As batters can change the momentum of the match by changing the gears when required, bowlers also play a crucial role in their team winning the match. Fast bowlers can be more crucial for any side as they usually bowl with the new ball and can turn the momentum in their team’s favor by picking early wickets. In Women’s cricket, we have seen so many fast bowlers who have dominated throughout their careers and helped their teams to win important games. In this article, we will look at the three fast bowlers who turned out to be the legends of the game.
The veteran pacer from South Africa is one of the faster bowlers in Women’s cricket.Shabnim Ismail clocked a speed of 128kph in the semi-final of the 2023 20-20 Women’s World Cup against England which is the fastest delivery in Women’s cricket. However, it has not been officially confirmed by the Cricket Governing Body. She was also the leading wicket-taker for the Proteas in the recently ended 20-20 World Cup with 8 wickets and played a crucial role for her team getting into the finals for the very first time. The 34-year-old has appeared in one Test, 127 ODIs and 113 T20Is for South Africa till now taking 317 wickets across the formats.
The former Australian pacer was the fastest bowler in Women’s cricket in her time. She used to make the batters beg for a single which can be seen in her economy which is 1.91 in Tests, and 3.01 in ODIs. Cathryn Fitzpatrick was the first women cricketer to take 100 wickets in ODIs and is currently the third-highest wicket-taker in the format with 180 wickets. She has appeared in 13 Tests, 109 ODIs, and 2 T20Is for Australia in her career of 16 years (1991-2007) taking 240 wickets across the formats.
The former Indian fast bowler has been an absolute legend of the game with her career of 20 years (2002-2022). Jhulan Goswami is the leading wicket-taker in ODIs and is the only bowler to take more than 200 wickets in the format with 255 wickets from 204 games. Jhulan was India’s spearhead in fast bowling and made her team win many important matches. Apart from 204 ODIs, she has appeared in 12 Tests and 68 T20Is for India taking 355 across all formats of the game.