Fiery Wong vows to smash the 80mph barrier
Pace has been the missing element in the women’s game, but a teenage English talent looks set to change all that
It takes a lot to stop Issy Wong from smiling but there is no doubt the teenager has a nasty fast- bowler’s mentality. If she does fulfil her ambition to become the first woman to hit 80mph, English cricket will have a star on its hands.
When asked if she likes hitting batsmen, Wong does not hesitate: “Yes!” There is a slight pause. “Actually, that sounds really mean. It is not always a wicket-taking option, but if you can hit them, and they look hurt, then they are going to be more tentative. I would not want to be a spinner when someone whacks me over my head and then have to bowl it back on a spot again.”
Wong turned 18 in May and is already operating at around 70mph. She bowled at the England women as part of their preparations for the series against West Indies and was considered for a call-up, but England decided to give her more time to develop and not rush her.
She is one of the first generation of women cricketers to grow up in the professional era, increasing her chances of reaching full pace with more time to work on her game and more intense coaching. She was awarded a professional contract for the West Midlands team, one of 40 to be handed out by the England and Wales Cricket Board, and was drafted by the Birmingham Phoenix for the Hundred. She has trained with the Warwickshire seamers at Edgbaston and, pre-covid, was hopping to spend this winter in Australia, ia, having put off university after leavving Shrewsbury School, where she he became the first girl to play in the he first XI.
Pace has been the missing eleement in the women’s game, but the he increased number of professional nal contracts should result in better er training, strength and conditioning ng programmes, nutritional advice and nd more time to work on skills.
South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail has as been recorded at 79mph and New w Zealander Lea Tahuhu at 78mph. h. For England, Anya Shrubsole is bowling at around 67mph against nst West Indies, and it is a lack of pace ce that is used by critics of the women’s n’s game to traduce it as men’s cricket et in slow motion.
“Everyone talks about me reachhing 80 miles per hour. It would be ea a really nice thing to do but, at the he same time, if I am going to bowl betetter at 75mph, then so be it,” says ys Wong. “Only time will tell. I have ea a lot of growing to do, a lot of strength th to build and a lot of learning to do. I have age on my side.”
She left a good impression on England. Tim Macdonald, the he team’s bowling coach, is excited by her talent and ambition.
“When I first met her I asked her er what her goals were, thinking she he would say play for England, but the he first thing she said was, ‘I want to be the first Englishwoman to bowl wl 80mph.’ It was refreshing in a way ay and you just want to let her express ss herself,” he says.
“We are pretty keen to see what at she can do. It is exciting to see a bit of pace. The women’s game is differerent. It is not all about raw pace but, ut, when it does come along, it offers sa a point of difference. If we can hararness her, keep her safe, her energy gy up and more consistent she is on the pathway to being a good weapon for English cricket.”
Wong’s father has Chinese heritage, and two of her great uncles played for Hong Kong. She took up the game at an after-school club in primary school before joining Knowle & Dorridge Cricket Club in Solihull, where she was the only girl, before progressing through the Warwickshire age groups.
“When I started to play, there was only one girls’ team in Warwickshire, so playing with boys was my only option. At a young age, there is nothing to stop a girl saying, ‘If they [ boys] can hit it that far, why can’t I?’ Or, ‘ If they can bowl that fast’ why can’t I?’ Boys cricket up to the age of 15- 16 is a really useful thing for any girls looking to push themselves as far as they can.
“From five or six, I was not thinking, ‘ I can’t do that because I am a girl and they are a boy.’ I just wanted to play cricket and beat them. I never viewed it as boys against girls. I just saw everyone as cricketers.”
But did the boys see it the same way? “Getting hit on the head hurts your ego a bit. It shouldn’t, but teenage boys don’t tend to enjoy getting hit by girls or getting out to them. I suppose they would rather get hit than have their middle peg removed.”
That competitiveness took her down the path of wanting to be a fast bowler.
“I remember my first winter session in under-11s. There was a girl called Molly. She was the established opening bowler and I was batting and she hit me in the head with a beamer. I remember standing there thinking, ‘I’m going to get her back.’ I like the pride of ‘ I’m going to bowl faster than them’ and it came from that.”
The England team could one day be thankful Molly bowled that beamer.
‘We are pretty keen to see what she can do. It’s exciting to see a bit of pace – it offers a point of difference’