metaphor lingers.

Pocket twos are often folded, but occasionally they hold for an outsized win, not because they're dominant, but because you stayed in. Duffy's career has unfolded similarly.

He signed a first-class contract with Otago at 17. In his T20 debut season, while still in high school, he dismissed Kane Williamson and Tim Southee in the same spell in 2012. He represented New Zealand at an Under-19 World Cup, a prodigy headline. Then, for a long time, he wasn't. His international debut didn't come until 2020.

"Some guys at the international scene are very young," Duffy tells Cricbuzz. "My career, I guess, has gone up and down a lot."

After early domestic success, he felt batters had "figured me out." He needed an edge. "I probably wasn't bowling as fast as what's required at international level," he explains. "But when I tried to do that, my bowling picked up some bad habits." Chasing pace cost him his rhythm.

"I'm a pretty open sort of guy," Duffy says. "I've had a lot of different voices over the years." Key guidance came from Rob Walter, then Otago coach, now New Zealand's head coach. They made small technical adjustments to his run-up and followthrough.

"To go through that whole rehab phase… now I understand my action," Duffy says. "I know when things aren't going well, how to get back to my best. I feel like I can find my way."

There were good seasons and drifting ones. He was part of extended New Zealand squads, like a 2015 UK tour where the Dukes ball suited him, but Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Neil Wagner stood firmly ahead. He was aware his style overlapped with Southee's, except Southee bowled quicker.

"You are where you are," Duffy says. "I enjoy playing for Otago… When you get consecutive games and you know the coach backs you, that's when you start to feel like you belong."

Jacob Duffy was 17 when he signed a contract with Otago ©Getty

Duffy's international debut arrived in 2020 during Covid-era cricket, with larger squads creating openings. With Southee rested, Duffy stepped in. He took a wicket with his second ball and finished with 4 for 33, the best figures by a Black Cap on T20I debut.

And then he waited again. His appearances were scattered across five years, with months between games and tours where he didn't play. His growth happened in Southee's shadow, the man he was compared to and who became his mentor.

"As soon as I came into the environment, Tim put his arm around me," Duffy says. "He helped me out a lot… I never actually got to play a game with him. Just because of that similarity in our style. And you understand it."

So the time on the sidelines continued. "It was not frustrating… Domestic cricket in New Zealand is really good. You make a decent living… I enjoy cricket."

The tide turned last year. In 2025, Duffy received his Test cap. He claimed 81 wickets across formats at an average of 17.11, eclipsing a 40-year-old New Zealand record held by Richard Hadlee. He rose to No.1 in the ICC Men's T20 bowling rankings, secured an IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and is now playing in his first senior men's World Cup while about to become a father.

"A big part of it is proving to yourself that you're good enough at international level," Duffy says. "To actually go out there and prove to yourself… that you can compete at the international level – not only compete, but have some match-winning influences from time to time. I think that's pretty cool."

In many ways, the final phase of Duffy's growth happened in Southee's shadow ©Getty

His cricket joy began in Lumsden, a Southland town with a population barely over 500, where his father rolled out a makeshift pitch in the backyard. Later, in Invercargill, the backyard became a competitive theatre with his brothers and their friends, featuring mini World Cups and matches that stretched until dinner.

"It's just awesome looking back," Duffy says. "That has, in a weird way, maybe even set you up a little bit to manage a bit of load."

It perhaps explains why the years of waiting did not harden him. His IPL base price of INR 2 crore, he admits, was influenced by his personal life. With his wife Natasha expecting their first child, time away carried a different weight.

"I'll be honest… my wife is pregnant at home," Duffy says. "It was kind of like, it's going to be four months straight and I'm going to miss the pregnancy… I sort of thought, if I go for that, then she's going to have to do the pregnancy mostly on her own… So, I think you're making it worthwhile to go through that sort of sacrifice."

He looks forward to sharing a dressing room with Virat Kohli and Josh Hazlewood at RCB and playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, which he calls "one of my favourite cities" in India.

"I'll play alongside Josh Hazlewood, who I've always admired… I've seen Virat from the other side… It'll be incredible to see what it's actually like from being in his own changing room. It'll be a bizarre experience I'm sure."

The chaos of the IPL and Indian cricket intrigues him. "You kind of embrace the chaos," he says. "It's overwhelming for the senses. But it's only for a short time. I enjoy it."

On his bowling philosophy, he says, "I think you've got to create deception somehow… And the sucky thing is you can absolutely nail it and still get hit out of the park. But I look at it like, what's the worst that can happen? As a bowler in 2026, guys are hitting you for six anyway. You might as well try something new."

In the PowerPlay, he relies on swing away from right-handers. At the death, he uses off-cutters and back-of-the-hand slower balls, deliveries built on nuance and disguise.

Preparation involves studying local conditions. "Cricket's so different in different parts of the world," he says. "Before (a series in) Bangladesh (last year), I went and watched Mustafizur (Rahman). I look at what the locals are doing in their own conditions."

He reflects on the poker metaphor. "Poker's got some life lessons in there. All you can do is get it in and get it in good. Whatever happens, as soon as you let the ball go, there's nothing you can do."

For a long time, Duffy was the promising teenager who didn't quite kick on. Now, at 31, he is a top-ranked T20 bowler, playing in his first World Cup, and in a complete phase of his life.

Pocket twos rarely look like a winning hand at first glance. But sometimes, if you stay in long enough like Jacob Duffy, they are.