Search

show me:

Thunder teen quick with ball and cube

3 minute read

The Sydney Thunder's English recruit Issy Wong first got attention for her pacy work with a Rubik's Cube, but she'll be one of the quickest bowlers in the WBBL.

Sydney Thunder WBBL recruit Issy Wong doesn't know what record she will break first: The 10-second Rubik's Cube milestone or the first woman to bowl at 80m/h.

"It depends how many more of these hotel quarantines I have to do," Wong said.

"A couple more of these and I'll have it for the Rubik's Cube."

No matter the discipline, Wong is fast.

An uncapped product of England's academy system, she became a last-minute addition to the Thunder's squad in September and will likely run out against Adelaide on Saturday.

The 19-year-old cancelled two off-season holidays, with her first game in Australia well timed with an Ashes series looming in January.

There is every chance her first hit will be with the Rubik's Cube, having gone viral when she solved one between overs in English domestic cricket two years back.

As things stand her personal best is 16 seconds, but she insists she can go quicker.

"It started off as this is cool. And then 'can I get better?'. And now I am low-key obsessed," Wong said.

Cubes aside, the right-armer from Worcestershire is symbolic of a generation of quicks that have grown up in the gym and during a professional era.

She is predicted by some to become the first woman to be clocked at 80m/h, with her current quickest in the high 70s.

The woman Wong is replacing at the Thunder, Shabnim Ismail, is currently the quickest at 128km/h, or just shy of the 80-mile mark.

Former Australian quicks Sharon Tredrea and Cathryn Fitzpatrick could well have surpassed that in their peaks, but not in the speed-gun era.

"My fast-bowling coach Lloyd Tennant tells me that people used to think that the four-minute mile is impossible," Wong said.

"Then Roger Bannister did it and then within a year (others had).

"So it is possible, and as soon as one person does it everyone will. Whether that person is me, (Australian quick) Stella Campbell or someone else.

"But is it attainable? 100 per cent."

How quick Wong gets with either the ball or Rubik's Cube this summer remains to be seen.

"I don't like to put a limit on things," Wong said.

"I never like to say when I do this I will be happy then. Because I don't think it's in most athlete's nature.

"Usain Bolt doesn't run under 10 seconds and go that's cool, I will stop there."

Meanwhile, Adelaide's top-ranked bowler Megan Schutt and Sydney Sixers allrounder Erin Burns will both miss the start of the tournament following the births of their children.

Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?

For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit www.gamblinghelponline.org.au