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fastest bowler ever?

Daemon

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Starc also cracked 160. We also saw Malik hit 157 recently. Wood, Lockie, Nortje are also fast af. Dunno what’s the margin of error on these things but there’s some frighteningly quick bowlers around today.
 

DriveClub

International Regular
Kind of overlooks the point that the human body is not designed to be a bowler. Especially a fast bowler like the current topic. It's not sheer coincidence that people get injured nowadays even with all the help available to prevent or reduce the effects of such injuries that can hinder their careers.
Players also play way more cricket nowadays, there’s no concept of off season for players who play all 3 formats. Players were lucky if they played 1 series a year and a domestic season back in the day.
 

Line and Length

Cricketer Of The Year
I remember the speed tests of the '70s at the WACA. Thommo sent full tosses down which registered high on the speed gun. He also 'won' the accuracy praise when his 'fullies' kept hitting the stumps. On the other hand, Andy Roberts bowled wonderful away swingers which pitched in line and swung away. Hitting the pitch obviously slows the delivery so, to an extent, these 'scientific' measurements are questionable.
 

Line and Length

Cricketer Of The Year
Players also play way more cricket nowadays, there’s no concept of off season for players who play all 3 formats. Players were lucky if they played 1 series a year and a domestic season back in the day.
Surely a full domestic season in England 'back in the day' was quite demanding. Regular county games plus the Gillette cup occupied 5-7 days a week.
 

DriveClub

International Regular
Surely a full domestic season in England 'back in the day' was quite demanding. Regular county games plus the Gillette cup occupied 5-7 days a week.
The window when you could play cricket in England is 2-3 months max. Half the time it’s raining or snowing in england
 

Migara

International Coach
What is surprising with fast bowling is that people aren't bowling any faster than they did 70 years ago.

Frank Tyson was as quick in the 1950s as anyone bowls today.

You'd think with better diet, better conditioning, better analysis of technique, speeds would have progressed.

Also you'd think that as nearly all sportsmen are generally bigger, fitter and faster than their predecessors, bowlers would bowl quicker but they don't.
Absolutely no data to prove such.

Fast bowlign attacks as a unit however has got faster and faster over time. There is nothing to suggest the leader of the pack haven't got faster over time.
 

NotMcKenzie

International Debutant
Fast bowlign attacks as a unit however has got faster and faster over time. There is nothing to suggest the leader of the pack haven't got faster over time.
While I believe the first part is generally true at least looking back over the last century, it does not follow that the second is true at all.
 

Ashes81

State Vice-Captain
Absolutely no data to prove such.

Fast bowlign attacks as a unit however has got faster and faster over time. There is nothing to suggest the leader of the pack haven't got faster over time.
There is no data but I've heard many commentators state, like Richie Benaud, that Tyson was the quickest he had ever seen, either on the pitch or from the commentators box.

Now even if there's a bit of poetic licence with such comments, it seems to me that bowlers of the past bowl at more or less the same speed as their modern day counterparts and given the improvements in all sports since then, it's surprising.

My take for what its worth is that there's a limit to how fast the human body can bowl and we reached that a long time ago.

Where there probably has been an improvent is that there are more bowlers capable of bowling at high speeds and some of them can bowl at that pace for longer in their careers.
 

karan_fromthestands

State Captain
Also, we need all the batters to vote on this to come to a proper conclusion. I remember Gilly claiming that Ryan Harris was way quicker than what the speed gun indicated and one of the full tosses that he bowled was the fastest delivery he ever faced.
 

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