The frontline pacer of the Australian Women’s team, Megan Schutt, is celebrating her 31st birthday today. Schutt has been an integral part of the Australian team which has seen so much success in the last few years. The 31-year-old fast bowler was a very central figure in the plans of the former Australian skipper Meg Lanning and continues to be a crucial player for the Kangaroos.
Megan Schutt broke into international cricket in December 2012 when she played her first One-Day international match against New Zealand. A month later she also made her T20I debut against the same opposition at Melbourne.
An extraordinary growth trajectory
Megan Schutt has travelled a long way from her debut to now becoming one of the most important bowlers for Australia in all formats of the game. The fast bowler from South Australia displayed her potential in the very early stage of her international cricket and gradually cemented her place in the Australian dressing room.
The right-arm pacer has represented Australia in all three formats of the game. She has played 87 One-Day international matches picking up 118 wickets at a brilliant average of 24.24. She has been a consistent wicket-taker in ODI cricket. Not just in ODI cricket but Schutt has created an impact in T20I cricket as well. She has 131 wickets to her name in 105 T20 internationals and has been very economical apart from being a wicket-taking option for her captain.
It is an unfortunate fact that Women cricketers do not get enough opportunities to play the longest format of the game and showcase their skills. Megan Schutt has played only 4 test matches in her international career spanning over a decade. She has scalped 9 wickets in test cricket but there could have been a lot more dismissals to her name had it not been for inadequate opportunities. The Australian fans will be keeping a close tab on the star fast bowler as this is a World Cup year with the T20 World Cup scheduled later this year.