[6] She made her international debut in 1991 and went on to play 13 Test matches, taking 60 wickets (the second-most by an Australian woman, only behind Betty Wilson) at an average of 19.11.

[12] In March 2007, she announced her retirement from international cricket and also brought her domestic career with Victoria to an end after taking 148 wickets in 103 WNCL matches.

[13] From May 2012 to March 2015, Fitzpatrick served as head coach of the Australian women's team, overseeing three successful world championship campaigns.

Thorough eye-witness testimony agrees she was the world's fastest female bowler during her prime years,[17][18][19] while sporadic measurements indicated her quickest delivery was at least 125 km/h.

[20][21][22] This evaluation holds up both impressively and credibly compared with modern women's cricket, which is characterised by increased professional standards - as of 2019, the fastest current bowlers were South Africa's Shabnim Ismail and New Zealand's Lea Tahuhu, who were officially recorded at speeds of 128 km/h and 126 km/h respectively.