SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Its not a type of bowling but a type of action.
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The Fast Bowler's fast Bowlers
- Thread starter SJS
- Start date
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
ALEC BEDSER
By Trevor Bailey
Alec Bedsr was the finest post war fast-medium bowler. He ranks alongside the immortals of other eras, possibly just ahead of Maurice Tate and just behind Sydney Barnes. He stood, both figuratively and literally, above all others of his breed.
Alec surged up the wicket, not especially quickly, but so strongly that it would have taken an anti-tank gun to stop him reaching his classical action.... a model for any young bowler. Everything was correct, arms, shoulders, body and feet, with his right foot coming down behind and parallel to the bowling crease and his left foot pointing to fine leg before he swiveled as he released the ball. Although these characteristics suggested an away-swinger, curiously Alec's stock delivery was the in-swinger, which dipped in very late and brought him numerous victims, either 'bowled through the gate' as they tried to drive him through the covers or caught at backward short leg usually off an inside edge.
Although Alec was not fast, about Botham's pace, he did come of the pitch quicker than one expected because of his fine body action and perfect timing. Consequently a batsman after a long innings against him would have a bruised right hand as a result of the constant jarring from the bat handle after the ball hit the blade.
He wanted the wicket keeper standing up to the stumps, not back as even medium pacers do today, and this meant that he never had to strain for extra pace. It also provided with an extra aiming mark and hemmed in the batman. He was fortunate in having the assistance of two high quality keepers in Evans for England and McIntyre for Surrey. One of the great sights of cricket was to see one of them taking Alec on a pitch that was giving some help, with the ball cutting off the seam and frequently bouncing shoulder high.
I especially treasure two catches which Godfrey took off Alec. The first was in a Test during the 1950-51 Australian tour. when Neil Harvey produced a genuine leg-glance, not a tickle, and was caught airborne and full length down the leg side. The other was in the, comparatively relaxed, and unimportant, atmosphere of the Scarborough Festival. Billy Sutcliffe played a leg side glide off the middle and if Geoffrey had been standing back it would have been too wide to catch. But he was standing up and dived to take the ball left handed and parallel to the ground.
Alec maintained a full length, especially with the new ball and attacked the stumps, so forcing the batsman to play almost every delivery. Pinning him down accurately, he he worried him with movement both in the air and off the seam and occasionally deceived him with a cleverly disguised slower ball that was seldom picked until it had been released.
I once put my hand on Alec's palm to compare the size of our fingers. Mine just reached the first joint of his! This was one reason why he was able to cut and spin his famous leg-cutter so much that in certain conditions he was close to being unplayable.
What made Alec's leg-cutter so much more effective than that of any other bowler was the pace and the accuracy with which he bowled it, combined with the fact that it would occasionally bite and turn even on a plumb wicket.
ALEC BEDSER
by FredTrueman
He was the greatest fast-medium bowler of my era and he will certainly go down as one of the game's immortals. His record of 236 wickets becomes far more remarkable when you consider the opposition he bowled against and that for much of his career their was no class support at the other end.
Alec was one of the few bowlers I knew who had a complete side-on action and yet bowled the in-swinger, making the ball dip in very late, go a long way and bounce. With Len Hutton he worked out a method of dismissing Don Bradman. He would place Len just behind square on the leg side and he trapped the Don there on several occasions. Because he knew how to bowl to his field, you could stand to him very close without being in danger, for his aim was to make the batsman play every ball.
In addition to pushing the ball away from the bat, as contrast to his in-swing, he mastered probably the best leg cuttter of all time.
You will hear the Australians call a certain delivery a leg-cutter, which I would call a seamer. The leg-cutter that Alec bowled was different. His hand was pulled across the seam, and with the aid of the fingers it was really a very fast leg break, Alec was helped by having enormous hands and fingers which were so large that when he placed the ball inside his fingers, it could not be seen.
Bowling his leg-cutters on a rain affected wicket or a dusty one, he could be virtually unplayable. The ball would dip into the batsman at a very lively fast-medium, and immediately after it had pitched it would cut back sharply towards the off. No batsman in the world really had an answer to the delivery which starts outside the off stump, pithces on leg stump, and hits the top of the off.*
The most impressive, genuine, leg-cutters I have ever seen, besides Alec's, were bowled by the England and Derbyshire bowler, George Pope.
His (Alec's) run up may have loked a little laboured, but I suspect it was simply an illusion brought about by his massive frame. In his body action, the ;big fella' pulled himself up to his full height before swinging those immense shoulders round as he delivered the ball.
I don't think I will see the like of him in my life time.
By Trevor Bailey
Alec Bedsr was the finest post war fast-medium bowler. He ranks alongside the immortals of other eras, possibly just ahead of Maurice Tate and just behind Sydney Barnes. He stood, both figuratively and literally, above all others of his breed.
Alec surged up the wicket, not especially quickly, but so strongly that it would have taken an anti-tank gun to stop him reaching his classical action.... a model for any young bowler. Everything was correct, arms, shoulders, body and feet, with his right foot coming down behind and parallel to the bowling crease and his left foot pointing to fine leg before he swiveled as he released the ball. Although these characteristics suggested an away-swinger, curiously Alec's stock delivery was the in-swinger, which dipped in very late and brought him numerous victims, either 'bowled through the gate' as they tried to drive him through the covers or caught at backward short leg usually off an inside edge.
Although Alec was not fast, about Botham's pace, he did come of the pitch quicker than one expected because of his fine body action and perfect timing. Consequently a batsman after a long innings against him would have a bruised right hand as a result of the constant jarring from the bat handle after the ball hit the blade.
He wanted the wicket keeper standing up to the stumps, not back as even medium pacers do today, and this meant that he never had to strain for extra pace. It also provided with an extra aiming mark and hemmed in the batman. He was fortunate in having the assistance of two high quality keepers in Evans for England and McIntyre for Surrey. One of the great sights of cricket was to see one of them taking Alec on a pitch that was giving some help, with the ball cutting off the seam and frequently bouncing shoulder high.
I especially treasure two catches which Godfrey took off Alec. The first was in a Test during the 1950-51 Australian tour. when Neil Harvey produced a genuine leg-glance, not a tickle, and was caught airborne and full length down the leg side. The other was in the, comparatively relaxed, and unimportant, atmosphere of the Scarborough Festival. Billy Sutcliffe played a leg side glide off the middle and if Geoffrey had been standing back it would have been too wide to catch. But he was standing up and dived to take the ball left handed and parallel to the ground.
Alec maintained a full length, especially with the new ball and attacked the stumps, so forcing the batsman to play almost every delivery. Pinning him down accurately, he he worried him with movement both in the air and off the seam and occasionally deceived him with a cleverly disguised slower ball that was seldom picked until it had been released.
I once put my hand on Alec's palm to compare the size of our fingers. Mine just reached the first joint of his! This was one reason why he was able to cut and spin his famous leg-cutter so much that in certain conditions he was close to being unplayable.
What made Alec's leg-cutter so much more effective than that of any other bowler was the pace and the accuracy with which he bowled it, combined with the fact that it would occasionally bite and turn even on a plumb wicket.
ALEC BEDSER
by FredTrueman
He was the greatest fast-medium bowler of my era and he will certainly go down as one of the game's immortals. His record of 236 wickets becomes far more remarkable when you consider the opposition he bowled against and that for much of his career their was no class support at the other end.
Alec was one of the few bowlers I knew who had a complete side-on action and yet bowled the in-swinger, making the ball dip in very late, go a long way and bounce. With Len Hutton he worked out a method of dismissing Don Bradman. He would place Len just behind square on the leg side and he trapped the Don there on several occasions. Because he knew how to bowl to his field, you could stand to him very close without being in danger, for his aim was to make the batsman play every ball.
In addition to pushing the ball away from the bat, as contrast to his in-swing, he mastered probably the best leg cuttter of all time.
You will hear the Australians call a certain delivery a leg-cutter, which I would call a seamer. The leg-cutter that Alec bowled was different. His hand was pulled across the seam, and with the aid of the fingers it was really a very fast leg break, Alec was helped by having enormous hands and fingers which were so large that when he placed the ball inside his fingers, it could not be seen.
Bowling his leg-cutters on a rain affected wicket or a dusty one, he could be virtually unplayable. The ball would dip into the batsman at a very lively fast-medium, and immediately after it had pitched it would cut back sharply towards the off. No batsman in the world really had an answer to the delivery which starts outside the off stump, pithces on leg stump, and hits the top of the off.*
The most impressive, genuine, leg-cutters I have ever seen, besides Alec's, were bowled by the England and Derbyshire bowler, George Pope.
His (Alec's) run up may have loked a little laboured, but I suspect it was simply an illusion brought about by his massive frame. In his body action, the ;big fella' pulled himself up to his full height before swinging those immense shoulders round as he delivered the ball.
I don't think I will see the like of him in my life time.
* It is interesting to note the similarity between this and the way Barnes unplayable deliveries behaved. The major difference one supposes was that Barnes actually spun the ball .
Both Trueman and Bailey had Bedser bowling at the other end when they made their Test debuts.
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Trueman and Bailey cover a very large number of fast-medium to fast bowlers including :
To put in excerpts about all would surely contravene copyright regulations. I will therefore put in my comments on what appears to be their views on how the leading ones in these match up in an all time greats line up which is what we are discussing.
1. Lindwall :
There is absolutely no doubt that both Trueman and Bailey consider Lindwall as the greatest fast bowler they have ever seen.
In the art of fast bowling Ray Lindwall has no peer. To me he was the greatest of them all. .... he made the ball leave the right hand batsman, the sure hallmark of a great, ... combined with the one that came back sharply off the seam ... later he learn(t) to bowl a very effective in-swinger.... born out of necessity....in the Lancashire league..
There he .... was regularly beating the outside edge with pace and swerve ...also... there was a tendency for the slips to put down the catch if the batsman did get an edge.
It quickly dawned on Ray....an in-swinger was the obvious answer. Ray went into the nets...the effort worthwhile because, unlike so many outswing bowlers who did this and end up with an inner which went early..... Ray produced an iner which dipped in fast, late and went a long way.
Ray had the most rhythmical accelrating run up I have ever seen..he was so beautifully balanced as he went in to the delivery stride .... I have always thought that if Beethoven had loved cricket and seen Lindwall bowl, he would have written another symphony.
In addition to his pace and action, Ray had three other essential attributes. Firstly, he was a fine, natural athlete... Secondly, ... he had a killer instinct which enabled him to produce that extra venom when it was most needed...and finally, he had the stamina and the heart that enabled him to come back at the end of a long hot day
I do not believe I shall see the likes of Ray Lindwall again..
2. Lillee :
Both of them also seem to rate Lillee behind Limdwall as the second best.
Hall is rated as the greatest of the fast bowlers to come from the West Indies.
He is rated (so it appears) to be the second best from the carribean after Wes Hall.
5. Frank Tyson :
Both are unhesitating in calling him the fastest bowler they have seen or played with and against. But with nothing much to fall back upon once his pace was reduced.
6. Mike Holding :
His famous 14 wicket spell against England is considered by Trueman as easily the greatest piece of fast bowling he has ever witnessed in his entire life.
Its interesting to see that like Lillee, they both rate Hall and then Roberts so high.
And like Imran they rate Lillee as the finest of the fast bowlers since 1970.
Alec Bedser :
Amongst fast medium bowlers, from those they saw, they rate Bedser, head and shoulders above all others. Even rating him slightly above Tate and slightly below Barnes (both of whom they did not see). Again these are not very different from the ratings of others, most famously Don Bradman who saw at least two of them
- Larwood, Voce, Bowes, Bedser, Les Jackson Tyson. Trueman himself, Statham, Snow, Willis and Botham from England
- Lindwall, Miller, Davidson. Mckenzie, Lillee, Thomson and Walker from Australia
- Adcock, Heine, Peter Pollock from South Africa
- Constatntine, Martindale, Hall, Griffith, Roberts, Holding, Garner and Croft from West Indies
- Fazal, Imran, Sarfraz and kapil from the sub-continent
- Cowie, Taylor and Hadlee from New Zealand
- Lindwall, Miller, Davidson. Mckenzie, Lillee, Thomson and Walker from Australia
- Adcock, Heine, Peter Pollock from South Africa
- Constatntine, Martindale, Hall, Griffith, Roberts, Holding, Garner and Croft from West Indies
- Fazal, Imran, Sarfraz and kapil from the sub-continent
- Cowie, Taylor and Hadlee from New Zealand
To put in excerpts about all would surely contravene copyright regulations. I will therefore put in my comments on what appears to be their views on how the leading ones in these match up in an all time greats line up which is what we are discussing.
1. Lindwall :
There is absolutely no doubt that both Trueman and Bailey consider Lindwall as the greatest fast bowler they have ever seen.
In the art of fast bowling Ray Lindwall has no peer. To me he was the greatest of them all. .... he made the ball leave the right hand batsman, the sure hallmark of a great, ... combined with the one that came back sharply off the seam ... later he learn(t) to bowl a very effective in-swinger.... born out of necessity....in the Lancashire league..
There he .... was regularly beating the outside edge with pace and swerve ...also... there was a tendency for the slips to put down the catch if the batsman did get an edge.
It quickly dawned on Ray....an in-swinger was the obvious answer. Ray went into the nets...the effort worthwhile because, unlike so many outswing bowlers who did this and end up with an inner which went early..... Ray produced an iner which dipped in fast, late and went a long way.
Ray had the most rhythmical accelrating run up I have ever seen..he was so beautifully balanced as he went in to the delivery stride .... I have always thought that if Beethoven had loved cricket and seen Lindwall bowl, he would have written another symphony.
In addition to his pace and action, Ray had three other essential attributes. Firstly, he was a fine, natural athlete... Secondly, ... he had a killer instinct which enabled him to produce that extra venom when it was most needed...and finally, he had the stamina and the heart that enabled him to come back at the end of a long hot day
I do not believe I shall see the likes of Ray Lindwall again..
2. Lillee :
Both of them also seem to rate Lillee behind Limdwall as the second best.
Lilee is ... unquestionably one of the all time great quick bowlers of the game... he is the last of what I would describe as the classical fast bowlers.....
He is fast bowling perfection.... a fine running action worthy of an Olympic athlete.... couple(d) with balance, rhythm, fire in the belly, stamina and a big heart and you are close to greatness. The last piece of the jig-saw is the bowling action which in the case of Lillee is superb. His action and timing can not be bettered.
Instead of pumping his arms down his sides, he held them quite high in front of the lower portion of his chest and thus achieved the smoothness which he believes has greatly helped him in the twilight of his career. I am sure he is right....his approach... which he starts slowly before accelrating into full speed, to be even better balanced when he reaches his delivery stride and to be high when he releases the ball.
I would strongly advise any budding quick bowler with a good physique to get hold of a video of Dennis bowling and study it carefully, for here is a wonderful example of the classical action. His left arm reaches for the sky and points towards fine-leg so that he is sideways -on to the batsman and looking round the side of his left arm. Then the right arm comes over the top, swings across close to the body and finishes outside his left leg. Finally there is that sweet controlled follow through which reduces the strain on his body.
In terms of figures, Lillee is the greatest fast bowler ever, but I believe that Ray Lindwall was even better and despite a lower arm action, he swung the ball even more. It would have been marvellous to have seen the two 'L's' in action together.
There can be few more exhilarating sights in cricket than watching bowlers like Lindwall, Hall and Lillee in action against top-class batsmen, a combination of excitement and beauty, poetry in motion.
He is fast bowling perfection.... a fine running action worthy of an Olympic athlete.... couple(d) with balance, rhythm, fire in the belly, stamina and a big heart and you are close to greatness. The last piece of the jig-saw is the bowling action which in the case of Lillee is superb. His action and timing can not be bettered.
Instead of pumping his arms down his sides, he held them quite high in front of the lower portion of his chest and thus achieved the smoothness which he believes has greatly helped him in the twilight of his career. I am sure he is right....his approach... which he starts slowly before accelrating into full speed, to be even better balanced when he reaches his delivery stride and to be high when he releases the ball.
I would strongly advise any budding quick bowler with a good physique to get hold of a video of Dennis bowling and study it carefully, for here is a wonderful example of the classical action. His left arm reaches for the sky and points towards fine-leg so that he is sideways -on to the batsman and looking round the side of his left arm. Then the right arm comes over the top, swings across close to the body and finishes outside his left leg. Finally there is that sweet controlled follow through which reduces the strain on his body.
In terms of figures, Lillee is the greatest fast bowler ever, but I believe that Ray Lindwall was even better and despite a lower arm action, he swung the ball even more. It would have been marvellous to have seen the two 'L's' in action together.
There can be few more exhilarating sights in cricket than watching bowlers like Lindwall, Hall and Lillee in action against top-class batsmen, a combination of excitement and beauty, poetry in motion.
The true greatness of Dennis Lillee is reflected in the fact that, when increasin years had taken some of his fire, he remained an outstanding wicket taker at the international level This was becasue he had other weapons in addition to speed; the away-swinger, a 'nip-backer', change of pace and of course superb control.
Such skills take years of application and practice, the right temperament and technique to perfect, and without such groundwork most bowlers will never rise above the ordinary.
Dennis is a complete fast bowler, a thinking cricketer who has gone on harvesting wickets long after he lost his fearsome pace. He is the Muhammed Ali of the cricket field, an artist while Thomson is essentially a slugger with a knock out punch but no subtlety.
3. Wes Hall : Such skills take years of application and practice, the right temperament and technique to perfect, and without such groundwork most bowlers will never rise above the ordinary.
Dennis is a complete fast bowler, a thinking cricketer who has gone on harvesting wickets long after he lost his fearsome pace. He is the Muhammed Ali of the cricket field, an artist while Thomson is essentially a slugger with a knock out punch but no subtlety.
Hall is rated as the greatest of the fast bowlers to come from the West Indies.
Wes Hall ... was to me, easily the finest fast bowler the West Indies have ever produced. He stood over six feet tall and was so magnificiently proportioned that he could have been designed by a precision engineer.
In addition to pace through the air, he had a classical fast bowler's action with his left shoulder coming right round so that it pointed down the wicket at the batsman. This enabled him to move the ball away from the right-hander and, combined with his speed, was one of the main reasons why he was the West Indies' main wicket taker...
The Wes Hall run-up was the longest I have seen, but umlike the marathon excursions of subsequent imitators, it was one of the most graceful it has been my pleasure to witness. He reminded me of a train leaving the station: that slow deliberate start gradually building up to full speed as he approached his delivery stride. This incorporated the timing, balance and rhythm required to propel the ball at a pace sufficient to alarm even the brave.
Wes Hall was built along the lines of the thoroughbred horses he loved so much and used to ride as a kid, a magnificent black stallion, lean, lithe and exciting to watch just moving towards the starting gates. Tall, graceful, broad-shouldered and narrow-hipped, Wes simply glided over the ground during his long, spectacular run-up from a mark near the edge of the boundary. Nobody ever complained about the length of his approach because it was one of the most beautiful sights in the game.
Wes seemed to flow into a high classical action and a glorious follow through. The outcome was exceptional speed, a natural away swing, lift from just short of a length and the occasional break-back.
His pace was never less than very fast and on occasions pure black lightening. Unquestionably he was amongst the quickest and most magnificent fast bowlers cricket has ever seen.
4. Andy Roberts : In addition to pace through the air, he had a classical fast bowler's action with his left shoulder coming right round so that it pointed down the wicket at the batsman. This enabled him to move the ball away from the right-hander and, combined with his speed, was one of the main reasons why he was the West Indies' main wicket taker...
The Wes Hall run-up was the longest I have seen, but umlike the marathon excursions of subsequent imitators, it was one of the most graceful it has been my pleasure to witness. He reminded me of a train leaving the station: that slow deliberate start gradually building up to full speed as he approached his delivery stride. This incorporated the timing, balance and rhythm required to propel the ball at a pace sufficient to alarm even the brave.
Wes Hall was built along the lines of the thoroughbred horses he loved so much and used to ride as a kid, a magnificent black stallion, lean, lithe and exciting to watch just moving towards the starting gates. Tall, graceful, broad-shouldered and narrow-hipped, Wes simply glided over the ground during his long, spectacular run-up from a mark near the edge of the boundary. Nobody ever complained about the length of his approach because it was one of the most beautiful sights in the game.
Wes seemed to flow into a high classical action and a glorious follow through. The outcome was exceptional speed, a natural away swing, lift from just short of a length and the occasional break-back.
His pace was never less than very fast and on occasions pure black lightening. Unquestionably he was amongst the quickest and most magnificent fast bowlers cricket has ever seen.
He is rated (so it appears) to be the second best from the carribean after Wes Hall.
Roberts is able to bowl a very effective late out-swinger, as well as the ball which nips back sharply off the seam. His succes comes from speed combined with excellent control and the ability to change his pace without changing his action. He is a complete fast bowler.
In addition to a well disguised slower ball, Roberts possesses two bouncers which can not be picked before the ball is released.
Roberts is a thoughtful quickie who is eager to capitalise on the weakness of the batsman. He is helped by a balanced run-up which takes little effort out of him and allows him to camouflage his changes of pace, which is largely derived from powerful shoulders, arms and back. What has pleased me about his bowling is that if the batsman fails to make contact, there is evcery chance that the ball will hit the stumps. Furthermore, he controls himself much better than any of his contemporaries. His anger smoulders, rather than burst into flame.
In addition to a well disguised slower ball, Roberts possesses two bouncers which can not be picked before the ball is released.
Roberts is a thoughtful quickie who is eager to capitalise on the weakness of the batsman. He is helped by a balanced run-up which takes little effort out of him and allows him to camouflage his changes of pace, which is largely derived from powerful shoulders, arms and back. What has pleased me about his bowling is that if the batsman fails to make contact, there is evcery chance that the ball will hit the stumps. Furthermore, he controls himself much better than any of his contemporaries. His anger smoulders, rather than burst into flame.
5. Frank Tyson :
Both are unhesitating in calling him the fastest bowler they have seen or played with and against. But with nothing much to fall back upon once his pace was reduced.
I always say without fear of contradiction that the quickest bowler I have ever seen, or played against, was Frank Tyson.
Frank was so quick that I often saw him beat a batsman when his bat was still going up on the backlift !...Even on the Northants wicket, the distance between Frank at the commencement of his run and wicket-keeper Keith Andrews was 78 yards!. On a small ground the slips were close to the boundary.
...once his terrific pace was gone he had nothing to fall back upon. He relied so much on sheer strength that he did not posses the basic action, body swing and rhythm to last as long as, say, Dennis Lillee. Without the breath taking pace, he became just another bowler.
Frank Tyson was the fastest bowler England has produced since the war....Frank depended on sheer speed. He blew into county and Test cricket rather like the typhoon to which he was often likened, leaving behind him a trail of destruction before swiftly disappearing from the scene.
For a few short years, he was the quickest I ever played with or against. Holding and Lillee at their peak may have rivalled him for speed, and certainly were more complete bowlers, but I doubt if they were as fast through the air.
Frank was so quick that I often saw him beat a batsman when his bat was still going up on the backlift !...Even on the Northants wicket, the distance between Frank at the commencement of his run and wicket-keeper Keith Andrews was 78 yards!. On a small ground the slips were close to the boundary.
...once his terrific pace was gone he had nothing to fall back upon. He relied so much on sheer strength that he did not posses the basic action, body swing and rhythm to last as long as, say, Dennis Lillee. Without the breath taking pace, he became just another bowler.
Frank Tyson was the fastest bowler England has produced since the war....Frank depended on sheer speed. He blew into county and Test cricket rather like the typhoon to which he was often likened, leaving behind him a trail of destruction before swiftly disappearing from the scene.
For a few short years, he was the quickest I ever played with or against. Holding and Lillee at their peak may have rivalled him for speed, and certainly were more complete bowlers, but I doubt if they were as fast through the air.
6. Mike Holding :
His famous 14 wicket spell against England is considered by Trueman as easily the greatest piece of fast bowling he has ever witnessed in his entire life.
I maintain that one of the greatest, possibly 'the greatest', piece of sustained fast bowling it has ever been my privilege to witness was by Michael Holding in the 1976 Test at The Oval. To appreciate the full significance of that performance it first necessary to realise that it was achieved on an absolute featherbed... It is fascinating and revealing to examine the figures of other fast and medium fast bowlers in that match.
Its interesting to see that like Lillee, they both rate Hall and then Roberts so high.
And like Imran they rate Lillee as the finest of the fast bowlers since 1970.
Alec Bedser :
Amongst fast medium bowlers, from those they saw, they rate Bedser, head and shoulders above all others. Even rating him slightly above Tate and slightly below Barnes (both of whom they did not see). Again these are not very different from the ratings of others, most famously Don Bradman who saw at least two of them
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archie mac
International Coach
All great stuff SJS, have you read Alan Davidson's auto bio?
I seem to remember him listing his best ten fast bowlers
I seem to remember him listing his best ten fast bowlers
The Masterplan
U19 Debutant
Michael Holding is the best fast bowler of all time...
and where is Allan Donald.. ?
and where is Allan Donald.. ?
archie mac
International Coach
Going by the names on the list the book quoted was written in the 70s or early 80s at the latest
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Ek ne kahi
Doosre ne maani
Kahe Nanak
Dono he Gyaani
Doosre ne maani
Kahe Nanak
Dono he Gyaani
Translation :
One makes a pronouncement
The Other agrees completely
Sayeth Nanak
Clearly both are pundits
The Other agrees completely
Sayeth Nanak
Clearly both are pundits
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
No I haven't. Must try and get hold of it.All great stuff SJS, have you read Alan Davidson's auto bio?
I seem to remember him listing his best ten fast bowlers
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
I find this book "Larwood to Lilley" one of the finest as far as discussing the bowling actions, styles and the benefits/drawbacks thereof to the bowlers concerned. The amount of technical discussion between TEB and FST (a large part of the book is in the form of a discussion) is fantastic and does justice to the two bowler authors.
For those really interested in knowing about these bowlers, without the hype and emotions that some of the famous writers bring to their writing, you cant do much better than this.
For those really interested in knowing about these bowlers, without the hype and emotions that some of the famous writers bring to their writing, you cant do much better than this.
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Okay. Now to whet everyone's appetite here are some of these bowlers in action.
1. Dennis Lillee : Bouncing Viv Richards
1. Dennis Lillee : Bouncing Viv Richards
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
2. Dennis Lillee : Benaud's views
Benaud confirming that Lillee is the number one fast bowler he has ever seen and he has seen them all from Lindwall and Miller till today
Benaud confirming that Lillee is the number one fast bowler he has ever seen and he has seen them all from Lindwall and Miller till today
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SJS
Hall of Fame Member
3. Dennis Lillee : 8-29 against World XI
Great bowling, of course, but one of the first things that caught my attention on this clip was Sir Garfield going back with his high back-lift to a good length ball from Dennis and playing it so gracefully to the off side.
Great bowling, of course, but one of the first things that caught my attention on this clip was Sir Garfield going back with his high back-lift to a good length ball from Dennis and playing it so gracefully to the off side.
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Burgey
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Here's some 74-75 footage of Thommo & Lillee to chill any Englaishman to the bones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6oPGYasddQ&feature=related
At about 2.25 you can see Marsh standing near Lillee's marker. I recall a doco on Lillee fort eh 70s called "25 steps", being the length of his paced-out run up.
This may give us a better indication of how far back Marsh et al were standing with Thommo at full tilt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6oPGYasddQ&feature=related
At about 2.25 you can see Marsh standing near Lillee's marker. I recall a doco on Lillee fort eh 70s called "25 steps", being the length of his paced-out run up.
This may give us a better indication of how far back Marsh et al were standing with Thommo at full tilt.
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SJS
Hall of Fame Member
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Here in this gem are the actions of Tyson, Larwood, Trueman, Snow, Old and Botham . As a bonus you get to see Hammond's magnificent driving and Hutton's ferocious cutting as well!