SF Barnes

[zaremba]

Thanks for the photos guys - magnificent.

Where are the photos of Cotter taken by the way? It look like the same place where the photos taken of Barnes were taken.

 

[fredfertang]

The nursery at Lords

 

[JBH001]

Great pics, SJS.

Especially love the Cotter pics. I would be trembling in my boots if I were a batsman and saw that unfurling at the other end.

 

[Goughy]

Ive written and coach a lot about aspect of fast bowling that are comparable to bending a ruler back as far a possible and then letting it go.

Ive seldom (if ever) seen a bowler that has the amount of flex and elasticity that Cotter displays in the photos.

The 'ruler' is being bent back to almost breaking point and possesses a great deal of explosion.

 

[Goughy]

On Cotter

 

[Burgey]

I think what Bradman was getting at was that it was difficult for Gilbert to maintain that kind of speed for any more than a few overs at a time, let alone a few seasons.

And I think dear Mr Boycott would argue that Holding was still as fast as ever in 1981...

I was chatting to a bloke the other day who played against Holding in a match in England at a League level or summat.

He fancied himself as a decent player, and was for the standard he played at.

Anyway, the other team has this West Indian playing for them, but this bloke doesn't know who he is.

He comes in at number 3. Looks around the field and sees the keeper is a loooong way back. Thinks this bloke is kidding himself as he pushes off the fence.

First ball - didn't see it - caught the shoulder of the bat, goes through slips for four.

"Hey man, you'll be able to tell your grandkids you hit Michael Holding for four".

Gulp.

Second ball - missed his head by a whisker.

"Just try to stay alive man".

Third ball - middle stump cartwheeled.

Relief.

 

[Sanz]

Wow !! Some amazing action in this thread.

 

[SJS]

What might be more illuminating is that Plum Warner, who thought Kortright the fastest, considered the South African Kotze the second fastest - Kortright's biographer follows that one up with confirmation that Halliwell, the South African 'keeper, was known on occasions to stand up to Kotze and take leg side stumpings!

Here they are

JJ Kotze - South African Super fast bowler

 

[Migara]

All these super fast bowlers looks like slingers. Any chance that Larwood was the forst to bowl with upright action that fast?

 

[SJS]

One of the really fast English bowlers, who is normally forgotten in discussions today is Lancashire's Walter Brearley. Here is a rare series of Brearley

Walter Brearley

Clearly this is not exactly a series since he is wearing a cap in two of the four pictures

 

[SJS]

Until Bradman talked of O'Reilly, no one thought of any other competitior to Barnes for the world's greatest ever bowler than those who thought the Demon was the greatest. In fact, the greatest compliments that Barnes recieved in his early international career were that people started comparing him to Spofforth. He was the WG Grace of bowling in those days. Cardus was one of those who was very reluctant to admit that anyone could be better than Spofforth. There were many others who went to their graves firmly convinced that this was the case.

There werent any action pictures in those days due to the low level of technology for photography. With very long exposure, you had to sit still without blinking to get a good picture. Action pictures of sportsmen were near impossible to get without the blurring caused by the motion.

Beldham,, a cricketer *** photographer collaborated with the legendary CB Fry to photograph the best batsmen, bowlers and fielders of the day. The photographs I have posted here are from the second of their immportal two volume works - Great Batsmen (Great Bowlers and Fielders) : Their Methods at a glance. With over 1200 hundred full page photographs they left us a treasure house without which we would have had no clue as to how these vague figures actually looked when in action.

They managed to get Spofforth to bowl for quite some time, bowling all his different deliveries. Most of the pictures you may have seen of Spofforth bowling in a tie and with cap on are from this session.

Here follows a visual treat ...

 

[SJS]

This study is most interesting for it shows variations in deliveries and use of the crease. Spofforth would normally bowl over the wicket but was not tied down to the orthodoxy of that and would come round the wicket at times as shown below where he is bowling a slow leg break. It is interesting that even 120 years ago the top bowlers were willing to bowl from both sides of the wicket and today after the game has 'supposedly evolved' (as it has in some respects) many modern day Test bowlers are just stuck to bowling from one side of the wicket.

................

Even when bowling over the wicket he could go wide of the crease as he does here ...

...... From his follow through you can see his bowling variations. Here they are ...

The Out swinger (notice where the right hand is headed)....AND... The Fast Break Back (Off Break)

.........

 

[SJS]

Spofforth's variations ...continued

The fast leg cutter

The Top Spinner (To hold its line after pitching)

and the leap to bowl the super fast delivery which could be a yorker which he was very good at bowling.

Its difficult to say whether Spofforth would have let himself go in this photo session - unlikely but one can still get an idea of this great bowlers armoury.

 

[The Sean]

Here they are

JJ Kotze - South African Super fast bowler

Fascinatingly, when you look at Kotze's grip here he too looks like he's bowling what we'd call a fast off-break. Much like the Richardson photos that Goughy posted, there's clear finger-shape there to indicate he's trying to break the ball of the pitch rather than go for sheer speed.

 

[Goughy]

Fascinatingly, when you look at Kotze's grip here he too looks like he's bowling what we'd call a fast off-break. Much like the Richardson photos that Goughy posted, there's clear finger-shape there to indicate he's trying to break the ball of the pitch rather than go for sheer speed.

Yeah, without a doubt.

 

[The Sean]

The Spofforth photos are also wonderful - I'd seen several of those before but never get tired of them. What we must remember when looking at them is that these pics were taken when Spofforth was 42 years old and well past his Test-playing prime. Even in these photos you can see more than a hint of the power and technique that made him so great. I can only imagine what an action shot of him in his lithe, athletic prime must look like. Sadly, such photos do not exist.

 

[SJS]

On Cotter

Thanks for that Goughy. It was great and very moving watching and hearing that video.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Other than Spofforth's leg cutter, most of the recent ones posted today display the bent arm that the simplistic of mind use to vilify Murali with.

 

[zaremba]

Here they are

JJ Kotze - South African Super fast bowler​

Even if I were a wicketkeeper, which I am not, and brave, which I am not, I wouldn't be standing up to the stumps to a bowler whose action looked anything like this.

 

[The Sean]

Even if I were a wicketkeeper, which I am not, and brave, which I am not, I wouldn't be standing up to the stumps to a bowler whose action looked anything like this.

I'd be more concerned with the sheer madness in his eyes in the middle photograph.