Line and Length
Cricketer Of The Year
I always admired a fine side on action (sadly I didn't have one) but I think it's fallen out of favour due to stresses over long periods.
-
Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
A history of fast bowling
- Thread starter Starfighter
- Start date
NotMcKenzie
International Debutant
Thing is that—although they've not actually worked out the actual mechanism AFAIK—, lumbar stress fractures are associated with greater counter-rotation, and counter-rotation is greater the more chest-on a bowler gets.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Nw we come to the country that has produced more than its fair share of quick bowlers. While the West Indies is known for its spindly, bloody tall bowlers like Garner, Ambrose and at a more modest pace, Holder (and Tony Gray, who has the greatest proportion of legs to torso I've ever seen on anybody), this wasn't always so. The West Indian bowlers we will meet here (including a couple of later ones) are varied style wise, but they're all about 5'8". This isn't uncommon for the era, Larwood, Cotter and Walter Brearley were about the same height as well, among others, but it would be very unusual today, when diets are richer and people of such height are steered away from being pace bowlers.
The first bowler shown close up in the video below was oldest and slowest, Herman Griffith and though sometimes credited with being fast, is perhaps more accurately described as fast-medium for the era, at least when he debuted at age 34 (at least Wisden agrees). With a shuffling run of maybe ten steps, a modest but distinctive leap and low front arm he was nonetheless a much respected and even feared bowler throughout the Caribbean. Interestingly, some newspapers I've seen, and Don Bradman, call him 'Griffiths', a mistake also commonly suffered by Charlie Griffith three decades later. Why?
The other one is much more well known, the ever popular Learie Constantine. Also an explosive though inconsistent batsmen and all round box office figure, his popularity in the Lancashire league made him one of the highest paid sportsmen in Britain. Earlier in his career, as shown in the 1928 film, Constantine was a tearaway and at times one of the fastest bowlers around. Although his run of ten paces was a short for an express bowler even then he had big, powerful strides and an explosive leap of rare size for the era. Later on when he played league cricket he smoothed out the action and cut down the pace most of the time, instead substituting subtlety.
One might note the dropped catch at gully off Constantine at the end of the video. The 1928 West Indies team was an exceptionally poor fielding side, quite possibly the worst ever to play tests, and their slips catching was especially bad, with disastrous outcomes for a team reliant on their pace bowlers. And as you can see, the drop was a relative dolly.
The third of these fast bowlers was George Francis, who came between in age and pace, and possessed an even higher, more abrupt jump at delivery, again nothing special for these days but very remarkable at the time.
1933, when he was recalled at age 36 for the first test against England
Constantine and Francis bowling together in Australia in 1930.
Constantine in 1938, notice how different his action is.
One thing I learned from the reading the Australian newspapers of the 30/31 people was that the 'being nice' epithet for people of African descent was 'dusky'. Try getting that in a paper these days...
The first bowler shown close up in the video below was oldest and slowest, Herman Griffith and though sometimes credited with being fast, is perhaps more accurately described as fast-medium for the era, at least when he debuted at age 34 (at least Wisden agrees). With a shuffling run of maybe ten steps, a modest but distinctive leap and low front arm he was nonetheless a much respected and even feared bowler throughout the Caribbean. Interestingly, some newspapers I've seen, and Don Bradman, call him 'Griffiths', a mistake also commonly suffered by Charlie Griffith three decades later. Why?
The other one is much more well known, the ever popular Learie Constantine. Also an explosive though inconsistent batsmen and all round box office figure, his popularity in the Lancashire league made him one of the highest paid sportsmen in Britain. Earlier in his career, as shown in the 1928 film, Constantine was a tearaway and at times one of the fastest bowlers around. Although his run of ten paces was a short for an express bowler even then he had big, powerful strides and an explosive leap of rare size for the era. Later on when he played league cricket he smoothed out the action and cut down the pace most of the time, instead substituting subtlety.
The third of these fast bowlers was George Francis, who came between in age and pace, and possessed an even higher, more abrupt jump at delivery, again nothing special for these days but very remarkable at the time.
1933, when he was recalled at age 36 for the first test against England
Constantine and Francis bowling together in Australia in 1930.
Constantine in 1938, notice how different his action is.
One thing I learned from the reading the Australian newspapers of the 30/31 people was that the 'being nice' epithet for people of African descent was 'dusky'. Try getting that in a paper these days...
Last edited:
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
So nice of you to timestamp the videos too, @Starfighter 
You really are doing such a wonderful job for all of us cricket nerds here.
You really are doing such a wonderful job for all of us cricket nerds here.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
The period around 1930 was especially bad for Australian fast bowling, in fact with long matches and dry, slow wickets spinners dominated the entire inter-war period to an extent not remotely approached since. Here I'll leave a few of the more peripheral figures of Australian pace bowling from that period.
www.britishpathe.com
I'm try to avoid posting many of these because they won't display in the thread, but the film in this link shows fast-medium Otto Nothing (bowling from right) who went wicketless in his only test and allrounder Hunter 'Stork' Hendry bowling as England lose two wickets while chasing 15 (the tai lenders were sent out to bat). As the first innings was 639 in 272 overs, suffice to say this bowling combination was not a success.
Ted a'Beckett played four tests with such a spectacular lack of success he took only three wickets at 106
At this time it became common for Stan McCabe to be the second pace bowler, sometimes even opening with his occasionally nippy but rarely spectacular medium pace.
I may as well include Gordon Amos, who never played a test, but eh, what the heck. He bears an extremely remarkable resemblance in action to Eddie Fuller, a South African fast-medium bowler from the fifties.
Alan Fairfax opened the bowling in quite a few tests with his waddling run bearing a bit a resemblance to Neil Hawke. Remarkably, in 10 matches he managed to achieve a batting average of 51 with a top score of only 65.
One of the better ones was Laurie Nash, who despite being 5'9" could make the ball lift sharply in favourable conditions and send down a fair share of short balls if riled. Although he has a high non-playing stock, he was at most as fast as, and usually slower than the bowler we'll be looking at next. An aggressive player and rather uncouth, it is felt that he was kept out of the Australian and Victorian sides by the more class-conscious establishment. And because I've clean forgotten the provenance of my one shot of him that doesn't look like it was filmed underwater and isn't from a million miles away, you can have the latter and him partially concealed behind the title of a different film.
There's a good shot of Wally Hammond bowling in the first of the two above, the one with the generic title, at 0:21. Not sure whether I'll bother digging up more of him specifically, but I'll point it out as he was considered fast-medium in his day.
Australia: England V Australia 2nd Test Match At Sydney
British Pathe, the world's leading multimedia resource with a history stretching back over a century. The finest and most comprehensive archive of fabulous footage and stunning stills.
www.britishpathe.com
Ted a'Beckett played four tests with such a spectacular lack of success he took only three wickets at 106
At this time it became common for Stan McCabe to be the second pace bowler, sometimes even opening with his occasionally nippy but rarely spectacular medium pace.
I may as well include Gordon Amos, who never played a test, but eh, what the heck. He bears an extremely remarkable resemblance in action to Eddie Fuller, a South African fast-medium bowler from the fifties.
Alan Fairfax opened the bowling in quite a few tests with his waddling run bearing a bit a resemblance to Neil Hawke. Remarkably, in 10 matches he managed to achieve a batting average of 51 with a top score of only 65.
One of the better ones was Laurie Nash, who despite being 5'9" could make the ball lift sharply in favourable conditions and send down a fair share of short balls if riled. Although he has a high non-playing stock, he was at most as fast as, and usually slower than the bowler we'll be looking at next. An aggressive player and rather uncouth, it is felt that he was kept out of the Australian and Victorian sides by the more class-conscious establishment. And because I've clean forgotten the provenance of my one shot of him that doesn't look like it was filmed underwater and isn't from a million miles away, you can have the latter and him partially concealed behind the title of a different film.
There's a good shot of Wally Hammond bowling in the first of the two above, the one with the generic title, at 0:21. Not sure whether I'll bother digging up more of him specifically, but I'll point it out as he was considered fast-medium in his day.
Last edited:
Red
The normal awards that everyone else has
Why? Watson used to love the history of pace bowling.
morgieb
Request Your Custom Title Now!
There's a.....certain stigma about Watson. I did 100% take your post referring to his knowledge of cricketing history but can see why someone would take it the other way.
But in any case, the answer is no.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Now for the one you're all clamouring for, if recent comments are any indication. Australia's premier fast bowler in the late twenties and early thirties was Tim Wall. Possessor of the best ever Sheffield Shield innings figures of 10/36 (though his team still lost) his test record is more modest with an average of 35, due to very poor record in England. Lively rather than express he bowled with off a brisk run of fifteen paces and entered the crease with unusual, skidding steps that were criticised by some newspaper writers as losing him pace. Bowling big out swingers with a more chest on action than normal he was often the only specialist pace bowler selected in a team dominated by spin.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
And yet Ranji is credited with opening up the entire area behind square on the leg side for scoring. It is weird.
Migara
Cricketer Of The Year
That is weird because behind the quare shots can pe played with a simple mow, without any techniques. So that would be the basic shots of cricket, even when the technique is taken out. It need not be "invented". It is there with any one.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Geez Burgey and GAS were asking for Wall and then they don't even turn up.
Anyway. 1929 and we can move onto another South African tour of England, which was notable for being significantly less dismal a failure than the previous. In a tour which only carried three members from the 1923 side it is not surprising to find out that the bowling attack had changed substantially, by which I mean entirely. (It also included JP Duminy, who was there on a business trip. Must say he did well to go pro 72 years later.)
First of all the fast bowler Arthur L. Ochse, who we have refer to with at least his middle initial lest we confuse him wth Arthur E. Ochse, who played in SA's dubiously designated first 'tests' in 1889. In case you're wondering, the proclamation on the card shown there did prove to substantially exaggerated. In a side 'without a fast bowler of the highest class' Wisden said that 'he worked hard but his limitations were somewhat pronounced', them being lack of pace, accuracy and consistency. Things I consider important in a fast bowler. He is most interesting for his action supposedly resembling that of JJ Kotze, those who have seen the rather odd looking pictures of him will now have some idea how such an action is supposed to work.
Fellow slinger Denys Morkel was one of the side's two fast medium bowlers and probably the best bowler on the tour. In action he has a very strong resemblance to Nupen and Blanckenberg but was not so perplexed by the difficulties posed from bowling on a turf pitch. I must say that the very concept of bowling on turf being much harder than on matting would be a mystery to those of us of non-intimidating pace brought up on artificial grass pitches. I've personally always wanted to have a try of a coir pitch just to see what it's like.
The other fast-medium owler in the side was A.J. 'Sandy' Bell, who was probably their most successful pacemen in the interwar period, though this isn't saying much as those who didn't play all their tests on matting had rubbish records. A bowler of inswingers at a sometimes brisk but never fast pace, Bell is notable for his approach to bowling after a short, dashing run:
1: Jump fairly high in air with left arm straight up and right arm straight down
2: Bowl
3: Profit
I'm not too sure i've seen another bowling action that looked remotely like this. I must say that if you're struggling to teach someone to bowl, this may not be a bad approach. In my experience most beginners stay in the gather too long and try swing their arm far too late.
Anyway. 1929 and we can move onto another South African tour of England, which was notable for being significantly less dismal a failure than the previous. In a tour which only carried three members from the 1923 side it is not surprising to find out that the bowling attack had changed substantially, by which I mean entirely. (It also included JP Duminy, who was there on a business trip. Must say he did well to go pro 72 years later.)
First of all the fast bowler Arthur L. Ochse, who we have refer to with at least his middle initial lest we confuse him wth Arthur E. Ochse, who played in SA's dubiously designated first 'tests' in 1889. In case you're wondering, the proclamation on the card shown there did prove to substantially exaggerated. In a side 'without a fast bowler of the highest class' Wisden said that 'he worked hard but his limitations were somewhat pronounced', them being lack of pace, accuracy and consistency. Things I consider important in a fast bowler. He is most interesting for his action supposedly resembling that of JJ Kotze, those who have seen the rather odd looking pictures of him will now have some idea how such an action is supposed to work.
Fellow slinger Denys Morkel was one of the side's two fast medium bowlers and probably the best bowler on the tour. In action he has a very strong resemblance to Nupen and Blanckenberg but was not so perplexed by the difficulties posed from bowling on a turf pitch. I must say that the very concept of bowling on turf being much harder than on matting would be a mystery to those of us of non-intimidating pace brought up on artificial grass pitches. I've personally always wanted to have a try of a coir pitch just to see what it's like.
The other fast-medium owler in the side was A.J. 'Sandy' Bell, who was probably their most successful pacemen in the interwar period, though this isn't saying much as those who didn't play all their tests on matting had rubbish records. A bowler of inswingers at a sometimes brisk but never fast pace, Bell is notable for his approach to bowling after a short, dashing run:
1: Jump fairly high in air with left arm straight up and right arm straight down
2: Bowl
I'm not too sure i've seen another bowling action that looked remotely like this. I must say that if you're struggling to teach someone to bowl, this may not be a bad approach. In my experience most beginners stay in the gather too long and try swing their arm far too late.
Last edited:
the big bambino
International Captain
Wisden allowed that he was erratic but never said Ochse lacked pace. Just that Kotze, generally a failure, was quicker.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
1930 would see Bradman thump the English, including a couple of new fast bowlers that they brought to the test scene.
A stockbroker and on his day one of the liveliest bowlers of the era, George Oswald Browning 'Gubby' Allen was born in Australia, though that didn't stop him being very English. A relative latecomer to the test scene, his career was held back by not actually having that much money at the time and his employers being reticent to give him the time off. This may have contributed to not being in the highest class consistency and accuracy-wise as well. He possessed one of the finest bowling actions of the era, with a much more modern style of a fairly high leap and bending the torso over a braced front leg, rather than the rotary style that would be common until the end of the back-foot no-ball era. After a short, 11 pace run he sprang into the air and snapped his body and arm over with great force, followed by a strong follow through also more reminiscent of a modern bowler. Starting his test career off a Lord's in 1930 with 0/115 as Bradman scored 254, he would hit his peak in the 1932/33 Ashes, more well known for when he refused to bowl to the leg field (though he was never averse to sending down a short ball if needed). Already 30 he not unnaturally slowed down over the years but remained effective at times, although failed against the 1934 Australians. He struggled later on with injuries and post war played little, yet at 46 was recalled to lead a weak England side against the West Indies in 1948. He is also notable for being the only captain to lose a series from two-up, against Australia 1936/37. He would also have a long career in administration.
Seen here in 1926, four years before debut, he does not look quite so neat, rhythmic or fast.
In a 1932 tour match.
He had a fine performance on a slow pitch at Adelaide in 1933, but other events would overshadow it.
A stockbroker and on his day one of the liveliest bowlers of the era, George Oswald Browning 'Gubby' Allen was born in Australia, though that didn't stop him being very English. A relative latecomer to the test scene, his career was held back by not actually having that much money at the time and his employers being reticent to give him the time off. This may have contributed to not being in the highest class consistency and accuracy-wise as well. He possessed one of the finest bowling actions of the era, with a much more modern style of a fairly high leap and bending the torso over a braced front leg, rather than the rotary style that would be common until the end of the back-foot no-ball era. After a short, 11 pace run he sprang into the air and snapped his body and arm over with great force, followed by a strong follow through also more reminiscent of a modern bowler. Starting his test career off a Lord's in 1930 with 0/115 as Bradman scored 254, he would hit his peak in the 1932/33 Ashes, more well known for when he refused to bowl to the leg field (though he was never averse to sending down a short ball if needed). Already 30 he not unnaturally slowed down over the years but remained effective at times, although failed against the 1934 Australians. He struggled later on with injuries and post war played little, yet at 46 was recalled to lead a weak England side against the West Indies in 1948. He is also notable for being the only captain to lose a series from two-up, against Australia 1936/37. He would also have a long career in administration.
Seen here in 1926, four years before debut, he does not look quite so neat, rhythmic or fast.
In a 1932 tour match.
He had a fine performance on a slow pitch at Adelaide in 1933, but other events would overshadow it.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
The other one is not quite so well known...
Stan Nichols (for some reason more often known nowadays by his first name Morris) was a fine County allrounder and the mainstay of Essex in the mid-late twenties and thirties, although his test career was short and interrupted. With a laboured, limb flailing eleven pace run, lacking the reputed grace of prior Essex fast bowler Buckenham, he could be very difficult, especially in favourable conditions but was not quite fast enough to intimidate good batsmen on a flat pitch. I would note his action and timing is rather awkward, sitting on the back foot with little momentum through the crease. A natural producer of the old-fashioned off break, his finest performance was on a wet pitch against South Africa and he was also very at home on the matting pitches in India.
Stan Nichols (for some reason more often known nowadays by his first name Morris) was a fine County allrounder and the mainstay of Essex in the mid-late twenties and thirties, although his test career was short and interrupted. With a laboured, limb flailing eleven pace run, lacking the reputed grace of prior Essex fast bowler Buckenham, he could be very difficult, especially in favourable conditions but was not quite fast enough to intimidate good batsmen on a flat pitch. I would note his action and timing is rather awkward, sitting on the back foot with little momentum through the crease. A natural producer of the old-fashioned off break, his finest performance was on a wet pitch against South Africa and he was also very at home on the matting pitches in India.
GoodAreasShane
Cricketer Of The Year
Apologies for the late response, that Wall footage was really good to see.
Keep up the good work
Keep up the good work
Thee batsman who comes on midway through there Trumper, is that the same bloke who is often included in people's best aussie xi of all time?