As 'Boof' has to look beyond James Pattinson and Pat Cummins his Southern Stars counterpart Cathryn Fitzpatrick, who has just presided over a home one-day series win over Pakistan, is wrestling with the same predicament with her two fastest bowlers: Ellyse Perry and Holly Ferling. With the exception of Perry, all have been afflicted with dreaded back injuries.

A trap for elite players who move into coaching is that the players they are guiding often cannot do things as easily as the coach did. Although Perry has been quite resilient, few fast bowlers have been as durable as Fitzpatrick was.

Across Fitzpatrick's 16-year international career, which ended in 2007 the day after her 39th birthday, she claimed a total of 240 wickets at well under 20. What she is most remembered for, however, is her status as the world's fastest female bowler. To achieve this the Victorian took on physical jobs that finished early enough in the day not to interrupt her training. It led her to roles as a postie and a garbage collector that funded her playing career.

"I don't know if it was the smartest thing to be doing but it certainly kept me fit," she recalled. "It's hard to know why some get injured and some don't. We're all built differently. I was able to throw the bins around in the mornings and then bowl probably 20 overs in a training run, so I don't know. I've probably got undiagnosed fractures everywhere."

After Fitzpatrick retired, and moved into a less physically demanding job as a social worker at Melbourne Citymission, she took up part-time roles at the helm of Victoria and also as an assistant coach for the national team.

That the VicSpirit won three Twenty20 titles during her tenure, breaking NSW's near-monopoly on silverware, made her the obvious candidate when head coach Richard McInnes resigned in May 2012. The catch was she was only given the job on a 10-month contract, not long enough to dispense with her other roles. But the Stars' ability to win both the one-day World Cup and the World Twenty20 during that period saw her rewarded with a longer-term deal, which gave her the security to solely focus on that role.

The success of the team, and resulting public and fledgling corporate support, gave Cricket Australia the kick-along needed to introduce a major revamp of the Southern Stars' previously slender pay deals. In mid-2013 the contract range that was previously $5000 to $15,000 was increased to a minimum of $25,000 and a maximum of $52,000, with tour payments up from $100 a day to $250.

A year after the change, Fitzpatrick doesn't think current players train a lot more than she did – admittedly, she was fanatical. What has changed, however, is players being able to pull back on work, or not work at all if they are studying, so they can enjoy more rest time.

"Back in the day if you were on tour you took leave without pay and towards the end of the tour you're thinking 'Shit, I haven't had income for a month'. But I think with the girls now they can just think about cricket and not worry about car rego, not worry about the gas bill or the rent or anything like that," she said.

"It's just helped alleviate those types of pressures on the girls. They can be on tour and not have to worry about anything else except preparing and training for cricket."

Fitzpatrick admits she is most comfortable coaching bowlers, particularly those with ample pace. The presence of both Ferling, 18, and Perry, 23, sets Australia apart from most teams, given their pace. When complemented by seam bowlers such as Megan Schutt and Sarah Coyte, spinners such as Jess Jonassen and a deep batting line-up it is little wonder the Stars this year won the World T20, their fourth consecutive win at a major international tournament.

That win was also important for maintaining the Stars' burgeoning reputation, which was in danger of stalling after it lost back-to-back Ashes series.

At the start of the home Ashes the Stars installed then 21-year-old Meg Lanning, one of the world's most dynamic batters, as vice-captain. She then became the youngest senior captain in Australia's history, male or female, after an injury to captain-wicketkeeper Jodie Fields.

After Lanning led the Stars in their successful World T20 title defence she made such a positive impression that the hierarchy privately decided she should retain the role. The fallout came when Fields, an underrated batter and respected leader, announced her international retirement soon after.

Fitzpatrick had envisaged Fields, who had been offered a contract, remaining behind the stumps until at least the 2017 World Cup.

"I would have liked her to stay but you've got to respect the decisions that people make," she said. "But I think it's OK to change your mind as well."

Fitzpatrick's hope that Fields may one day return does not signal a lack of faith in her replacement, Alyssa Healy.

"She's 24 and played in four world cups and won them all," she said of Healy. "There's a bit of pressure underneath her but she's the No 1 keeper now. That might make it just a little bit easier for her."

Fitzpatrick, 46, still lives in Melbourne but the increased importance of the Stars to Cricket Australia means she is a regular visitor to the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. She is appreciative of the added investment in women's cricket, especially for the national team, despite the increased demand for success it brings.

"With that comes accountability and I think the girls know that as well – 'we're going to look after you but we expect big things'. That's life, that's work," Fitzpatrick said. "I enjoy it. There's not much else I'd rather be doing. Of all the choices of jobs you can have I reckon this is one of the best ones going around."

The Twenty20 series against Pakistan begins on the Gold Coast on Saturday.