Meet the fastest female bowler
World’s fastest bowler seeks redemption as part of quality attack at World Cup
FOR Shabnim Ismail this year’s World Cup offers an opportunity to change the narrative and people’s perceptions of her.
‘“The fastest and most destructive bowler in the world” is a description she’d prefer and it was one that she revelled in until last summer when she, and teammate Trisha Chetty, were suspended for three months by Cricket SA for severe disciplinary breaches. Ismail still believes those suspensions to have been harsh and unfair.
Instead of the “fastest and most destructive bowler in the world”, Ismail carried the reputation as a trouble-maker. That reputation impacted on her professionally too, for where she could have earned the kind of income teammates like Dané van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp were collecting, by playing in overseas T20 leagues, managers of those teams were wary.
So this year’s World Cup, which all the South African players believe they are capable of winning, also provides the 28-year-old with an opportunity for redemption.
“It was difficult,” she says about the suspension. “But you learn from your mistakes and you carry on. I’m quite happy with where I am. I came back after a long – quite harsh – three months where I was out, which made me stronger as a person. The way I’ve come back I think I’ve proved to everyone what I am capable of.”
“There was a time I actually thought that I don’t want to play cricket. But then I said to myself that I am the best at what I do. I always wanted to be the fastest bowler. I’d achieved so much so far in life and in my cricket career. You get those times where, in the moment, you get so angry you say ‘I don’t want to play cricket anymore’. This is my 10th year, and if you think about the long-term... the way I’ve been playing, the team’s been playing, they way the team’s been motivating me has been a real positive. My family and friends have backed me; they told me: ‘Don’t give up on what you love’. That’s why I’m still here today,” said Ismail.
“I hate quitting. I always want to go out there, do better, and that’s what I strive to do.”
In the time she was absent, South Africa played Australia in a five-match series, tied one match and lost another off the last ball and there’s a feeling in the squad that had Ismail been with them last November, the series would not have finished 4-0 to the world champions.
That, however, is in the past, and Ismail is pleased with her current form and thinking. “Now there’s a lot more positivity in my life... I now want to be here. I want to prove myself to everyone and up to now that’s what I’ve done. In my first game after the suspension I took a five-wicket haul and that motivated me more to want to do well in my cricket career and in life.”
Van Niekerk has no hesitation in saying she has the best new-ball pair in the game at her disposal with Ismail and Kapp. Ismail stresses it’s important that the pair make an impact early in South Africa’s first match this Sunday against Pakistan and leave a psychological imprint on the bigger nations.
“Myself and Kappie over the past few years have done a really good job. Going into the World Cup we want to get the momentum onto our side with the first game. There’s a scramble between all the bowlers because you don’t know when to bowl them,” said Ismail. “Chloe’s (Tryon) coming back from her injury to provide left-arm seam, Moseline (Daniels) is leftarm seam, Raisibe’s (Ntozakhe) off-spin and of course the two leggies as well. Where do we bowl all of them? It is quite difficult.”
Ismail will concentrate on bowling fast. “In order to be successful you need to fail in life as well. I believe I’m the fastest in the world. I recently clocked 128 km/h, the fastest any girl has bowled.
“It’s nice being a fast bowler. When I was younger I had a coach who told me spinners don’t belong in this world. Of course I can’t say that around here, because we’ve got some really good spinners in our team – we still back them,” she laughs.
Ismail’s taken 101 wickets in 70 ODIs, and an average of 19.67, a strike rate of 33.6 and an economy rate of 3.50 indicate a bowler batsmen don’t like facing. She acknowledges there is a flip-side to bowling fast and at a World Cup where the intensity naturally increases and opponents look to put their rivals’ best players under pressure, she can’t expect to just turn up and dominate.
“I believe it’s a good thing to have pace, but a batter may look at it and think any edge will be a four...”
That will not be at the forefront of Ismail’s thinking. Her value to this South African side is critical. She’s among the primary reasons the Proteas’ self-belief is so high. She will demand the spotlight in England and hopefully change people’s perceptions of her.