The Southern Stars have been having a nice run in the women’s Ashes, which of course leads to all manner of predictions.
One that caught our attention recently was fast bowler Holly Ferling predicting that the female bowlers can surpass the 130-kph barrier, provided that the game continues to experience growth similar to that of late.
The number of girls and women playing cricket in Australia is getting close to 400,000 and those who have made it to the top levels are displaying a level of commitment that is extraordinary.
Ferling herself has been absent since suffering a debilitating elbow injury, but she still paid for flights to Hobart and Perth to watch her Brisbane Heat teammates in the WBBL.
She is still undergoing a difficult rehabilitation process that has taken a long time, but when she was healthy and just a teenager, she managed to clock 120 kph, so it is not all that outlandish to expect that 130 kph is realistic.
Ferling told Foxsports.com.au that, “I honestly don’t doubt that there will be women in the next bit — and I hope it’s me — that can really push the 130kph boundary.
She is playing once again in the WNCL, but it does not seem likely that she will be recalled until she has some more game experience and the chance to learn to trust her elbow and earn the trust of the selectors.
“At the moment I am somewhere between 105kph and 110kph,” she said.“I have a bit of room to move and hopefully that happens when the rhythm clicks in. One thing I’ve learned is that if you force it, it never happens.”
Young stars like Ferling, who is 21, are just the thing to support cricket growth at the the grassroots level. Currently, about 20 percent of the girls aged six to 13 play, which represents a rise in participation of nearly 30 percent, which bodes well for the future of the Southern Stars and other top women’s cricket sides.
