South African fast bowler Shabnim Ismail has set a new record for the fastest recorded delivery in women’s cricket, clocking a speed of 132.1 km/h during a Women’s Premier League match on Tuesday in Delhi.
The 35-year old right arm bowler for the Mumbai Indians was bowling to Delhi Capitals captain (and former Australian skipper) Meg Lanning when she breached the 130km record, previously held by Ellyse Perry.
Post-match, Ismail, who is widely known as one of the meanest and quickest pacers in the world, told reporters she isn’t aware of the speed of her deliveries.
“I don’t actually look at the big screen when I’m bowling,” she said.
Unfortunately, the record couldn’t win her team the game, with the Mumbai Indians losing by 29 runs. Ismail took just one wicket during the game, getting Delhi Capitals’s Shafali Verma out for 28 runs.
In 2016, when she was playing for the Yorkshire Diamonds in the UK, Ismail credited her mother and grandfather for inspiring her to be a cricketer.
“Grandpa was the one who really drove me, he was the one who brought me my first bat and first cricket ball. I used to sit with him every single night and he’d talk to me about cricket.”
“For me I think it is a mental thing. I think that is also why I’m at the top of my game. I believe in my team, my skill, myself right now.”
Last year, Ismail was named Cricket South Africa’s Women’s Player of the Year.