hendrix
Hall of Fame Member
Tait doesn't have this kink and is the same speed.Akhtar is naturally quicker due to the kink he has.
Tait doesn't have this kink and is the same speed.Akhtar is naturally quicker due to the kink he has.
Thought him better latter in his career. His average for the 90s was in the mid 30s.
that would be true towards the end of his career for sure but even then he could crank it up into the mid 90s
Agree with this. It is reasonable to equate cricket with other sports, note the improvement and extrapolate the same about cricket. In contradiction though we've had about 40 years of bowling speeds now and they seem to be about the same. Neither was Larwood a freak of his time. He is just the most famous and since the spotlight (rightly) shines on him people then believe he was the only fast bowler around. There were others with the fastest possibly being Eddie Gilbert whom Bradman rated yards quicker than Larwood in his famous burst at Brisbane. That's some heat. Gilbert was also a small man and I think this counts against the modern physique argument which says men weren't built to bowl fast in the past. I can count off about 20 names of tall fast men in the 30s with Durston and Allom being the largest. They'd be big units even now. Remember too a lot of English fast men like Larwood, Voce and Copson and I think Barratt were miners. Read Perkins book on Larwood and realise what hard work that was. Much harder manual labour than what a modern worker could do. They were strong enough and big enough to bowl with heat even if you assume a big physique is a necessary condition to bowling fast which is atleast arguable.cricket is different though. These guys have been professional for far longer than rugby players.
Some of the athletic development simply isn't applicable to cricket either. Ethiopians destroying marathon in a few minutes doesn't mean anything in the cricket world, and neither does juiced up sprinters or weightlifters setting world records (or baseball players, for that matter). American sport records can pretty much be written off since the 80s due to the prevalence of drugs, and then where else is this overwhelming improvement in human capabilities? Diet? Training? Sorry, but people have understood for a very long time that eating well and training hard is good for you.
As for sport science and technique coaching, I don't think it's that applicable to cricket that we would have seen massive overall improvement. Sure, mastering an ultra-efficient clean and jerk requires immense technical adjustment - but that's a one-off, all or nothing movement. Bowlers bowl long spells during which they gain "rhythm", through which they naturally adjust their actions towards maximal efficiency.
But I agree with the rest of your points. I doubt we've ever had anyone bowl much faster than 160kph. And yeah, Thompson's having a laugh.
Tait fascinates me, because in my earlier, fitter, and 4 stone lighter days - I bowled with a similar ethos and style to Tait. Slow run up and unleash hell. That action now sends an unmanageable pain down my shoulder and arm.Tait always fascinated me. Just had this sort of dawdle up to the crease, and then everything just went ballistic in his delivery stride. He didn't have much natural rhythm at all.
wasn't this stated earlier in the threadBowling actions also understated here imo. Someone like Pattrick Patterson didn't have that 'load up' sort of action that Tait and Akhtar have, can imagine it must be harder to face him if they were hypothetically bowling at the same pace.
My bad, haven't actually read the whole threadwasn't this stated earlier in the thread
evidence of falling standardsI like the fact that my old posts can now win arguments in CC without me having to be here.
I don't think anyone has ever bowled a lengthy spell at this pace. A spell at 160kph would run through any opposition, imo.
I was here on this night. The buzz around the ground was like an unbelievable surge when everyone realized how quick he was bowling.
I think a long delivery stride is a goldmine for pace if it is used properly.Tait always fascinated me. Just had this sort of dawdle up to the crease, and then everything just went ballistic in his delivery stride. He didn't have much natural rhythm at all.
What was he bowling? 130s or 140s? His FC record seemed good but he just looked so rubbish when he played Tests.Had no problem bowling big spells for SA in Shield cricket, just didn't go flat out all day.