What level of pace do you consider unplayable?

[LongHopCassidy]

As in, personally for you.

Fastest I've faced would be roughly 125 kph (82-83 mph?). I saw it, but I was never in a position to actually react, let alone score.

 

[Dan]

I think I've faced something similar (teammates swore it was 130km/h, and given one guy I played with used to bowl that when he was playing for the NSW U/17s, it's probably one of the more reliable park-bowler-is-130km/h claims).

First time I faced him he took 6/10 - 5 of the wickets bowled, 5 of the runs conceded when he beamed me. I nicked behind next ball and felt that getting bat on ball was a huge achievement in itself.

Second time around the opposition couldn't believe I played a shot early enough to get the ball in front of square. And he bowled a bouncer that went over my head by a good 2 metres and lodged in the keeper's gloves, some thirty yards back and down a hill.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Probably 130-135kph+. Faced Don Nash many years ago and by the time I realised where the ball was going and got my bat down the stumps were everywhere.


I haven't played for a few years though, so now anything above 120kph would give me a fair workout I reckon.

 

[MW1304]

50mph

 

[Howe_zat]

Struggle with anything faster than a mildly injured bee

 

[Daemon]

Can't play slow bowlers even if they don't turn it. Can't play quicks very well either. All in all I'd say anywhere > 30mph should do the trick against me.

 

[Cabinet96]

I faced a machine at 80mph a few winters ago and then faced someone in a match who felt about similar pace. Blocked one yorker then had my stumps rearranged the next ball. That was a couple of years ago though, so I may have faced people as fast as that since and not really realised.

 

[Red]

Have faced a few very quick guys in the nets. The main issue is that you play your shot as it smashes into the netting behind you. Or the stumps.

 

[silentstriker]

50mph. I've been playing more recently and I don't think the bowlers I face are too much faster than the slow bowlers to be honest....and I still can't play them. Oddly enough I always reflexively go on the backfoot when I'm facing pace (using the term pace loosely, considering the quality of bowlers I face) even though I have no hope whatsoever of ever playing a legitimate backfoot shot.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

can handle 115-120 from a bowling machine as long as it's gun barrel. Anything above that or with any kind of movement and I'm screwed. Have faced Jimmy Baker in the nets, he was bowling well within himself so probably around 110 range. Lethal bounce and leg-cut though

 

[Top_Cat]

The three quickest bowlers I've personally had the misfortune of standing with my dick in hand 19m away from them in the nets; Shane George, Dennis Hickey, Troy Corbett. George and Hickey roughly equal (145+) and skiddy (both guys roughly 5'7"). Corbett was reputedly mid 150's at his peak but I never saw him clocked to prove it, 6'3" ridiculous roaring movement away from the bat. All three far too quick than was necessary against me.

Hated facing Corbett the most even though he was the nicest bloke; being a leftie and moving the ball away from the bat, his line to me started a foot outside leg, right in my blind spot, so he rattled my ribs virtually every ball. Played some indoor with George a couple of years ago. At 38 with tight strings, busted shoulder and generally 3 sheets well before any of us rocked up to the game, was still terrifying.

EDIT: Linkage

 

[Burgey]

The fastest bloke I think I faced was Holdsworth, but I was only a kid at school. It was on AstroTurf and I opened the batting. I turned around to look at the field and the keeper was in a different postcode. Although helmets were in, it wasnt the done thing to wear them then. I thought "This bloke is kidding himself".

He wasn't. I genuinely thought I might die that day.

The other two blokes who were damn quick were Dougeh, and a bloke named Neil Jones who played two shield games for NSW. Played him on a wet deck once and it was God awful.

Objectively, Doug was probably the fastest, but by the time I played him I was in my 30s and a lot of the physical fear thing had gone. Fast blokes seem a lot faster when you're young IMO.

 

[Burgey]

The three quickest bowlers I've personally had the misfortune of standing with my dick in hand 19m away from them in the nets; Shane George, Dennis Hickey, Troy Corbett. George and Hickey roughly equal (145+) and skiddy (both guys roughly 5'7"). Corbett was reputedly mid 150's at his peak but I never saw him clocked to prove it, 6'3" ridiculous roaring movement away from the bat. All three far too quick than was necessary against me.

Hated facing Corbett the most even though he was the nicest bloke; being a leftie and moving the ball away from the bat, his line to me started a foot outside leg, right in my blind spot, so he rattled my ribs virtually every ball. Played some indoor with George a couple of years ago. At 38 with tight strings, busted shoulder and generally 3 sheets well before any of us rocked up to the game, was still terrifying.

EDIT: Linkage

Always wondered what might have been with Hickey. Such a shame he had back issues. He was regarded as the fastest bowler in Australia for a few years there iirc.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

The three quickest bowlers I've personally had the misfortune of standing with my dick in hand 19m away from them in the nets; Shane George, Dennis Hickey, Troy Corbett. George and Hickey roughly equal (145+) and skiddy (both guys roughly 5'7"). Corbett was reputedly mid 150's at his peak but I never saw him clocked to prove it, 6'3" ridiculous roaring movement away from the bat. All three far too quick than was necessary against me.

Hated facing Corbett the most even though he was the nicest bloke; being a leftie and moving the ball away from the bat, his line to me started a foot outside leg, right in my blind spot, so he rattled my ribs virtually every ball. Played some indoor with George a couple of years ago. At 38 with tight strings, busted shoulder and generally 3 sheets well before any of us rocked up to the game, was still terrifying.

EDIT: Linkage

Says a lot that all the guys you mentioned all averaged over 40 in FC. It's a monstrous gap between armchair critics like us and professional cricketers, let alone Tests.

 

[hendrix]

Is it a monstrous gap though or is it more of a "straw that broke the camel's back" type effect?

Presumably, any delivery at 145kph with some movement landing in the right areas is going to trouble even top level batsmen.

I mean if you're bowling at that pace, the difference would presumably be a) good seam position to get consistent movement and b) hitting the correct areas 5/6 balls an over.

The difference might only be the consistency in each of those categories, where 3 good balls an over doesn't cut it, but 4 does.

Huge difference in out come, but not in actual execution.

 

[Top_Cat]

Always wondered what might have been with Hickey. Such a shame he had back issues. He was regarded as the fastest bowler in Australia for a few years there iirc.

Yeah, he'd dropped a few k's by the time I met him but I did hear he was the quickest in the late 80's.

Says a lot that all the guys you mentioned all averaged over 40 in FC. It's a monstrous gap between armchair critics like us and professional cricketers, let alone Tests.

It's true for sure but, for these guys, there are some caveats. George had a couple of good seasons where he averaged around 30 but playing on AO, was always going to struggle to average less than that especially since he didn't move the ball much (had Mitchell Johnson's seam position). Was a genuine alco for most of his career too.

Hickey and Corbett, though, had horrific back troubles. When Corbett moved to SA, he was a really exciting signing but his back literally fell apart after a couple of Second XI games. Just as well because everyone thought he chucked, tbh.

All that said, none of them were McGrath.

 

[social]

Pascoe was definitely the quickest Oz bowler I faced whilst Rackeman was also very sharp

The test bowlers generally put in when they bowled in grade (say 95% anyway) so most were pretty swift but Lenny was just deadset mad and tried to kill everybody

Remember one game where my batting partner top edged him for 6 and he spent the next half hour trying to decapitate me with everything from bouncers to 2 beamers as he got us mixed up at change of overs

Funny thing was that he tried to have the match called off due to the deteriorating light being dangerous to his fieldsmen

Fortunately, the ump was having none of it as he correctly pointed out that it was a little bit more risky for batsmen to be facing him in the dark than it was for the fieldsmen

 

[Top_Cat]

Rackemann looked terrifying, one of those guys who could make the ball come out of nowhere to leap right at your throat.

EDIT: Sort of like this. Horrendously played by Siddons and Rackemann had dropped a fair bit of pace by this point but you get the idea, the ball follows you. Nasty ****.

 

[social]

Rackemann looked terrifying, one of those guys who could make the ball come out of nowhere to leap right at your throat.

Fair to say that I didn't enjoy that one at all

It was the weekend before a shield game and he only bowled a few overs at the end of the day after we had bowled them out

I am left-handed and everything seemed to be coming at my right armpit/throat - not very nice

 

[MrPrez]

Quickest I've faced was a Border u19 quick. No clue to his pace really but you'd assume in the 120s. I get the feeling if I wasn't scared of the ball as a general rule I could more or less have reacted quick enough, but it'd be touch-and-go.