Any guesses of who had bowled the fastest ball ever in men’s cricket history? Shoaib Akhtar would be the first thing that springs to mind for everyone.
But wait! Who has delivered the fastest ball in the history of women’s cricket?
Isn’t it possible that many of us don’t know the answer?
Even though women’s cricket is becoming more popular, there are still many topics to investigate in women’s cricket statistics.
The article talks about the top five fastest balls ever bowled in women’s cricket history.
Cathryn Fitzpatrick, the world’s fastest bowler and a postman, was always a master in making rapid and accurate deliveries.
Fitzpatrick’s blistering speed, clocked at 75 mph (though she claims it was “often a little faster”), gave batters fits during her sixteenth-year international career.
She was the first female bowler to capture 150 ODI wickets. She won the ICC Women’s World Cup in1997. Also, she got another in 2005, the latter as a 37-year-old for capturing history.
Fitzpatrick finished her ODI tenure with 180 scalps at 16.79, but her test series economy rate was a pitiful 1.91, putting her among the all-time greats.
Sharon Tredrea, who was welcomed into the Australian cricket honours, competed in an age when women’s cricket had speed guns.
Nevertheless, the all-rounder, who had a 15-year international career in the1980s, sometimes used to train with males at North Melbourne. They claimed to have been timed at 83 miles per hour. Instead, it was 133.6 kilometres per hour.
Dickie Bird, a well-known international umpire, later confirmed that Tredrea bowled in that pace range. However, there’s no way of demonstrating how fast Tredrea bowled.
Over the last several years, women’s cricket matches have gained popularity. However, there are various areas where the regulations for women’s Test matches differ from those for men’s.
Here are the details:
The weight of the cricket ball varies between women’s and men’s cricket by a bit of amount. For example, a 156-gram ball has been used in men’s cricket, whereas a 142-gram ball has been used in women’s cricket.
This is because, in women’s cricket, the heaviness of a cricket ball is identical throughout all formats.
Let us now look deep into the top 5 fastest bowlers in women cricket.
1. Tayla Vlaeminck
Tayla Vlaeminck, an Australian women’s bowler, made headlines when she achieved 145 km/h on the speed camera during the first T20I against India. It was at Metricon Stadium on October 7, 2021. The match was eventually rained off.
During the 1st T20I between Australian women and Indian women at Metricon Stadium in Carrara on October 7, 2021, Australian fast star Tayla Vlaeminck blasted up the speed gun by registering 145 km/h. So it was by getting the second ball assault with a scorching spell against Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana.
On her comeback to the national side’s gold and green, the Australian fast bowler loved her fight with India’s most refined, bowling at rates she hadn’t expected to achieve.
Vlaeminck voiced her modesty about the speed gun displaying 145 km/h in an interaction captured on Instagram by the authorized Cricket Australia handle. She claimed that the broadcast must have already excited it up slightly.
Vlaeminck finished with an excellent 4-0-32-0 record at an economical rate of 8.00, including 13 dot balls.
2. Cathryn Fitzpatrick
Cathryn Fitzpatrick turned into instructing after 16 years of scaring batters all over the globe as the world’s fastest bowler. She took over as the new head coach for Australia in May 2007. It was just two months after her retirement from her international cricket.
Her lightning speed she’d been recorded at 75 mph. It was essential in helping Australia win the World Cup twice. Once it was in 1997 and following, in 2005 in South Africa, at 37. Again, with a good technique that matched Glenn McGrath, a tall, blond, skinny Australian, she achieved incredible speed from a seemingly tiny frame.
Between 1991 and 2006, Cathryn had her highest result in a single test match with a score of 9/112. She has a 19.11 average in test cricket and a 1.91 economy rate. Cathryn also took four wickets six times besides taking five wickets twice.
Cathryn took 180 wickets in 109 ODIs over her ODI career, which spanned 1993 to 2007. In addition, she had her highest ODI bowling performance of 5/14. She had a 16.79 average in one-day internationals and a 3.01 economy rate.
Cathryn has firmly established herself as one of the leading ten female bowlers of all time.
3. Jhulan Goswami
Jhulan became the world’s fastest women bowler after Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Jhulan, who stands at a respectable height of 5 11 feet, can frequently bowl at 120 kilometres per hour.
Jhulan began playing cricket when he was 15 years old. She woke up at 4:30 a.m. to take the local train and get to the practice session on time. She resides 80 kilometres from Kolkata, the location of the practise session.
She missed her train several times and couldn’t make it to rehearsal, but she never gave up. Jhulan’s parents, like many other Indian parents, encouraged her to focus on her schoolwork rather than cricket.
Jhulan adores Chinese food, yet her favourite film is 3 Idiots. Her new favourite star is Aamir Khan. Kajol is her famous actor, while Diego Maradona is her favourite athlete. Her favourite travel location is in London, and she enjoys reading novels.
Jhulan, you are a brilliant cricketer, but you are an equally better person, said one of her close cousins once, which she believes is the highest praise she has ever received.
After Cathryn Fitzpatrick retired, Indian woman cricketer Jhulan Goswami became the quickest bowler in women’s cricket. In 2007, she was awarded ICC Women’s Player of the Year.
Out of the ten international cricket she played in, Goswami collected 40 wickets in 18 innings. She also had a 5/25 inning, her most excellent bowling performance. In addition, between 2002 and 2015, Cathryn had her highest single-match version of 10/78 in her test career.
Jhulan owns a 16.62 test bowling average with a 2.02 economy rate. She also dismissed four and five wickets on three occasions.
Goswami took 218 wickets in 177 ODIs throughout her career, which spanned 2002 to 2019.
4. Shabnim Ismail
Shabnim Ismail, South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in international cricket, has been a critical piece in their bowling assault for over a decade. This tall fast bowler made her debut in 2007 when South Africa was making a comeback, and she has been instrumental in her team’s success.
Cricket was never her Plan A as the smallest of seven siblings born to her parents, who moved from India.
She was tempted to check cricket by a buddy while playing football with the lads at school. Ismail was among South Africa’s first six cricketers awarded central contracts in 2013. But it hasn’t impacted the way she approaches cricket. Money will have no impact on how I bowl. The contract system indeed makes it a lot easier to make a living, is what she believes.
A sad defeat in the third one-day international, in which Ismail was removed with South Africa nine points short of their goal, hastening a six-run loss and a whitewash, would have placed her in a nasty mood.
In 2016, South African Shabnim Ismail clocked in at 128 km/h, while New Zealand’s Lea Tahuhu scored 126 km/h. Tayla Vlaeminck, a young Australian gun, hasn’t quite reached that speed, but she is undoubtedly her team’s quickest, often clocking in high of 120km/h.
At the same time, national colleague Ellyse Perry has also clocked in the low 120s over her illustrious career.
5. Lea Tahuhu
She does, however, have a 126 kph delivery to her name. Her short ball is not precisely cookies & cream, either. Enquire Meg Lanning how it felt to see the top of the off-spinner smashed over in the Women’s Big Bash League.
Tahuhu comes out as a no-nonsense individual both on and off the pitch. There is no such thing as excessive sharing. Her book, sport, and vacation selections are what you’d like your best self – the nicely filtered one the public sees on Instagram – to be.
Although many people talked well about the 2000 World Cup, she was unaware that it took place in her nation. She didn’t realize ladies were competing for Canterbury and a few for New Zealand since she was spotted for age group competitions when she was approximately 15 years old. So that became a goal for her.
She was a competitive person who would go all out if there was something in front of her that she could attain.
Final Thoughts
Female bowlers have made a significant contribution to the sport. They have shown exceptional skill and knowledge of the sport, and they will probably continue to do so in the upcoming matches.
Furthermore, these women bowlers have shown themselves repeatedly with their performances that resembled male cricket in terms of thrill and excitement.
Finally, GamePlan Today Talks hope you enjoyed our list of the top five greatest women bowlers of all time.