The fastest female bowler in cricket history — capable of genuine pace that troubled the world's best batters, a World Cup winner and a bowler whose record of 180 international wickets made her the most destructive fast bowler women's cricket has ever seen.
Cathryn Fitzpatrick was born in Melbourne in 1968 and became the fastest female bowler in cricket history — her pace of 44.4 mph (71.4 km/h) was unprecedented in women's cricket and has rarely been matched. She played 13 Tests taking 60 wickets at 16.0 and 109 ODIs taking 180 wickets at 16.97 — one of the most economical strike rates in women's ODI cricket history. She took 18,542 balls across her career. She played for Victoria. She won the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in 1997 and 2005 with Australia. She was Wisden Female Cricketer of the Year in 2001. Her best Test figures were 5 for 34 and her best ODI figures were 5 for 14. She retired in 2007 and joined the Australia Women coaching setup, contributing to multiple World Cup campaigns. Her hostile pace at a time when women's fast bowling was largely thought incapable of matching male county-level pace transformed expectations for the women's fast bowling discipline.
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 1997, 2005 (Australia)
Career Honours
- ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 1997, 2005 (Australia)
- Wisden Female Cricketer of Year 2001
- ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2007 (coaching staff)
- Fastest recorded delivery by a women's bowler 44.4 mph
- Australia Women coaching staff 2007–present