Decoding Shabnim Ismail’s fastest delivery ever recorded in women’s cricket at the WPL

As it turned out, the very next ball – a cross-seam fullish delivery that thudded into Lanning’s pads – would throw up an incredible number at the bottom of the screen: 138.3 kph. At that moment, it barely registered, mainly because all the players, Ismail included, were busy conferring on whether to review the not out decision on the LBW appeal. As the speed disappeared from the screen, the players too dispersed and there was no remark from the broadcasters at that point of time, presumably because they didn’t notice it.

Shabnim Ismail bowled the 132.1kph delivery to Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning.

It was in the 16th over, when Ismail came back to finish her spell, that the broadcasters brought it up. “A little earlier, we asked the question if Shabnim will break that barrier,” said the commentator on air. “And here’s the answer, the fastest delivery of the night was 132.1 kph. That is slippery.”

Ismail was then asked about the moment during the innings break and she underplayed it, also indicating she wasn’t happy with the way she bowled on the night. “I’m not sure, I don’t actually look at the big screen when I am bowling,” she said.

The discrepancy between the two numbers could be put down to the fact that instantaneous speed guns can often be errant. Independent verification of speeds is also not a possibility in the WPL. “There’s the speed gun reading, which is what is shown as the ball is bowled and can be very variable, and then there’s ball tracking which is more accurate, though can still produce anomalies,” John Leather, a cricket statistician who has covered the women’s game extensively, says.

Superb Shabnim ⚡

Congratulations to Shabnim Ismail who made HER-STORY as she recorded the fastest delivery in women’s cricket 💨🏃‍♀️#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/nX4DpN9O8t

— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) March 6, 2024

“It’s possible the 132 number quoted later is from ball-tracking data. Ismail is about the only current bowler who is, or has been, capable of reaching that speed in my opinion, though it would still be a significant personal best for her. But we don’t know, because the usual companies that have access to tracking data – Opta, CricViz – don’t have it for WPL.”

Threatening a record

There is no doubt that Ismail has been on the verge of breaking the barrier. Playing for UP Warriorz last season, she said in an interview about her desire to break the record: “Yeah, 100%. It is on my list, that is why I go to the gym all the time, to get stronger. Not really looking the part yet (laughs), but hopefully, I can get there soon. Looking forward to it, I am doing all the hard yards behind the scenes.”

Leather, who has been closely tracking ball speeds in the women’s game in the last few years corroborating them with ball-tracking numbers, also noted how there was one instance in the WPL last year when Ellyse Perry supposedly clocked 130.5 kph for RCB, which was then shared as the official record by their social media handle. But anyone who has followed the game closely enough knew it was a numerical anomaly as Perry has never really threatened 130 kph in her storied career.

The speeds during the WPL are not frequently displayed, and even when they are, they appear on the screen only briefly. During Ismail’s spell against DC, when the speeds were shown, hovered mostly in the early 110s, with just two deliveries crossing 120.

A historic day as Shabnim Ismail delivers the fastest delivery ever recorded in women’s cricket 🤯

Details 👇https://t.co/l6AWuDcSyt

— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2024

Having said all that, if anyone was going to get past the 130kph mark, it had to be Ismail. And 132.1 is much more within her range than 138.

Born and raised in Cravenby, Cape Town in the Western Cape, Ismail played 241 international ODI, T20I and Test matches for South Africa, taking 317 wickets, Originally a football fan, Ismail got into cricket with encouragement from her mother and grandfather. She went on to establish herself as one of the best fast bowlers in women’s cricket, finishing only behind Jhulan Goswami – now her bowling coach at Mumbai Indians – in the list of ODI wicket-takers.

Ismail was always fascinated by speed – she talks almost as quickly as she bowls – and even at 35, she is keeping the numbers high.

During a 16-year international career, Ismail featured in four 50-over World Cups and eight T20 editions. As recently as the last T20 World Cup, where she was the spearhead of South Africa’s superb bowling unit on their way to the final, she was cranking it up. In the semifinal against England, as per Leather, Ismail bowled what was perhaps the fastest over seen in women’s cricket with speeds of 119, 122, 126, 120, 125 and 128.

There is no official gatekeeping for speeds in the game, so for all intents and purposes, it’s a piece of trivia, and not a ratified record. The available data is not extensive enough for that.

That said, as Leather puts it: “Regardless of whether this specific reading is accurate, the title of fastest bowler in women’s cricket already belongs to Shabnim Ismail.”