Fastest Bowler Ever

[RMF]

after watching the "Kings of Speed" DVD i got thinking about who the fastest bowler ever was
i think that shoib is but we willl prbably never know because of the inaccuracy of speed guns

 

[hourn]

if you base who the quickest is purely on speed guns then you're going to be fatally flawed.

The best indicator for mine is, if you had all the guys bowling on the same deck on the same day with a new ball, which would have the keeper standing the furthest back??

This means it takes into everything, not just how quick the ball leaves the hand.

IMO to be a really fast bowler the ball must also carry, hit the deck hard, and hit the keepers gloves hard. Obviousbly this is helped by getting the ball to leave your hand quicker than the other guy, but IMO is not the only indicator to how quick a guy is bowling.

So with that said, I reckon Jeffrey Thomson would probably take the cake.

I also think its much better to see a guy live to determine how quick he is bowling rather than on the tele, but given i've only seen Lee and Akhtar (from that list) live than i'll have to just go off what i can.

 

[Vroomfondel]

andy r0berts imo, then holding/tommo

 

[Swervy]

andy r0berts imo, then holding/tommo

andy roberts was not as fast as either one of those bowlers

 

[Vroomfondel]

andy roberts was not as fast as either one of those bowlers

You're right. I was thinking more along the lines of "most uncomfortable to play" rather than pure speed (which isn't really what the thread's about), and I'm probably unfairly influenced by the Chennai match.

 

[Sehwag309]

Guiness Book of World Record has Akhtar the fastest

LINK

Type Bowler

 

[Lions81]

Guiness Book of World Record has Akhtar the fastest

Okay, who here has actually seen Jeff Thomson bowl?

 

[Swervy]

i think Thommo's 99.something mph record was set in a 'nets' environment,and I am sure I heard that he had had the flu or something and only a dozen or so deliveries. If that is the case, i think it is safe to say that in a competitive environment,he would have shattered 100mph a number of times.

I saw him a number of times when he wasnt at his fastest...and he was still very quick....even in 1985 he could generate quite a bit of pace

 

[luckyeddie]

Okay, who here has actually seen Jeff Thomson bowl?

Me. Seen them all except Tyson - only seen film of him.

My first thought was that, if film of all these players exists (which it does), you could determine the speed by counting the number of exposures and working out the film frequency.

Unfortunately, film tended to be of the cinematic type (cinema newsreel or tv film) which either runs at 24 or 40 frames per second (may be 50, but I think you have to keep it away from the frequency of mains electricity to avoid stroboscopic effects) but that doesn't stop you using it as a guide.

Assuming 40 fps (only using Imperial Units here - if you want S.I. you can work the bugger out yourself) and the distance the ball has to travel horizontally being 58 feet (22 yards - 2 x 4 feet for the creases), if we took a 90mph bowler like Edwards ( at precisely 132 feet per second) it would take 17.57 frames of film for the ball to leave the bowler's hand (on the 17th frame, the ball would be short of the batsman, on the 18th it would have already left or beaten the bat).

Simplifying these a little, if it took exactly 17 frames of film, the bowler's speed would be (136.47 fps) 93.08 mph. If it took 18 frames of film, the bowler's speed would be (128.88 fps) 87.87 mph. One frame of film, 6 mph difference. Judging between frames would be quite possible, although a degree of estimation would be required.

There is one immense drawback to all this, though - and I'm just waiting for the first Cricket Web member to spot it. Until then, I will just sit back being really smug.

 

[badgerhair]

Okay, who here has actually seen Jeff Thomson bowl?

I've seen Jeff Thomson bowl. "Bowl" being the operative word, because every bowler I can think of who's been alleged to be faster has also at least carried around the deep suspicion that he chucks.

I still suspect that the fastest deliveries in first-class cricket were served up by Jesse Kortright.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[luckyeddie]

I've seen Jeff Thomson bowl. "Bowl" being the operative word, because every bowler I can think of who's been alleged to be faster has also at least carried around the deep suspicion that he chucks.

I still suspect that the fastest deliveries in first-class cricket were served up by Jesse Kortright.

Cheers,

Mike

I faced Harold Rhodes at the end of his career - believe you me, I would not have wished to have faced anyone sharper.

The legend of CJ Kortright lives on.

 

[deeps]

the distance the ball has to travel horizontally being 58 feet (22 yards - 2 x 4 feet for the creases),

um..wat if the batsman was abtting outside his crease? the problem with your analysis is that it would only work out the horizontal component of the balls pace...which is really all we need.. But im guessing that the speed guns used measure the speed of the ball in that general direction..not just the horizontal speed...

don't know if that makes sense...

 

[luckyeddie]

um..wat if the batsman was abtting outside his crease? the problem with your analysis is that it would only work out the horizontal component of the balls pace...which is really all we need.. But im guessing that the speed guns used measure the speed of the ball in that general direction..not just the horizontal speed...

don't know if that makes sense...

On the right track... Assuming the bowler is releasing from a height of (say) 7 feet (5 feet for Edwards) and using Pythagoras that's still an easy calculation.... but the flaw is much more fundamental than that.

 

[deeps]

On the right track... Assuming the bowler is releasing from a height of (say) 7 feet (5 feet for Edwards) and using Pythagoras that's still an easy calculation.... but the flaw is much more fundamental than that.

on the contrary, you can't use pythagoras because the ball would follow a more parabolic path than a linear one....

is the flaw in the maths or in the technology? for example, is it recording at EXACTLY 40 fps...or just roughly...

also, one would imagine that where the ball bounces would make a difference...on a slowish pitch,if some1 attempts a bouncer...it will slow down remarkedly by the time it reaches the batsman...a ball RELEASED at exactly the same pace, but fuller would b quicker

 

[luckyeddie]

on the contrary, you can't use pythagoras because the ball would follow a more parabolic path than a linear one....

is the flaw in the maths or in the technology? for example, is it recording at EXACTLY 40 fps...or just roughly...

also, one would imagine that where the ball bounces would make a difference...on a slowish pitch,if some1 attempts a bouncer...it will slow down remarkedly by the time it reaches the batsman...a ball RELEASED at exactly the same pace, but fuller would b quicker

You're right aout the parabola - my bad, brain not in gear. It's still not too difficult a calculation if we assume a parabola - I should have said calculus, of course (it's not quite one because of air resistance - now then. I've given you the biggest clue of all).

Incidentally, the Australian players reckon that Devon Malcolm was probably faster than Brett Lee (at least Brett says anyway).

My favourite Brett Lee quote when describing Thommo : "At some point in his action, his knuckles were all but touching the ground, because he's a very flexible athlete."

(thinks) Damn. Should have cut that last bit out - the bit about being flexible - then it could have been used to describe either any fast bowler - or any Australian.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

The ball's speed would change quite a bit whilst in the air?

 

[deeps]

the height of the ball at the point of delivery?...hmm, i have no idea. :S lol care to fill us in?

 

[luckyeddie]

The ball's speed would change quite a bit whilst in the air?

Norge dix points.

We have a winner. The radar gun measures the maximum speed (the speed the ball leaves the bowler's hand) - any other method would only determine the average speed which is an awful lot less.

The next time you watch a game where they have Hawkeye linked to a speed gun (doesn't happen often), watch when they use the tracker to determine reaction times. The ball might be leaving the bowler's hand at 90 mph but is doing less than 70 when it reaches the batsman.

 

[tooextracool]

for those who havent seen tyson or thompson bowl theres a short clip of both of them here: http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/cricket/

 

[luckyeddie]

The thommo link doesn't work (I've reported it)