Shabnim Ismail returns for another season at the Sydney Thunder

Shabnim Ismail, the South Africa pace bowler who is one of the quickest in the world, will return for a second season with the Sydney Thunder in the Women's Big Bash.

Ismail, who can push the speed gun past 125kph, took 10 wickets in 13 games last season for the Thunder but it was her economy rate of 5.88 which was particularly impressive. She was then South Africa's leading wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup with five wickets in four matches.

"In the WBBL, you're playing with a lot of experienced players and against some of the best in the world, so it's a great challenge," Ismail said. "I'm a senior player for my country and in the Thunder squad as well so I try to lead by example. Having played for my country for 12 years, I enjoy passing on some of my experience and knowledge to the youngsters."

The Thunder coach Trevor Griffin said: "Shabnim was outstanding for us last season. She was our most economical bowler and her pace caused a lot of trouble for opposition batters. She was a real competitor in the field too - some of the fielding that she did was just at another level.

"She's the world's third-ranked T20 bowler but one thing that I noticed about Shabnim last year is that she still wants to learn and she's constantly looking at ways to get better."

The Thunder will be captained by Australia better Rachael Haynes and Ismail is their first confirmed overseas player for the new season.

The WBBL is due to begin on October 17 and run until November 29 although there are expected to be changes to the schedule due to the impact of Covid-19 around the country.