wfdu_ben91
International 12th Man
Yeah, I reckon all six delieveries in his first over would've been over the 160kph range if he were playing in South Africa.
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Will Tait break Akhtars world record?
- Thread starter mohammad16
- Start date
mohammad16
U19 Captain
I seriously feel if you were to ask the Tendulkar's, Sehwags, Pontings, Langers and Kallis of who was easily the quickest bowler they ever faced or saw, I am confident almost all of them would point towards Akhtar, not Lee or Tait. I dont know whether its swing, his action or his intimidating run up, but at his quickest Akhtar seemed the most dangerous of the quickies of his generation.
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Goughy
Hall of Fame Member
Big claim to put words in the mouth of a lot of people. Im not saying you are wrong but Id never be so presumptuous.
Out of interest, this is a quote from Tendulkar
"The quickest ball I faced was from Ambrose in Jamaica... luckily it was a bouncer and it went one foot over my head and I was safe "
mohammad16
U19 Captain
Not putting words in their mouth, just saying im quite confident what most of their responses would be. Well I know Lara pointed towards Mohammad Zahid as the quickest hes ever faced, he couldn't put bat to ball against him for 5 straight balls and then lost his wicket on the 6th. Ambrose was very quick but I wouldn't say as quick as Lee/Akhtar etc. Maybe it was the bitter rivalry between Tendulkar and Akhtar that prompted very little praise for Akhtar by Tendulkar. Tendulkar seemed to have a lot more good things to say about Lee's bowling.
YouTube - Shoaib Akhtar v Ricky Ponting (" Fastest Over Ever Bowled " - Langer)
Brian lara said that Mohammad Zahid of Pakistan was the fastest bowler he ever faced. Akhtar even says that Mohammad Zahid was considerably faster than him,and in his opinion the fastest bowler in the world. too bad the PCB messed his career up as they do to so many pak players
archie mac
International Coach
My memory goes back to the 70s, and a couple of spells from Akhtar were as fast as I have ever watched, Thommo and Holding included
Streetwise
Banned
The human eye is not a very good judge of speeds, especially after about 50MPH.My memory goes back to the 70s, and a couple of spells from Akhtar were as fast as I have ever watched, Thommo and Holding included
Migara
International Coach
Mohammed Zahid and Mohammed Akram were much quicker than Akthar or Tait
archie mac
International Coach
Ah right, then he looked faster than Jim Higgs and Eddie Hemmings
Sir Alex
Banned
I agree with this. Ishant was clocked at above 150 kmph, which he has never touched since.
mohammad16
U19 Captain
Mohammad Zahid was not MUCH quicker, also Mohammad Akram was DEFINITELY not quicker than Akhtar.
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
Indeed. Speed guns in South Africa thanks to the altitude makes most bowlers seem quicker.
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
I remember that. but i honestly think that was speed gun glich just like in the 2004 IND vs PAK series when i saw Sami clocked at over 160 to a delivery to Ganguly.
Speed guns in AUS are fairly accurate i'd say. Tait has clocked 160 in AUS twice now, so i'd say its by no means inflated.
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
Never saw Zahid, so wont comment on him. But i saw Akram & thats impossible.
wfdu_ben91
International 12th Man
In all fairness, in that spell Ishant was rushing the batsman and looked to be a handful. Ishant was very quick during that ODI series, but he obviously toned down a bit after that because of his slender build. The ball that was clocked 150kph was very much legitimate.
thierry henry
International Coach
tbh I was under the impression that Ambrose was a Glenn McGrath-type bowler, maybe 140s at best and that's about it?
Migara
International Coach
I have seen only one bowler beating de Silva for pace. Marshall, Ambrose or Walsh did not do it in de Silva's youth. Donald, Waqar and Schultz at their pomp didn't manage it. Akthar and Lee bowling at 160k to a 35yr old de Silva was not too quick for him. But Mohammed AKram at Sialkot in early 1990s did it. That convinced me that Mohammed Akram was very quick.
And of course, that over to Lara from Zahid is well documented.
Migara
International Coach
I think you have seen Akram after the back injury. A bowler who could split open a thigh pad (against Chandika Haturusinghe at Sialkot) is having serious pace.
Zahid played 1992 WC series, and he managed to keep all the West Indians' eyes wide open. They did not see anything quick as that since Thompson.
Top_Cat
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Mid-90's was when he started to slow a bit but before that, was rapid enough. Don't recall him ever being quicker than Bish, though.
That's the thing, though; enough top players have said once a bloke is up past 145Km/h, it's all just 'quick'.
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zaremba
Cricketer Of The Year
In the first part of his career he was genuinely quick and (I'd guess) comfortably able to exceed 90mph (145 kmh), particularly when his tail was up.