Can England's Lauren Filer beat Shabnim Ismail to breach 80mph in international cricket and become the fastest woman bowler?

Indian Express

10-07-2025

South Africa's 36-year-old Shabnim Ismail, who started off playing street cricket with Vernon Philander, holds the record for the fastest delivery in women's international cricket – 128 kmph (79.54 mph) against West Indies in 2016. Last year, she hit 82.08mph in a game at WPL in Delhi, nine months after she retired from international cricket.
Now, England's 24-year-old Lauren Filer, who played in the just-concluded T20 series against India and will feature in the upcoming ODI series between the two countries, aims to breach 80mph in international cricket.
Filer averaged 76mph in bowling, the fastest recorded over in women's cricket during the third T20I against India. She was twice clocked at 79mph in her fourth over and later said she has her sights on that magical 80mph mark.
'Not to sound cocky, but I think I knew that I'd be able to push close to 80,' Filer said about that over. 'I sort of touched on 78 every so often over the last year and, for me on Friday, the great thing about it was the fact that it was more consistent, that's what I've been trying to do.
'That's what I'm trying to aim for and hopefully again I can hit that 80 number. I'm just going to try and keep consistently bowling in the mid-70s and in the women's game that's not heard of very often, so that's my aim,' Filer said.
Pace and bounce personified ✨
Lauren Filer. pic.twitter.com/IOEglD8upm
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 1, 2025
She said she wanted to breach that barrier to showcase and inspire women's cricket.
'That's probably the reason why I want to hit it. It's not necessarily a personal milestone in myself, but actually proving that women can get to that milestone and hopefully others can follow as well. I don't want it just to be one or two people. We want loads of women to be able to be bowling at that speed. After Friday people are probably talking about it more than they were and hopefully if I can hit it then it encourages other people to try and aim for that and actually make the game even more exciting than it already is,' Filer said.
She will have to go past the now-retired Shabnim Ismail, who was consistently fast for South Africa. Shabnim had started off as a football player, turning to cricket when she was 12-13, initially as a batter. 'I hated bowling as I felt I was wasting a lot of energy, At 15-16, I thought let me try bowling,' Shabnim once told a BBC podcast 'Stumped'.
Shabnim had a lovely nickname too: Demon, ala Australia's legendary Fred Spofforth, and she had a nice story to tell behind that moniker.
'When I was 16, I broke the stumps, bails, and bowl bouncers. After one of the games, a player went to my coach and said, 'she is actually a demon, I don't want to face her anymore!'' That's how the 'demon' tag stuck to her.
She spoke about her upbringing and her idol. 'I started off playing in the streets with Vernon Philander and Beuran Hendricks . Used to play a lot with the boys. Dale Steyn is my idol … I wish I was a little bit taller [she is five-foot five], and had a little bigger shoulders! … I like fast cars as well. Everything happens fast in my lifestyle.' Now, Filler has those traits – she is taller and has broader shoulders and she is gunning for that 80mph.