Current Fast Bowlers: Are They the Fastest Ever?

[jaybro]

Roach ???

I can’t ever remember Starc getting to 160kpm which test was that?

Australia don’t make fast pitches anymore

Roach barely hits 140 now...he's a medium pacer. Granted a very good one. But he was express when he first started out.

Here's the Starc 160.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvHrbF4lDv0

There you go I stand corrected, although that’s at least 3-4 years ago

[sloandog]

Dale Steyn is a glaring omission there sir. He regularly has bowled in the mid 140's and touched 152 against Pakistan.

To me Steyn was always a bowler who bowled around 135-140 and occaisionally quicker. I always felt he was just a fast medium bowler in terms of the speeds he actually hit.

What bowler have you been watching these past 15 years mate? Steyn regularly hit between 87-90mph on a consistent basis, especially in his younger days when he was raw and fast. Now he's come back I don't think I've ever seen him bowl as quick.

[Kriterion_BD]

There you go I stand corrected, although that’s at least 3-4 years ago

It may have been an erroneous reading. But Starc is one of the fastest bowlers around so its credible.

[foreignfield]

There you go I stand corrected, although that’s at least 3-4 years ago

It may have been an erroneous reading. But Starc is one of the fastest bowlers around so its credible.

Tbh, it doesn't look express to me, more like a delivery in the 140s.

[Kriterion_BD]

Tbh, it doesn't look express to me, more like a delivery in the 140s.

Real express balls actually look slow for some paradoxical reason. That Shoaib Akhtar ball vs England that was 161 looked no faster than 135. Based purely on that, I feel its accurate, but I really don't know. That Akhtar ball was also solidly negotiated by the batter.

Australia guns are juiced 3-5 kph from what I can tell. Examples are bowlers like Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Amir, and Jasprit Bumrah have all clocked upwards for 152 during Australia tours, but in most other countries they are 145 kph bowlers (slower for Amir and Ishant).

I've heard broadcasters say that in Australia they take the fastest of 3 speed readings whereas in other countries the they take the median or mean value.

[foreignfield]

Yes, looks can be deceptive--fast and straight often appears to be slower to the eye than a nasty quick bouncer or a quick swinging delivery.

[jaybro]

Yeah I don't think the actual speeds matter too much it's more about how uncomfortable the bowler can make the batsman feel, Mitchell Johnson was probably the scariest bowler for batsman to face and although he was very quick, he wasn't Brett Lee or Shoaib Aktar quick

[sloandog]

Yeah I don't think the actual speeds matter too much it's more about how uncomfortable the bowler can make the batsman feel, Mitchell Johnson was probably the scariest bowler for batsman to face and although he was very quick, he wasn't Brett Lee or Shoaib Aktar quick

I would have hated to face Shoaib Akhtar. Lee had a lovely, fluid action and made fast bowling look so very easy.

[Detective RDS]

Dale Steyn is a glaring omission there sir. He regularly has bowled in the mid 140's and touched 152 against Pakistan.

To me Steyn was always a bowler who bowled around 135-140 and occaisionally quicker. I always felt he was just a fast medium bowler in terms of the speeds he actually hit.

Steyn was mostly 140-145 with occasional 150. Still now, the Steyn 2.0 after injury, he was consistently hitting over 140 kph in the recent Sri Lanka T20I with his fastest being 147 kph and also as sloandog mentioned he clocked 150+ against Pak.

Dale Steyn is a glaring omission there sir. He regularly has bowled in the mid 140's and touched 152 against Pakistan.

To me Steyn was always a bowler who bowled around 135-140 and occaisionally quicker. I always felt he was just a fast medium bowler in terms of the speeds he actually hit.

What bowler have you been watching these past 15 years mate? Steyn regularly hit between 87-90mph on a consistent basis, especially in his younger days when he was raw and fast. Now he's come back I don't think I've ever seen him bowl as quick.

This.

The one thing I hate about this generation of fast bowlers is that there is no Shoaib, Lee (at career peak) or Tait (at career peak) who can consistently hit 155+ kph. Shoaib was so exciting to watch, consistently hitting 155+. But I do understand this generation's pacers point of view. When you try to bowl that express (155+) like a Shoaib, you can excite the fans for a few match and then get injured for a lengthy point of time. The Fergusons, Milnes and Starcs also had their share of injuries off late as well.

Mohammad Sami had some pace during 2002-2003. I liked him for his raw pace. Surprisingly I don't think he wasn't that injury prone but his career never really kicked off. He kept on getting dropped from ODIs because of test performance. Pak didn't look after him well like Shoaib. He could have played more ODIs if looked after well.

A Shoaib nostalgia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2afdaqRvMvQ&t=188s

[Kriterion_BD]

Pakistan debuts the 18 year old Mohammad Hasnain, who clocked up to 148 vs Australia this week. Fastest bowler in the PSL ahead of Wahab Riaz and Irfan.