Men’s cricket is undoubtedly more cherished than women’s cricket. There have been many excellent female players throughout the history of cricket, but their performances are completely unnoticed. However, that does not mean women cricketers are not equally talented.
And some exceptional cricketers have been lucky enough to form world records as well. For the sake of highlighting these talented women, we have created a list of the 5 best female bowlers in the history of cricket:
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5. Ellyse Perry
Often known as the greatest female cricketer ever, Ellyse Perry is an extraordinary bowler. She has taken almost 297 wickets in just 238 cricket matches.
The Australian all-rounder made her cricket debut in the year 2007 at the age of only 17. She is a prominent member of the Australian women’s cricket team and the national soccer team.
Ellyse is a right-arm fast bowler and holds the record for being the first player to complete 1000 runs and 100 wickets in T20Is. She is also the third female player to claim 150 wickets in ODIs.
4. Jenny Gunn
Jenny Gunn is a former English medium-fast bowler. She holds the record of taking 223 wickets in 245 matches across multiple formats. Jenny has played for many domestic teams, such as Nottinghamshire, South Australia, Western Australia, etc.
She was also the first cricket player to complete 100 T20 games. Jenny announced retirement from international cricket in 2019.
3. Lisa Sthalekar
The former Australian team’s captain Lisa Sthalekar is the first female cricketer to complete 1000 runs and 100 wickets in ODIs.
The Indian-born player has scored 3800 international runs just in ODIs and has taken 229 international wickets in 187 matches. She has also represented domestic teams like New South Wales.
Lisa played each match of Australia’s 2005 World Cup that ultimately led them to a remarkable victory.
2. Jhulan Goswami
Jhulan Goswami is a known rival of batswomen due to her pace, bounce, and swing. She currently holds the record of being the highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket history with 225 wickets.
The Indian bowler made her cricket debut in 2002. Altogether, Jhulan has 321 wickets in only 260 matches. She stands second in the list of the best female bowlers in the world. She was the former captain of the Indian women’s cricket team.
Jhulan won ICC’s Women’s Player of the Year award in the year 2007. In 2018, she became the first female bowler to take 200 wickets in ODIs.
1. Cathryn Fitzpatrick
Cathryn Fitzpatrick is known as the world’s fastest female bowler. The Australian bowler was also the first woman to take 100 wickets in ODIs. She was featured in the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame and the ICC Cricket Hall of fame.
She made her debut in 1991 and played almost 13 test matches and 109 ODIs. Throughout her career, she remained the best female bowler. She was a part of both the Australian teams that won the Cricket World Cup in 1997 and 2005.
After her retirement in 2007, she served as the Australian Women’s Cricket team’s head coach for 3 years.
