Hardest bowling action to get used to...

[Richard]

My batting skill is pretty poor. Ask Neil.

Oh, rest assured, Neil's disdain for your batting ability couldn't possibly match his disdain for mine.
I have the honour of being crowned the worst batsman Neil has ever seen.
Not an inaccurate description, either. I'm certainly the worst batsman I've ever seen.

 

[cricketboy29]

Is he on the books of a county?
If you can bowl left-arm-inswing with an awkward action at decent accuracy and 70mph you'd have to be close to the professional game.

Well, No, since this was in HK, but he plays for the Hong Kong under-19 team.

 

[Richard]

Haha, OK.
I'd hope so too!

 

[Goughy]

Is he on the books of a county?
If you can bowl left-arm-inswing with an awkward action at decent accuracy and 70mph you'd have to be close to the professional game.

There are thousands of 70 mph bowlers around the world and many that swing it. It is no where close to professional standard.

70 mph is decent level school boy cricket

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Our first grade opening bowler pushes 130-135kmph [I'm not sure on mph] and he's quite difficult to face unless he gives you something loose.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

As I say - just because he seemed a similar speed to this other guy doesn't neccessarily mean he was.
Batsmen and observers said Donald and Pollock were a similar speed at one point. Then came 1998, and Pollock was measured at 81-2mph and Donald at 88-9mph.

That'd be because Pollock lost pace. He has said himself that he bowled much quicker at the start of his career. He was in fact extremely quick early in his career, perhaps not Donald pace, but not far off.

In an interview with Mark Nicholas a few weeks ago Nicholas said to Pollock "I remember when you used to charge in, bowl lightning quick and hit people on the head", to which Pollock replied "you must be getting on a bit, if you can remember those days".

 

[Goughy]

That'd be because Pollock lost pace. He has said himself that he bowled much quicker at the start of his career. He was in fact extremely quick early in his career, perhaps not Donald pace, but not far off.

In an interview with Mark Nicholas a few weeks ago Nicholas said to Pollock "I remember when you used to charge in, bowl lightning quick and hit people on the head", to which Pollock replied "you must be getting on a bit, if you can remember those days".

Pollock used to hit batsmen in the head more than any other bowler. Never nasty but always dangerous, and quick in his younger days.

 

[Top_Cat]

That'd be because Pollock lost pace. He has said himself that he bowled much quicker at the start of his career. He was in fact extremely quick early in his career, perhaps not Donald pace, but not far off.

In an interview with Mark Nicholas a few weeks ago Nicholas said to Pollock "I remember when you used to charge in, bowl lightning quick and hit people on the head", to which Pollock replied "you must be getting on a bit, if you can remember those days".

I remember him being distinctly quick myself. He had that huge goose-stepping action too where he got his speed from. He seemed right up there with Donald for sheer speed although it's hard to tell without speed measurements.

 

[Ikki]

I distictly remember Steve Waugh, a fantastic player of spin by the way, saying that he thought Murali was tough to anticipate. He said that his action makes it seem as if he's letting go of the ball sooner than you think so before you know it, the ball is at your end.

Yep, definately Murali's.

 

[Ikki]

We used to have a cricketer in Delhi called Dilbagh Singh (played Ranji Trophy for J&K. In club games he would bowl one, two or three steps before reaching the crease at times. Add to that the fact that he could bowl of the wrong foot and it was very difficult to get used to.

And he always put it on the spot !!

He ran one of Delhi's leading clubs, Delhi Gymkhana and his son Bantu Singh played Ranji Trophy for Delhi too.

My kinda man, innovater .

 

[Richard]

There are thousands of 70 mph bowlers around the world and many that swing it. It is no where close to professional standard.

70 mph is decent level school boy cricket

The point I was making is about awkward actions.
Professional standard isn't about pace - it's about what you do with the ball.

 

[Richard]

That'd be because Pollock lost pace. He has said himself that he bowled much quicker at the start of his career. He was in fact extremely quick early in his career, perhaps not Donald pace, but not far off.

In an interview with Mark Nicholas a few weeks ago Nicholas said to Pollock "I remember when you used to charge in, bowl lightning quick and hit people on the head", to which Pollock replied "you must be getting on a bit, if you can remember those days".

What Pollock was referring to was the first year or so of his career - because that was a long time ago, all but 10 years in fact.
As I say - before 1998, most people thought Donald and Pollock were about the same pace - literally just before the series - not a year beforehand. This turned-out to be vastly off-the-mark.
Most people seem to think that Pollock only lost pace in about 2001 or so, when in fact he was never that quick after his shoulder injury in 1997.

 

[Richard]

Pollock used to hit batsmen in the head more than any other bowler. Never nasty but always dangerous, and quick in his younger days.

Before his shoulder injury in 1997.
Even since then Pollock has still been more than capable of bouncing out batsmen, because you don't have to bowl at 90mph to do so, you just have to have a decent 5mph or so change-up.

 

[Richard]

I remember him being distinctly quick myself. He had that huge goose-stepping action too where he got his speed from. He seemed right up there with Donald for sheer speed although it's hard to tell without speed measurements.

That's the precise point - how fast a bowler seems is very different from how fast he actually is. The first time they were actually measured it was found Pollock was well short of Donald.
What made Pollock so awkward to Hook and Pull - something Michael Atherton alluded to many times - was his angle, that he got so close to the stumps.