From: crash@hal.COM (Chris Craddock)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: Re: bowling speed of Waqar and Wasim
Date: 8 Jan 93 15:26:51 GMT
Organization: HAL Computer Systems, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: sydney.hal.com

In article <1iivsdINNblo@cronkite.cisco.com>, rgajendr@cisco.com (I. Rajeev Gajendran) writes:
|> I was unable to restrain myself from posting, so here's 
|> my 2-cents' worth on ball speeds: 
|> 
|> 1. I believe radar is the (only) PRACTICAL way to make the measurements.
|>    [explanation deleted]
|> 2. From memory, I THINK Ian Botham, Bob Willis, Imran Khan, were all 
|>    clocked around 88-89 mph (142 kph). 
|> 
|> 3. When clocked at flat-out fastest, Jeff Thom(p)son, Dennis Lillee, 
|>    Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Freddie Tru(e)man were all in the 
|>    range 90-100 mph (144 to 160 kph). I remember reading that Truman 
|>    was the fastest ever at 100mph but that sounds a bit fishy to me. 
|>    We'll never know if that was true, or the measurement was flawed. 

In response to this, and an earlier post, I can throw a little light
on the subject. There was a competition in the mid 1970s to find the
fastest bowler in the world - it may have been around the time of the 
first world cup, although its too long ago for me to remember exactly.

The methodology they used was quite interesting - they even made a TV
special (9 network in Australia I think, but could have been ABC) about
it. Basically they did the same thing as earlier studies of human motion,
race horses etc.

High speed cameras filmed the bowler and followed the ball through its
flight against a background grid. The size of the grid elements was 
accurately known, as was the film speed. Count the grids and divide by
the number of frames and you get a very accurate measurement of speed.

Each bowler was allowed to warm up, then they were measured for 1 over.

The speeds which were reported were *average speed from point of release
until the ball passed the stumps at the other end* - i.e. they included
the bounce. They also discussed various cute statistics like highest
release speed, highest speed after the bounce etc.

The results were pretty much as mentioned above (Trueman wasn't involved)
with Jeff Thompson at 99mph/159Km/h the fastest. Andy Roberts, Michael
Holding and Dennis Lillee were all pretty close to each other in the
low 90mph/145Km/h range. Then came Imran/Hadlee and others I've forgotten.

The producers of the show (and the contest organisers) made much of the 
fact that these were very acccurate and reproducible measurements. This was
good enough for the Guiness Book of records - who duly installed Thompson
as the champ. (Still there today I believe).

Chris

BTW: before this, the Guiness Book had listed Harold Larwood as the fastest
at an estimated 100mph. While there is no doubt that he was very fast, no
one will ever know exactly how fast. All of the earlier "speed measurements" 
(before the "worlds fastest" competition) had significant experimental
error - easily enough to make the difference between (say) an Andy Roberts
and a Richard Hadlee.
--
"sometimes I think that the surest sign that intelligent life exists
elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us"
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