Historical footage: Impressions of some greats

[smash84]

Wow. Good catch

 

[harsh.ag]

Weird how Kanhai comes out to open in the second innings in both the games

 

[watson]

Hey what do you, know, the video watson provided was actually this match

3rd Test: West Indies v Pakistan at Kingston, Feb 26-Mar 4, 1958 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

It's the game where Sobers got the 365 to set the new record. The scorecard matches up with the one you can see if you pause the video at 1:34.

So, the first bowler is almost certainly Khan Mohammad, as none of the other bowlers in the scorecard match Khan's description. And the medium-pace-cutter bowler seen a bit later is Fazal.

Well done for noticing that the heading of the video was incorrect.

So what do you make of Fazal's action ORS?

To me his action is a little round armed, and there is not much follow through at all. To take all those wickets Fazal must have put a lot of 'work' on the ball as he seems about medium-fast. He has been compared to Alec Bedser and I reckon that comparison is about right.

Khan Mohammad seems quicker than Fazal, and you can tell that he's trying for outswing, or maybe a leg-cutter in the deliveries we saw. His head leaning over to the left during the run-up is quite distinctive.

 

[the big bambino]

Contemporary comments about Fazal's action describe him as ungainly and frankly the footage appears to bear that out. On action alone Khan M looks the better bowler. I get the impression that everything in Fazal's run up and action serve the purpose of getting the balance right and supple work on the ball to get the cut and swing that made him a demon. I think he averaged about 38 in that WI series with the bulk coming in Trinidad which had a matting wicket back then, I think.

Fazal was a great bowler on the mat but he could still be deadly on turf as his performance against England proves. I just think he needed a little bit in the pitch to work his stuff. The pitches in this series seemed a little too good for him (and the other bowlers tbf).

 

[watson]

Found that footage of Fazal and Khan on youtube - less cumbersome than the other format.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Well done for noticing that the heading of the video was incorrect.

So what do you make of Fazal's action ORS?

To me his action is a little round armed, and there is not much follow through at all. To take all those wickets Fazal must have put a lot of 'work' on the ball as he seems about medium-fast. He has been compared to Alec Bedser and I reckon that comparison is about right.

Khan Mohammad seems quicker than Fazal, and you can tell that he's trying for outswing, or maybe a leg-cutter in the deliveries we saw. His head leaning over to the left during the run-up is quite distinctive.

Yeah Fazal seems a lot like Bedser, and from his action, Khan reminded me of Wes Hall a bit.

 

[watson]

Some great footage of Ernie McCormick, Bill O'Reilly, and Bill Voce bowling - although very brief. McCormick seems really quick and has Hammond caught while fending one to short-square. O'Reilly's delivery is interesting as the Umpire doesn't seem to mind him overstepping by a good half metre. What the?

 

[fredfertang]

'twas the days of the back foot no ball law which eventually caused the 1950s dragging controversy

 

[The Sean]

Some great footage of Ernie McCormick, Bill O'Reilly, and Bill Voce bowling - although very brief. McCormick seems really quick and has Hammond caught while fending one to short-square. O'Reilly's delivery is interesting as the Umpire doesn't seem to mind him overstepping by a good half metre. What the?

Those were the days of the back-foot no-ball rule, so overstepping with the front foot wasn't an issue.

Also, love the commentary - "Don Bradman stays with him long enough to score 38, about 160 less than we all expected."

 

[Midwinter]

Was that the Gabba ?

Where was the dog track ?

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Fazal relied on 'making the ball talk' and variations than pace. Averaging probably around 127-128 with 130 KPH max with that action of his. A lot slower than I thought initially. Khan Mohammad was the first out and out fast bowler from Pakistan. Similar comparison can be made of Amar Singh and Nissar. Nissar was probably the fastest from sub continent.

 

[the big bambino]

Fazal probably like the Asif of his era. Wonder if he preferred keepers to stand over the stumps?

 

[Migara]

Fazal may have been even slower. Medium fast according to Pakistanis.

 

[smash84]

What's the difference between medium fast and fast medium?

 

[the big bambino]

Hard to say but with his skill set you'd think he'd be able to exert even greater pressure on the batsman by getting his keeper to stand up to him. At my guess of his speed I can't see any reason why he would ever need a keeper standing back. From the view the film allows he seems like he his putting a lot of wrist work on the ball which would be a surprise for me as I thought he was a kind of very fast offie. Maybe he was just trying to get some leg cutters going.

A terrific bowler and the first time I've ever seen him after reading so much of him. He almost came to Australia in 1947 and was even selected before politics prevented him touring. There were occasions that season when weather gave bowlers an even chance and provided Fazal one or two occasions where he could have picked up a haul of wickets.

 

[watson]

What's the difference between medium fast and fast medium?

From what I can gather.....

Medium = 110 to 120

Medium Fast = 120 to 130

Fast Medium = 130 to 140

Fast = 140 to 150

Express > 150


Classifying bowlers can be difficult because their speed varies. For example, Glenn McGrath occasionally hit the mid-140s but for the most part he was between 130 to 140. Therefore, I see him as a Fast-Medium bowler rather than a Fast bowler. From the footage I can't see Fazal bowling consistently in the 130s. As a guess, I would say that his stock delivery would be around the 125 mark.

In fact, for bowlers like Fazal, Bedser, Barnes, Toshack, and O'Reilly they probably wouldn't want to bowl much past the 120s as they attack the batsman using swing, cut, and spin, and much of those things would be lost if their pace was any faster.

 

[smash84]

can't remember McG operating in the mid 140s. I mostly remember him in the early 130s

but i get your point

 

[watson]

Here is some footage of Adcock and Heine bowling to England. Unfortunately there are only two deliveries by Adcock at 1 min 5 secs, and 1 min 25 secs. The second bit of footage shows Godfrey Evans being caught at leg-slip. Adcock doesn't seem to to have a pause in his delivery where he gathers himself like most quicks. Instead he seems to 'runs through the crease' rather like Procter used to do, and looks every bit as fast. Scarily so.

 

[Migara]

Here is some footage of Adcock and Heine bowling to England. Unfortunately there are only two deliveries by Adcock at 1 min 5 secs, and 1 min 25 secs. The second bit of footage shows Godfrey Evans being caught at leg-slip. Adcock doesn't seem to to have a pause in his delivery where he gathers himself like most quicks. Instead he seems to 'runs through the crease' rather like Procter used to do, and looks every bit as fast. Scarily so.

The frame rate looks bit crappy. I would go with the distance where the keeper and slips stand. Was this wicket quick or slow? or was it matting? If it was matting, the pace is very poor given where the keeper stands. Regulation 125k bowlers get the ball carrying nicely to keeper at this distance.

 

[watson]

There is little doubt that Adcock was a genuine fast bowler by any standard. In Adcock's obituary Wisden made the following comments regarding the same series shown in the footage.

Blond and 6ft 3in, he was a striking figure, although it was not until late in his career that he added muscularity to his speed. His run-up was straight and fluent, and he delivered the ball with a high arm and a perfectly upright body. Batsmen and fellow bowlers were baffled by how much pace and, crucially, lift from a good length he generated from this curious, whippy action - "like a sudden gust turning a light windmill," said Wisden......

His first-class debut for Transvaal came in November 1952; just over a year later he was opening the bowling for South Africa against New Zealand at Durban. He played in all five Tests in that series, delivering 24 wickets and plenty of physical and psychological damage. But he failed to live up to expectations in England in 1955, when he was plagued by injury: he missed the Fifth Test after breaking a bone in his foot in the Fourth at Headingley. However, by the time England visited South Africa in 1956-57, he was working superbly in tandem with his permanently snarling new-ball partner, Heine.

Doug Insole, England's vice-captain on that tour, said: "Colin Cowdrey was to open the innings, but on the boat on the way over said he didn't want to. He didn't think his technique was up to coping with Adcock and Heine." Adcock took 21 wickets at under 15 as the series finished 2-2, and rattled most of the England batsmen, notably captain Peter May. "Adcock was undoubtedly very quick," Insole said. "Some thought he was the fastest they played against."


Wisden - Neil Adcock

I find Cowdrey's comment interesting. Cowdrey had faced Lindwall and Miller in 54/55, and then again during the Ashes series of 1956. In 1956 he opened the batting and made some good scores.

Yet he 'didn't think his technique was up to coping with Adcock and Heine.' Obviously Cowdrey considered Adcock and Heine a step-up in pace and aggession and didn't want to take the risk. In the end, Peter Richardson and Trevor Bailey opened the batting for the first Jo'burg Test.

Also, Wisden's comment that Adcock had Peter May 'rattled' during the series seems to be an understatement - 5 Tests, and only 153 runs at an average of 15.3 is normally the stuff of tail-end batsman.