Are pace bowling speeds higher today?

[DrWolverine]

 

[DrWolverine]

An express spell by a once a generation bowler in the 80s was probably as fast as any in the decades after.

I am not surprised by Jeff Thomson being in the list.
I am surprised Michael Holding is not in the list.

 

[Kirkut]

The **** this have to do with T20s?

Not only the format but the volume of cricket as well. As much as we dislike T20s, it has vastly changed the game overall in every aspect like Kerry Packer did with ODI popularity.

 

[sayon basak]

I am not surprised by Jeff Thomson being in the list.
I am surprised Michael Holding is not in the list.
View attachment 49391

The bottom four would barely make it in the top 20. And the 159 Kmph delivery wasn't actually from Roberts, but from Thomson. It's mistakenly attributed to Roberts in this page.

All matches | Miscellaneous records | Bowling speeds (1) | ESPNcricinfo

Find records of Bowling speeds (1) in All matches only on ESPNcricinfo.

www.espncricinfo.com

Here's the actual record:


Thomson later clocked at 160.6 Kmph in the 1979 study. That mean's Thomson has 3 deliveries (that are recorded) that would make it in the list. Andy Roberts clocked at 157.4 Kmph.

 

[shortpitched713]

Not only the format but the volume of cricket as well. As much as we dislike T20s, it has vastly changed the game overall in every aspect like Kerry Packer did with ODI popularity.

That's correlation, which has corresponded to the progress over time, not due to the actual format in question. It's not like T20s are some kind of WW2 Era Manhattan project, that it would bring scientific advancement beyond the fact they are popular and competitive.

I would say 4 over spells of T20 would encourage bowlers to be in a mode of going flat out, and get higher speeds. But it would probably reduce longevity and increase injury rates, if you're not used to bowling longer spells. Ultimately though, it's speculation, as we can't exactly run some kind of experiment.

 

[the big bambino]

Are speed guns faster than the 80s and 90s?

 

[DrWolverine]

I would say 4 over spells of T20 would encourage bowlers to be in a mode of going flat out, and get higher speeds. But it would probably reduce longevity and increase injury rates, if you're not used to bowling longer spells. Ultimately though, it's speculation, as we can't exactly run some kind of experiment.

Shoaib has said on multiple occasions he is suffering from chronic pain because of the stress of bowling at such high speeds.

Maybe modern day cricketers are smarter. They could bowl at 150kmph to generate media interest and then reduce speed to prolong longevity.

 

[Coronis]

Not only the format but the volume of cricket as well. As much as we dislike T20s, it has vastly changed the game overall in every aspect like Kerry Packer did with ODI popularity.

Again, many players of yesteryear bowled far more overs a season than any current player. I’m not sure how many times this needs to be said.

 

[capt_Luffy]

Not only the format but the volume of cricket as well. As much as we dislike T20s, it has vastly changed the game overall in every aspect like Kerry Packer did with ODI popularity.

Eg of what Coronis said, between 1894 and 1898, Tom Richardson took 1288 FC wickets!

 

[shortpitched713]

Eg of what Coronis said, between 1894 and 1898, Tom Richardson took 1288 FC wickets!

Lol, you don't have to go that far back.

 

[Coronis]

Eg of what Coronis said, between 1894 and 1898, Tom Richardson took 1288 FC wickets!

I mean I was even just looking at in the context of this thread.

Even say, 1985 when Marshall only played 4 tests, he ended up bowling 1213.4 overs during 1985 across first class and List A. Played a full County season. Or we could look at his 1984 season where he didn’t actually play county cricket but played 13 tests + tour matches + ODIs? 808 overs

Last year Bumrah bowled a lot right? Across The T20 WC and a full IPL season plus his great year in tests? 438.3 overs in total. And 2023 with the WC? 163.3

 

[PlayerComparisons]

Courtney Walsh bowled 85443 FC balls

Jasprit Bumrah bowled 14614 FC balls

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Courtney Walsh bowled 85443 FC balls

Jasprit Bumrah bowled 14614 FC balls

Walsh almost close to the number of seconds in a day: 86400

 

[Coronis]

Walsh almost close to the number of seconds in a day: 86400

moo

 

[capt_Luffy]

Walsh almost close to the number of seconds in a day: 86400

Should come back and bowl another 957 balls imo.

 

[Coronis]

Should come back and bowl another 957 balls imo.

He’d pull some decent money in the IPL still I bet.

Mind you, would take 3 seasons of IPL to bowl that many balls

 

[andruid]

The slower seamers are definitely faster now IMO, so the average will be higher. I don't think there are more express bowlers or that the express bowlers are bowling quicker though.

I remember reading something, a few years back, that modern-day pace bowlers are shying away from being express for longevity purposes.

 

[Kirkut]

Again, many players of yesteryear bowled far more overs a season than any current player. I’m not sure how many times this needs to be said.

You need to compare the stakes and the intensity of the game as well. Players in the past also consumed beer and cigarettes during lunch breaks, not something you would expect even a domestic cricketer to emulate today.

That's correlation, which has corresponded to the progress over time, not due to the actual format in question. It's not like T20s are some kind of WW2 Era Manhattan project, that it would bring scientific advancement beyond the fact they are popular and competitive.

I would say 4 over spells of T20 would encourage bowlers to be in a mode of going flat out, and get higher speeds. But it would probably reduce longevity and increase injury rates, if you're not used to bowling longer spells. Ultimately though, it's speculation, as we can't exactly run some kind of experiment.

Yes, I wasn't implying that T20 format was envisaged to create super fit cricketers but more like current fitness standard is a collateral product. It also explains why cricketers these days do very less cardio and too much weights causing frequent injuries.

 

[Coronis]

You need to compare the stakes and the intensity of the game as well. Players in the past also consumed beer and cigarettes during lunch breaks, not something you would expect even a domestic cricketer to emulate today.

You mean how multiple Englishmen e.g Boycs, considered county just as or more important? iirc Hadlee I think said something similar about his time at Notts.

Certainly more important than any T20I or non WC ODI.

 

[Starfighter]

The slower seamers are definitely faster now IMO, so the average will be higher. I don't think there are more express bowlers or that the express bowlers are bowling quicker though.

Geoff Boycott made a similar observation in one of his books, that at the end of his career the quick bowlers weren't quicker, but there were more of them than at the start of his career - partly due to the West Indies' prolific production of fast bowlers.

That said I think some of the quicker bowlers in England in the sixties would still stand out in County Cricket today. And the Sheffield Shield isn't exactly full of speedsters either.