Speed guns: WBBL quicks crank up the pace

Two weekends into the Rebel WBBL, one trend is emerging that should have Australia's national selectors very interested.

Amid the rain that has washed out eight of 16 matches to date, some of Australia's most promising young fast bowlers have been putting the speed guns to the test – and finding themselves in the realm of the world's quickest.

Among those are teenage quicks Darcie Brown and Stella Campbell, of the Strikers and Sixers respectively, with the former clocked at a tournament-high 126kph against the Thunder on Saturday.

But perhaps most impressive is the transformation of Melbourne Renegades' Maitlan Brown, who has taken her pace bowling to another level and who won the praise of Australia superstar Alyssa Healy following their clash at Showground Stadium on Sunday.

Brown was regularly hitting speeds of 118-120kph during her 3.1 overs against the Sixers, with a match high 124kph; speeds well in excess of the 110-112kph she was averaging during the latter stages of WBBL|05 and similar to those clocked by South Africa and Thunder speedster Shabnim Ismail earlier on Sunday against Brisbane Heat.

Ismail is considered one of the world's fastest female bowlers, alongside New Zealand's Lea Tahuhu and Australia's Tayla Vlaeminck, who are both currently sidelined through injury.

Brown did not take a wicket in what was a tough innings in the field for the Renegades against a rampant Healy, but she nonetheless impressed the Australian wicketkeeper.

"You can see by the way she's running in, she's really charging in, running in fast and putting everything into each delivery," Healy said following the Sixers' win over the Renegades on Sunday.

"I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time with her up in Brisbane during the international series and I faced a lot of her in that quarantine period and she really impressed me with the new ball."

Brown was part of Australia's extended 18-player squad who took on New Zealand in Brisbane last month but did not manage to break into the world's best XI for an international debut during the three T20Is and three ODIs.

"I thought she was going to get the nod for the one-day series to come in and cover Pez's role with the new ball … it didn't fall that way but she impressed a lot of people in the nets with her ability to move the ball and run in and hit the deck," Healy continued.

"She bowls a yucky bouncer for a batter, a skiddy slidey one that you feel like it's going to hit you in the head.

"She's a real talent … I'm sure she's going to have a ripping tournament with both bat and ball.

"These young girls are given the opportunity to be full-time cricketers and look what they're doing, they're pushing the barriers and I think that's a beautiful thing."

While Brown is yet to make her international debut, she took plenty from her first experience in an Australian squad – particularly from the first two weeks in quarantine, where she worked closely with Australia assistant (and Sixers head coach) Ben Sawyer.

"I was fortunate to work with Ben in Canberra when Australia were down there for the T20 tri-series (in late January) and we worked on a few things like running in harder and hitting the deck, and getting my elbow into certain positions," Brown told cricket.com.au following the New Zealand series last month.

"To see him in Brisbane and know I'd been working on those things, we were able to pick that up and keep (building on) that.

"He was really pleased to know I was still doing what we spoke about last season."

Following her selection in the Australia squad in August, Brown spoke of the work she had put in with new ACT coach Jono Dean and fast-bowling mentor Mick Delaney through the winter to sharpen her tactical skills.

Describing Delaney as a "bit of an aggro fast bowler", Brown said she had been taking tips in that department – something she was quick to display during the short-but-sweet washed out Melbourne derby that started WBBL|06 last weekend, where she wasted no time deploying her 'yucky' bouncer against Australia captain Meg Lanning.

After a taste of life in the Australia squad for the first time, Brown is hungry for more.

"Despite not playing I think it was one of the best experiences, being able to train with world-class players was really good for me," she said.

"It's such a good challenge in the nets and just being in that environment, seeing how each player prepares for games."