I have this weird knack of picking the right teams and athletes to support at the right moment. When I first followed Brazil, they won the 2002 FIFA World Cup. When I tuned into tennis, Rafael Nadal won the 2008 Wimbledon. When I got into basketball during Covid, the Lakers won the 2020 NBA title.
The only outlier? RCB (of course). So, when I decided to belatedly give Women’s cricket a watch in 2024, there could only ever be one winner of the WPL. And yet, despite RCB finally winning a bloody title, there was one player that caught my eye above all else.
Shabnim Ismail.
This 5’4, semi-retired, should-be-creaking veteran was out-bowling everyone in the competition. While her fastest contemporaries were hitting 120 KPH, the South African was regularly reaching 130 KPH. She terrorised batters in a way that I’ve only ever seen Jasprit Bumrah do in T20s.
Nothing about my understanding of physics and bio-mechanics reconciled this short, (relatively) old woman hitting speeds 20-year olds could only dream of. I was so intrigued that I even commissioned my first ever piece for this newsletter to figure it out. I asked the brilliant C. S Chiwanza to investigate this biological anomaly; it took him six months, but he published the story during last year’s WPL.
Which brings us full circle to my second favourite Women’s bowler; Marizanne Kapp. The fellow South Africa is not as fast as Ismail, but she has an equally chilling effect on batters. See her out, give away a maiden, it’s fine. Just don’t take risks.
And it broke my heart that I would never see Ismail & Kapp bowl in tandem. I’d found Women’s cricket too late, and I’d missed out on the greatness of two impossibly good teammates playing off each other.
Ronaldinho dissecting defences for Ronaldo. Dwayne Wade tossing alley-oops to Lebron James. Leander Paes & Mahesh Bhupathi winning three grand slams in three years.
But now, out of the blue, it’s happening. Ismail is un-retiring, and she’s going to play this year’s T20 World Cup alongside Kapp. The Demon and the Devout are going to be exorcising opposition batters this summer. It’s happening.
I can’t bloody wait.
How MI’s Shabnim Ismail became “The Demon”
🚨 If you’re an RCB fan, I’d love if you could fill out this 2-minute survey on how you feel about the franchise this year. I plan to create a graphic story of your answers soon! 🚨
🏏 Cricket Roundup: GT’s perfect roster, Bhuvi’s improvements, & BAN’s improved bowlers.
📚 Best Features: Who’s had the best mega auction ever?
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“The Best IPL Mega Auctions”
🚨 Karan Jain looks back at which teams have made the best use of the IPL’s reset clause, and the differing strategies that have led to at least one championship.
🗞️ Quick News: Shabnim Ismail un-retires, & CA should’ve framed the BBL sale better.
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Shabnim Ismail has un-retired and will join SA’s World Cup squad. Firdose Moonda on why she reversed her decision, while Paul Edwards profiles SA’s latest young all-round star Kayla Reyneke.
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Cricket Australia chair Todd Greenberg says they should’ve explained the reasons for the BBL sale better – but he hasn’t given up yet.
📺 A/V: Farbrace on coaching SL to the 2014 WC.
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“How he coached Murali, Sanga and Ajantha”
📽️ Nicholas Brookes talks to former Sri Lanka coach Paul Farbrace about winning the 2014 T20 World Cup with the island nation. [YouTube]
LEGEND:
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🚨 = Shameless plug (i.e. a BoC piece!)
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🏆 = Tournament Cricket
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🔒 = Behind a paywall
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📊 = In-depth statistics
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🤖 = AI-generated (take it with a pinch of salt)
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🎤 = Podcast
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📽️ = Video