Cricket Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson Fast Bowling

[Tehui1974]

I've got to see this movie

[MegaGoofy2000]

The most important factor for me is not what Thomson's actual speed was. The most important thing is that the second fastest man was 6 mph (!!!) slower than him.

[MegaGoofy2000]

The place where Thomson WAS tested in match conditions was in Perth, against the Windies where two photosonic cameras were placed perpendicular to each wicket. Here he recorded his fastest delivery at 160.45 kmph.

That was JUST ONE match in his entire career. Modern bowlers like Akhtar and Lee are measured almost every ball they bowl. Again - even a half-brain should get this. Thomson's fastest delivery ever must have been a good 5-10 mph faster than that ONE MATCH in Perth.

[MegaGoofy2000]

Thomson had a slinging action, unlike any other (maybe malinga comes close). So its just not right to compare speeds he achieved with others who have 'normal' actions.

Also the 147kmph he measured was for ONE eight-ball over, in non-match conditions. Obviously not at his fastest - even a half brain should be able to get that.

[manix163]

Also would like to add that Jeff Thompson's fastest ever recorded ball was 99.6 MPH, which puts the previous theory in light. I could probably agree that he was in the same league as Akhtar (faster than Lee), but no way could you persuade me he was 10 MPH shades faster

[godfathergtg]

@manix163 So when experts and science tells you undoubtedly that in the old days where a ball loses 8-15% of its pace on pitching, coupled with the irrefutable fact that speeds were measured at the batsmen's end in those days, you still dispute the fact that Thommo would have been bowling at 105-110 mph at his peak..good for u mate, remember Thommo has been recorded to have given 6 byes. bouncer pitching n the ball landing outside boundary behind pitch. Akthar has had one bounce 4 byes never 6

[manix163]

Seeing the two arguments here, and just wanna make a little comment. In 1978, there was a fast bowling competition in which thomson, lilee, khan, and holding all participated in. Thomson had the fastest at 147.9 kmph while Holding had it at around 141. Now, That translates to around 93 mph for Thomson, and only 90 MPH for fastest for Holding. I for one can't believe Holding's fastest is only 90, probably around 94/95, and that would put Thomson around 98/99 maybe but def not 180 kmph

[harunyahyadotorg]

@manix163 they (claim) they use to measure at the batsman end and not at the point of release... the ball slows down 5-10 mph in this distance due to air resistance. but at the same time i doubt jeff bowled at 110mph as the carry of the deliveries doesnt show a ball at this pace... shoaibs deliveries seem to carry a lot more...

[toursanxterme11]

I would like to correct the description brov,Thomo bowled Faster then both Akhtar and Lee...his 160 was clocked both times at the batters end not by some pixy dust magic ball measured 4 feet from the release like todays measuring techniques...No offence to Lee and Akhtar fans i love em both but no way the are even close to Thomo even on their best day!!!

[AIMANALI]

@toursanxterme11 The only one I hear talking about that cute little theory is thommo himself and no one else. please prove me wrong if you can ? I still will not be surprised if thommo was a shade quicker than the rest of present day BUT I think THAT timing difference theory is BS, I never heard a speed gun expert talk about it

[toursanxterme11]

@AIMANALI Brov if ur a man of facts then let me put one straight at ya,you know how everything nowadays is commercialized for better sales and higher ratings, slimmer is the case with cricket! tell u what brov,im a sports maniac, played football (american) and baseball for my highschool and collage,i used to pitch around 88-90 my fast ball was something around 92-93 mph,a friend of mine who took this whole thing professionally used to pitch it around 95-96 his fast ball was 98-100 mph...

[toursanxterme11]

i recently went to australia and had the pleasure of meeting one of their fastmen the guy told us the whole thing about measurements and all that,a cricket ball sometimes shoots off the surface too,for some bowlers the rest are just fluked to create hype and sell tickets... i follow sports past and present,with all due respect to you my brov...i'd stick with the drunk old fool who in his hay days tore apart the best batters the world had to offer...

[AIMANALI]

@AIMANALI yes that is what i mean - that speed guns today are also not that 'perfect' and hence can not be used as a yard stick. A batsmen facing the ball always is the best judge. Thommo might still be the quickest but I am not sure by how much.

[toursanxterme11]

@AIMANALI Brov, i'd recommend you a few documentaries if u can find them,they'll really answer your questions better,1- Kings of Speed,2- MCC spirit of cricket show with Thommo,Onions,Imran Khan,and a couple more fastmen.the whole thing will really clear ur mind about the tricks of world cricket today. Also i personally think that the last real fastmen were Donald and Waqar i mean speaking on the note of alota carabian Cricketers those two were something special!!!

[AIMANALI]

@toursanxterme11 Those two documentaries u mention exactly illustrate my point. In BOTH only THOMMO seems to be telling the world why he is supposed to be like 10 mph faster than Akhtar at his quickest. In fact that "king of speed' was an opportunity to clear this up but NO speed guns expert verified that theory in that doc. plus Greig & Ian both mention Holding in the same category as Thommo yet NO decent clip was shown of Holding YET a zillion clips were shown of Thommo - I smell BIAS BS.

[toursanxterme11]

@AIMANALI Shoaib,Bond and Lee fun to watch but not as much as their predecessors! have a goodn brov!

[AIMANALI]

@toursanxterme11 I respect your opinion & this issue really does not effect us....I just find it hard to believe that Thommo (& Holding for that matter) were soooo much quicker than Akhtar/Lee. They might have been a little quicker (if at all) but not 20 kmp quicker !! I know the guns were different etc....

[toursanxterme11]

@AIMANALI Mate i personally think that we can only believe in what we experience,maybe my baseball background tells me time after time again to stick with thommo (keeping in mind that we are measured at the strikers end too) the guys who pitch at around 90 odd miles look massively quicker then the ones in cricket. I personally think that the one main difference between modern cricket and baseball is that in baseball the pitcher still rules more,and when i hear that there are bater who've scored

[toursanxterme11]

over 10,000 runs in both major forms of the game,makes me wonder about the incompatibility of modren bowlers.Maybe my experiences are false and i am more enthusiastic about the past,but i would just lastly add that cricket in general needs more players like Lillee,Thommo,Holding,Roberts,­Lindwall,Tyson,Larwood to make it more appealing for the raw delight of a spectator like me to witness a bater earn his runs in a battle between wood and leather! X)

[AIMANALI]

@toursanxterme11 Fine. AGAIN please can you tell me who says all that about the speed gun measurement - EXCEPT thommo ? I love the 70s guys myself but can you please give me a SINGLE speed gun expert that says that. What I AM willing to believe is, speed guns even NOW are not that accurate cause they are not consistent taking all the variables into account (height of bowler, point of release, off the wicket factors) - but to think that thommo was 20 kmp faster than Lee and Akhtar- joke right !?

[cyrushanleone]

Thomson was actually thought to be above 100 MPH. His wicketkeeper said it might be up to 180 KPH from the release point