Fastest Bowler Ever

[deeps]

Norge dix points.

We have a winner. The radar gun measures the maximum speed (the speed the ball leaves the bowler's hand) - any other method would only determine the average speed which is an awful lot less.

The next time you watch a game where they have Hawkeye linked to a speed gun (doesn't happen often), watch when they use the tracker to determine reaction times. The ball might be leaving the bowler's hand at 90 mph but is doing less than 70 when it reaches the batsman.

oh..i was under the impression that the speed guns showed the average speed..

 

[luckyeddie]

oh..i was under the impression that the speed guns showed the average speed..

You wouldn't need a radar gun in that case - just a stop-watch and very good reactions.

 

[a massive zebra]

Dennis Lillee was not one of the fastest bowlers ever, he may have been one of the best, but all the others on this list, plus Charles Kortright, Eddie Gilbert, Charlie Griffith, Patrick Patterson and Alan Donald were almost certainly faster.

 

[tooextracool]

actually dennis lillee before his first injury was pretty fast...may not be as fast as some of the others on that list but was pretty fast

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Roy Gilchrist was pretty quick in his day. Wes Hall wasn't too bad himself.

 

[bennyr]

If what I have read about him is correct, Eddie Gilbert would certainly be right up there.

Of those I have seen bowl, I'd reckon it would be Thommo.

 

[marc71178]

There is one immense drawback to all this, though - and I'm just waiting for the first Cricket Web member to spot it. Until then, I will just sit back being really smug.

What if it's released between 2 frames?

 

[marc71178]

The thommo link doesn't work (I've reported it)

And the UWA are now investigating it for possible remedial work.

 

[Swervy]

how on earth does everyone know that such and such a player from yesteryear was so fast...you are only relying on hearsay.

Lillee at his peak speed wise was probably just as fast as Alan donald and by many accounts quite a bit faster than Charlie Griffith..and how anyone alive now can say some bowler from the turn of last century was quicker than anyone around now I dont know...many people believe that fred spoffoth was frighteningly quick,many others beleive that he was not much more than just medium pace...who do you believe???

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Jeff Thompson/thomson

and Shoaib Akhtar Currently..

 

[NikhilN]

Jeff Thompson/thomson

and Shoaib Akhtar Currently..

Well Sami now holds the record and is bowling in the 90's most of the time, shoaib isnt the fastest anymore

 

[bennyr]

how on earth does everyone know that such and such a player from yesteryear was so fast...you are only relying on hearsay.

Of course you are. Which IMO is only a little bit less valid than making comments about the speed of a bowler you are watching from the comfort of your lounge room on the telly. The only real way of knowing is to involved in the game directly, and with my bung eye and embarrassingly slow reaction time, I am very glad to not to have any part of that particular caper.

 

[hellnback]

Can I step outta the square here for abit and say none of these people mentioned in this thread is "The Fastest Ever", but only the "Fastest We Know Of"???

I'm pretty sure that there would be someone somewhere out there that 'actually' delivers the ball at greater pace/speed, but unfortunately doesn't have the control of the previously mentioned people in the thread, and therefore hasn't been elevated to higher honours thus we don't know of them...

I bet you that "that" person is the quickest.

 

[RMF]

Well Sami now holds the record and is bowling in the 90's most of the time, shoaib isnt the fastest anymore

the speed gun that measured that delivery was said to be inaccurate bythe opperator of it

 

[iamdavid]

Can I step outta the square here for abit and say none of these people mentioned in this thread is "The Fastest Ever", but only the "Fastest We Know Of"???

I'm pretty sure that there would be someone somewhere out there that 'actually' delivers the ball at greater pace/speed, but unfortunately doesn't have the control of the previously mentioned people in the thread, and therefore hasn't been elevated to higher honours thus we don't know of them...

I bet you that "that" person is the quickest.

Kids like that show up quite regularly , thats what talent identification systems are in place for.

If coaches spot a youngster who has natural pace they will work with him & encourage him to bowl fast & use his natural advantage....the finer points such as control & movement can be taught later.

Thats what Simon Jones was like as a kid , always 20kph quicker than everyone else his age , but his control was hopeless (not that its improved much since ) , he used to always feature heavily in the extras column , but since then he has refined things & posseses some measure of control to match his pace.

As for fastest ever Id say Jeff Thompson by quite a margin.
And Eddie about that frame calculation method.
Australia's best know cricket magazine Inside Edge actually tried that back in 2001 & they published some interesting results , apparently they calculated Frank Tyson to have been around 136kph (Andy Bichel pace) , which is interesting as everyone back then said he was teh quickest they'd ever seen.
But its obviously got its flaws otherwise everyone would be doing it.

 

[luckyeddie]

It's quite difficult comparing the pace of bowlers from different eras for another reason I've thought of too - the 'no ball' law.

Until the 1950's, bowlers had to have part of their back foot behind the return crease - the front foot could stretch WAYYYYY down the track at the point of release, by which time the back foot had 'dragged' anyway. It was replaced by the 'front foot' lbw law - some say to counter the twin spin threats of Ramadhin and Valentine which is quite ironic when you think what was to follow.

Anyway, it meant that before then, bowlers were nearer the batsman when they released the ball (by 2 or 3 feet in some extreme cases). We've already discussed how the ball decelerates in flight after leaving the bowler's hand - if the ball has less distance to travel then there will be less air for it to go through, therefore less deceleration. I know that doesn't affect the RELEASE speed of the bowler (as doesn't altitude either) but it will affect the batsman's PERCEPTION of the bowler's speed.

At the end of the day, that's what counts, not some silly radar device that makes people in the crowd go 'Ooooooooooo'

 

[marc71178]

the speed gun that measured that delivery was said to be inaccurate bythe opperator of it

A lot of speed guns are inaccurate. I think the one that "clocked" Sami also had a spinner bowling in the 80s didn't it?

 

[PY]

I would rate the fastest bowler as the person who made the batsman the most uncomfortable when trying to play shots. Some people (Lee) are lightning quick (95+ mph) yet batsmen can tonk them to all parts and don't seem rushed.

Yet I've seen footage of Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts bowling 89, 90 mph and the batsmen not having a clue what is going on and playing shots almost after the ball has gone through.

Speed out of the hand means nothing to me as it is all about getting those 3 sticks out of the ground or hitting the edges and whether the batsman can or cannot cope with it.

 

[CDAK]

shoib akthar... no doubt. I don't rely on the hearsays regarding this topic.

 

[anzac]

Can I step outta the square here for abit and say none of these people mentioned in this thread is "The Fastest Ever", but only the "Fastest We Know Of"???

I'm pretty sure that there would be someone somewhere out there that 'actually' delivers the ball at greater pace/speed, but unfortunately doesn't have the control of the previously mentioned people in the thread, and therefore hasn't been elevated to higher honours thus we don't know of them...

I bet you that "that" person is the quickest.

thinks of Heath Davis - say now I know why NZ has been persisting with Butler - not anywhere near as quick as Davis ever was, but 'at the batsman' all day every day like Davis...........