The balls of the century

[ankitj]

Will be a shame if the one to Laxman in this spell doesnt make the list

Good call

The balls of the century, No. 2: Mohammad Asif to VVS Laxman

The perfect incoming delivery doesn't exist. Or does it?

www.thecricketmonthly.com

 

[stephen]

What an unspectacular number 2. It was just an off cutter that gripped and Laxman played a terrible shot to it.

 

[Daemon]

What an unspectacular number 2. It was just an off cutter that gripped and Laxman played a terrible shot to it.

Yep, just your standard 130kph delivery that ripped in more than most spinners can even turn it

 

[stephen]

Yep, just your standard 130kph delivery that ripped in more than most spinners can even turn it

A slower, less spectacular version of Starc's ball that hit the cracks.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Sure someone's said this already, but balls that hit cracks shouldn't count

 

[ankitj]

Your face shouldn't count.

I tried

 

[Daemon]

A slower, less spectacular version of Starc's ball that hit the cracks.

Yeah, but it didn't jag off a crack lol. He used to bowl this ball pretty often iirc, this was just the best example of it.

 

[ankitj]

I love how Asif's cricinfo profile write-up starts:

Few Pakistani fast bowlers have been as wily and smart as Mohammad Asif, though fewer have been as prone to scandal and controversy off the field. Neither claim can easily be made given the rich competition.

 

[nightprowler10]

This list finally has some legitimacy

 

[OverratedSanity]

I don't think it's even a cutter. It just jagged back in off the shaky seam a mile imo. The article mentions Asif saying swing and cut/break numerous times but it might just be a language issue.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I don't think it's even a cutter. It just jagged back in off the shaky seam a mile imo. The article mentions Asif saying swing and cut/break numerous times but it might just be a language issue.

The word "cut" can mean a few things. A lot of people refer to movement off the seam as "cut". That was always the case when I was growing up.

 

[nightprowler10]

Yeah his bowling was super reliant on the wobbly seam. Swing/seam/cut are very interchangeably used in Pakistani commentary.

 

[trundler]

A slower, less spectacular version of Starc's ball that hit the cracks.

wat

 

[nightprowler10]

You know, that ball that would've gone way down leg to the 7th stump if not for the yuge crack? That one.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Your face shouldn't count.

I tried

I wish. Would increase tinder matches by 1000%

 

[trundler]

It's just an odd comparison. The 2 balls don't have anything in common except for deviating sharply. One was a fluke because it hit a crack and the other wasn't. To say Asif's one went like an off break would be selling it massively short.

 

[trundler]

I wish. Would increase tinder matches by 1000%

1000% of 0 is still 0

 

[Starfighter]

The word "cut" can mean a few things. A lot of people refer to movement off the seam as "cut". That was always the case when I was growing up.

Just bolwing with a wobbly seam won't do that anyway. There needs to be a little bit of 'sideways' on the ball so it actually deviates when it digs into the surface.

 

[nightprowler10]

I just realized that's the 2nd entry into the top 10 from the same match.

 

[TheJediBrah]

It's just an odd comparison. The 2 balls don't have anything in common except for deviating sharply. One was a fluke because it hit a crack and the other wasn't. To say Asif's one went like an off break would be selling it massively short.

Tbf the Asif one was largely a fluke as well. There's no way he planned for that ball to do exactly what it did, just landed it on the wobbly seam to see what would happen.