fastest bowler ever?

[Francis]

Who dost thou consider the fastest bowler ever?

Going on word of mouth I'd say there's only three contenders.

"Typhoon" Frank Tyson
Jeff Thompson
"Whispering Death" Michael Holding

 

[Tom Halsey]

Thommo.

 

[open365]

Concerning old bowlers,does anyone have an accurate recorded speed for them? And when did speedometers come into cricket?

 

[luckyeddie]

Concerning old bowlers,does anyone have an accurate recorded speed for them? And when did speedometers come into cricket?

You can't even depend on speed guns (Doppler radar) to distinguish between players in this day and age (WC2003 and England's tour of WI 2004 being cases in point).

 

[Francis]

What annoys me about experts when they're asked is that they'll mention the blokes they faced. Benaud will say Tyson, Richards will say Thommo etc. I've seen enough of Holding and Thommo to say I think it's just Thommo. There was a story that he once played on the Perth ground, bowled a wild bouncer that flew over everybody's head, and it hit the white board without bouncing! Apparently it scared people.

You can watch clips of Tyson on TV... but the quality of footage doesn't indicate enough.

 

[open365]

You can't even depend on speed guns (Doppler radar) to distinguish between players in this day and age (WC2003 and England's tour of WI 2004 being cases in point).

huh?

 

[luckyeddie]

huh?

The fact that so many players consistently seemed to be bowling at about 4 or 5 clicks faster than their normal speeds in certain one-off games - and altitude wasn't always the reason.

It's a bit of entertainment - no more, no less.

 

[iamdavid]

There was a little segment on the cricket show earlier this summer about a speed contest they had back in the 1970's in the nets at Perth, they got the fastest 7 or 8 bowlers of that era n lined em up in front of a speed gun for an over each I think it was.

I dont know how reliable the speedo was but I remember Thompson won it but his fastest delivery was only recorded in the high 140's ...and noboddy else was really close to him.
It seems pretty unreliable given that it wasnt a match situation and they werent given a whole lot of deliveries...but still...That would imply that if that was anywhere near accurate then Lee...Shoaib...Donald...Bond were at their respective peaks significantly quicker than the fastest of yesteryear.

 

[luckyeddie]

There was a little segment on the cricket show earlier this summer about a speed contest they had back in the 1970's in the nets at Perth, they got the fastest 7 or 8 bowlers of that era n lined em up in front of a speed gun for an over each I think it was.

I dont know how reliable the speedo was but I remember Thompson won it but his fastest delivery was only recorded in the high 140's ...and noboddy else was really close to him.
It seems pretty unreliable given that it wasnt a match situation and they werent given a whole lot of deliveries...but still...That would imply that if that was anywhere near accurate then Lee...Shoaib...Donald...Bond were at their respective peaks significantly quicker than the fastest of yesteryear.

The alternative is that the speed guns are deliberately calibrated to give readings on the high side.

 

[UncleTheOne]

I think it was Geoff Boycott who says he is convinced that at his peak Holding was bowling at around 100mph. Then again Boycott does talk a lot of nonsense.

 

[Xuhaib]

There was a little segment on the cricket show earlier this summer about a speed contest they had back in the 1970's in the nets at Perth, they got the fastest 7 or 8 bowlers of that era n lined em up in front of a speed gun for an over each I think it was.

I dont know how reliable the speedo was but I remember Thompson won it but his fastest delivery was only recorded in the high 140's ...and noboddy else was really close to him.
It seems pretty unreliable given that it wasnt a match situation and they werent given a whole lot of deliveries...but still...That would imply that if that was anywhere near accurate then Lee...Shoaib...Donald...Bond were at their respective peaks significantly quicker than the fastest of yesteryear.

Yeah, i ve heard this story as well but Thommo wasnt in 140's i think it was around 96 miles.

Holding was 93mph with Imran coming 3rd at 91mph.

 

[Xuhaib]

Holding constantly says that Lee and Akhtar are faster then he was.

 

[iamdavid]

Yeah, i ve heard this story as well but Thommo wasnt in 140's i think it was around 96 miles.

Holding was 93mph with Imran coming 3rd at 91mph.

Yeah I've read that before aswell....but it was during one of the Windies tests this summer that they showed the actual footage of them carrying the tests out and the results they got immediately after....and Thommo was under 150...all the other were low 140's at best

 

[Langeveldt]

Shoaib Akhtar

 

[Swervy]

I think the fastest ever was probably Thommo

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Often with the state of the wicket, the pitch of the ball and the general match conditions, some bowlers may feel far faster than others, even if they are really bowling at similar speeds. A reverse swinging yorker at 85mph may feel or look faster than a 90mph long hop.

 

[Swervy]

Often with the state of the wicket, the pitch of the ball and the general match conditions, some bowlers may feel far faster than others, even if they are really bowling at similar speeds. A reverse swinging yorker at 85mph may feel or look faster than a 90mph long hop.

a 90mph long hop...is that not a bouncer?

 

[Kweek]

AP van Troost

 

[C_C]

It will forever be undecieded.
From what i know, the fastest bowler ever(as in consistently fast) would be one of :

Waqar Younis ( before back injury)
Shoaib Akhtar
Michael Holding
Jeff Thompson
Frank Tyson
Patrick Patterson
Roy Gillchrist.

 

[Langeveldt]

a 90mph long hop...is that not a bouncer?

no, if the ball bounces to about your chest/stomach, its a long hop even if its coming at 100mph.. bouncer is neck region or above