Should There be a Uniform Speed Gun

[Cricket_God]

I have been watching the T20 Big Bash on star cricket which broadcasts some matches live
from fox sports and have watched all bowlers except shaun tait were clocking 120-140km/h
even guys like dirk nannes who regularly clocked above 145km/h in champs league ,ipl
were clocking 130-140.

Aamer who was clocking 130-135 in srilanka recently was been clocked at 135-152
by channel nine.

most suncontinental bolwers actually have been clocked faster in australia in recent years
and when they are clocked in subcontinent speedguns again so lower speeds.

in england skysports was doing the ashes and every english and aussie bowler were 140-150 ,even onions touched 150km/h but now english bowlers are clocking 130-140
in southafrica measured by supersportalso i have noticed in there speed guns shorter balls
are clocked quicker in sa while yorkers are generally clocked fastest in other channels

mostly i thing error comes when channels clock the ball when it hits the pitch,while
others like nine, sky clock at the point of release.

 

[Jayzamann]

Might be the descrepancies in conditions as well?

But yeah I can see how sourcing the speed gun technologies to other companies would have different configurations. I always take them with a pinch of salt, as you said, seems most people break through 140km/h these days in Australia.

 

[Sir Alex]

That is quite a brilliant opening post mate regardless of typos. I agree completely.

 

[Richard]

Has it not occurred to some people that different countries are given to different speeds?

England for instance is about the ideal place for optimum pace, as it's not too hot (sometimes too cold mind) and basically all permutations are in place for a lack of exhaustion. The subcontinent on the other hand is often humid and energy-sapping and bowlers bowling slower there is not remotely surprising. The Highveldt in South Africa has much thinner air than anywhere else in the cricket World which means it's much harder to keep your breath and bowl quickly, but also means the ball travels faster. Australia and West Indies are both generally hot but dry heat rather than the humid heat typical to much of the subcontinent.

Speedguns are all based on the same technology regardless of which broadcasting company produced them and the likelihood of all that much discrepancy in timing the same speed is low.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Speedguns are all based on the same technology regardless of which broadcasting company produced them and the likelihood of all that much discrepancy in timing the same speed is low.

I don't necessarily agree with that bit - the gun at Lord's has seemed markedly 'faster' to me than at other Test grounds here in recent years.

 

[Richard]

So you think it's more likely that there's some sort of deviation in the manufacturing process rather than that the human memory is playing tricks and\or Lord's is just a ground where bowlers try harder to bowl really fast, being the most famed ground on the planet and all?

 

[Sir Alex]

So you think it's more likely that there's some sort of deviation in the manufacturing process rather than that the human memory is playing tricks and\or Lord's is just a ground where bowlers try harder to bowl really fast, being the most famed ground on the planet and all?

It is quite obvious.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

So you think it's more likely that there's some sort of deviation in the manufacturing process rather than that the human memory is playing tricks and\or Lord's is just a ground where bowlers try harder to bowl really fast, being the most famed ground on the planet and all?

Not necessarily in the manufacturing process, but in conditions at the ground that affect the readings (not the delivery it's actually being bowled at). There was one Test at Lord's in recent years when some of the readings were unthinkably high - Broad was clocking mid-90s IIRC.

I'm not saying you're wrong re. bowlers reaching different speeds in different conditions, but such a big change between Tests in England where conditions are pretty much ideal for fast bowling (as you say) everywhere seems to suggest something else is at work.

On a side note, do they all use exactly the same technology? Or are there different types of speed gun? Genuine questions.

 

[Top_Cat]

On a side note, do they all use exactly the same technology? Or are there different types of speed gun? Genuine questions.

Same tech, different companies making them. Twin beams, Dopler shift, etc.

Personally think the difference is because the camera have to be put in different spots at different grounds. Reckon the speeds by ground would actually be fairly consistent. Mind you, that there are speed guns everywhere now has necessitated a lot of ego retraction by some quicks which can't be anything other than a good thing.

The biggest thing to come out of the prevalence of speed guns for me is how little raw pace makes a difference to performance at the top level. Have seen Shaoib bowl some devastating spells, for example, but rarely at full tilt. When he (or someone like Lee) backs off the pace a touch and looks to get movement, bowl good lines, etc., was a far, far, far better bowler.

 

[Jarquis]

Was just thinking, why don't you see the differences reflected in the speed of spinners?
Or do you and I just haven't noticed it?

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Was just thinking, why don't you see the differences reflected in the speed of spinners?
Or do you and I just haven't noticed it?

As in, they don't show it? Or you can see the speeds given translated into reality?

Actually find the speed differences when the spinners bowl most interesting TBH.

 

[Jarquis]

As in, they don't show it? Or you can see the speeds given translated into reality?

Actually find the speed differences when the spinners bowl most interesting TBH.

Well somebody mentioned Broad bowling ~95mph at Lords, if it was solely down to the speed gun then surely we'd also see Swann bowling at around 110% of his normal speed as well? So the speeds were down to a dodgy speed gun we could expect Swann's speeds to be ~60mph.
Hope that makes sense.

 

[zaremba]

Was just thinking, why don't you see the differences reflected in the speed of spinners?
Or do you and I just haven't noticed it?

It's possible that we just don't notice it. A 10% difference would mean that Broad might show up at 95mph and Swann at not much more than 60 mph. You'd definitely notice Broad's figure but would probably miss Swann's.

 

[Bahnz]

I remember a few years back when sky started using speed radar in New Zealand that a different technology, based on police speed guns, was used to measure ball speeds than what was used in Australia (I think the justification at the time was that the adoption of the C9 technology was prohibitively expensive). It resulted in markedly different speed ratings, with few bowlers getting much above 130 km/h, and Shane Bond only hitting 140 max. I presume that this technology has since been replaced, as the speed guns on sky are now more or less in keeping with those in Australia, but I've always held the belief that different speeds around the world could be driven by similar differences in technology. Not sure if that's actually the case though.

 

[zaremba]

in south africa measured by supersport also i have noticed in there speed guns shorter balls are clocked quicker in sa while yorkers are generally clocked fastest in other channels

Yes I noticed this when Broad was bowling. I don't know if that's something to do with Broad's bowling or the speed guns though.

 

[Richard]

Well somebody mentioned Broad bowling ~95mph at Lords, if it was solely down to the speed gun then surely we'd also see Swann bowling at around 110% of his normal speed as well? So the speeds were down to a dodgy speed gun we could expect Swann's speeds to be ~60mph.
Hope that makes sense.

Were plenty of occasions I thought Swann was bowling a bit too quickly that series so if he was up at ~60mph on not-a-few occasions I'd not be surprised.

 

[Richard]

It is quite obvious.

What is?

 

[Richard]

Not necessarily in the manufacturing process, but in conditions at the ground that affect the readings (not the delivery it's actually being bowled at). There was one Test at Lord's in recent years when some of the readings were unthinkably high - Broad was clocking mid-90s IIRC.

I'm not saying you're wrong re. bowlers reaching different speeds in different conditions, but such a big change between Tests in England where conditions are pretty much ideal for fast bowling (as you say) everywhere seems to suggest something else is at work.

I'm sure there'll be conditions which affect readings (as opposed to conditions which affect the actual speed of delivery) from time to time, but I'd not want to bet these remained constant at certain grounds. I imagine if such things exist they'd probably be variable.

 

[Jarquis]

Were plenty of occasions I thought Swann was bowling a bit too quickly that series so if he was up at ~60mph on not-a-few occasions I'd not be surprised.

Yes but focusing on the Lords example, if there was an issue with the speed gun than practically every ball would be up in the 58-62 bracket, with the flighted one a more normal 55mph perhaps.
There were no doubt spells where Swann did bowl at around 60mph but if the issue was with the speed gun at Lords than the speeds would still differ, the quicker spells would be quicker again.

 

[Debris]

Speed guns are just a bit of a diversion for fans. Not really a part of the game so no real need to standardise them.