Most intimidating fast bowler of them all?

[Agent Nationaux]

For me it has to be Waqar. At his peak no one was more devastating and intimidating, especially considering that for his inswinging yorkers there was no protection for the batsman. Although watching Tommo and Lily come in to bowl without helmets must have been a scary sight.

 

[Migara]

Yeah, i think there is an element of past players from that era talking up bowlers they faced etc. It would be hard to look past Ahktar, Lee and Tait as the fastest bowlers in history to be honest. I doubt many other bowlers have gone past 160 clicks. We have to remember how strong modern day players are and what sort of gym equipment/trainers/shakes are available to them. Its like the 100m sprint. We get faster and faster as the years go by.

I would rate Shaun Tait's over against Pakistan as well.

Mohammad Zahid may disagree. Looked even sharper than Akthar.

 

[smash84]

Mohammad Zahid may disagree. Looked even sharper than Akthar.

Not too sure. Zahid was very quick too but that over against Ricky Ponting looks extremely quick for mine. I remember Zahid bowling some real lifters to Lara. Some real quick ones from Zahid

YouTube - World Fastes Ever Bowler. Muhammad Zahid

YouTube - Zahid 11

 

[Agent Nationaux]

I really hope that we get another quickie bowling at 155 kph regularly.

 

[Borges]

Mildly surprising that a certain John Augustine Snow has not been mentioned at all in this thread.

 

[smash84]

was john snow really well known for intimidating the batsmen?

 

[fredfertang]

Snowy's father was a vicar

As for the man himself he didn't like batsmen very much, and wasn't at all friendly or welcoming to them, so by the standards of his time he was an intimidating figure for a batsman - a bit like a quieter version of Fred Trueman without the gallows humour and the silly accent

..... but he'd got nothing on the likes of Sylvers

 

[keeper]

Didn't Aussie crowds really take a massive dislike to Snow? Which may or may not have been linked to his aggression as a bowler. He certainly had a competitive streak!

If we assume intimidating means a risk of physical injury rather than just getting out, then we have to exclude many modern bowlers simply because of the nature of modern pitches and protection. And I think they've adjusted their style accordingly (generally).

Interesting in David Frith's book on bodyline to hear about aggressive bowling that was more routine in the early 20th century (not just bodyline before the actual series but the more common bowling of beamers). The key point about bodyline isn't of course just about the fact of it, the pace or the aggressive intent but the accuracy of delivery. Having this latter facet is what made Larwood so devastating in that series.

Interesting to read on here about Gilchrist. I did some reading and he played in Lancs league stuff after his international career ended. Can you imagine being an amateur facing him on variable wickets never knowing what he might decide to unleash. Believing your bowler to be mentally unbalanced as well as fast must be the most intimidating factor of all.

The Windies attack stands out. At least with others players could look to see the quicks off but it was completely unrelenting against these guys. None of them can have been pleasant to face but remember Colin Croft had a particular reputation - not sure why though.

For me, playing Sunday cricket to an increasingly low level, the intimidation factor isn't in the intent but around the competence of a bowler and those unintended beamers...

 

[smash84]

The Windies attack stands out. At least with others players could look to see the quicks off but it was completely unrelenting against these guys. None of them can have been pleasant to face but remember Colin Croft had a particular reputation - not sure why though.

Imran agrees with you as I quoted earlier.

Colin Croft

"Genuinely nasty," wrote Imran Khan. "He didn't seem to enjoy playing cricket very much." Built like a lock forward, Croft bowled from wide of the crease spearing the ball towards the batsman. When Australia met Guyana in 1977-78 Graham Yallop fractured his jaw trying to hook Croft and Bruce Yardley was hit on the head. The tourists' manager Fred Bennett described Croft's bowling as a "direct contravention of both the law and the tour conditions".

 

[keeper]

Imran agrees with you as I quoted earlier.

He's always agreeing with me, I wish he'd form his own opinions

Missed your post but fascinating quotes (and quite funny one from Imran) and I never realised there was so much acrimony on that tour. Must have been bad if an Aussie was quoting that in the era of Lillee'n'Thomson.

Wonder if Yallop won a Darwin award for his tactical appraoch in dealing with Croft?