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Who's the fastest?
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A contest to spot the fastest bowler in the world will sadly not have an Indian contestant. If the Indian bowlers could combine their skill with aggression, perhaps a world class pacer could emerge from among them, says ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA.
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Australia's Brett Lee, a strong contender.
WHO IS the fastest bowler in the world? This is a question, which is often debated by cricket lovers throughout the world. The proposed contest among fast bowlers to be conducted by the International Management Group should settle the issue once and for all.
The two leading contenders for the title (if it can be called that) are Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan and Brett Lee of Australia who have both chalked up impressive speeds in recent times. Eight other fast bowlers will be in the fray for the contest for which the date and venue will be announced soon.
A similar fast bowling contest was conducted in 1978 when the Aussie paceman Jeff Thomson
came out winner beating a field which included Dennis Lillee, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Imran Khan among others. Thomson, a former javelin thrower was then at his peak and was feared by batsmen throughout the world. Unfortunately his career did not last long due to injury.
Genuine fast bowlers have always had an aura about them. Some of the game's most colourful characters have been fast bowlers. Probably it all started with Frederick Spofforth nicknamed "The Demon'' who played for Australia against England in 1878. Such was his pace that it was said that most of his 94 Test victims were scared away from the crease! He also had the distinction of clean bowling W.G.Grace on seven occasions!
Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan is almost there.
Or take Fred Trueman for instance. Well known for his aggressive attitude and hostile pace, he used to advice beginners that they should first concentrate on attaining sheer speed.
"If you cannot bowl fast you are not a fast bowler. It is as simple as that. So first you must be able to bowl very fast. Everything else such as ball control and seam movement should come later,'' Fiery Fred used to tell those who sought him out for advice.
The West Indies has produced some great fast bowlers such as Wesley Hall, Charlie Griffith, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and others. The list of West Indian fast bowlers could stretch out longer than Wesley Hall's run up.
Mansur Ali Khan, Nawab of Pataudi, describes in his book Tigers Tale how on the tour of West Indies in 1962 Charlie Griffith terrorised the Indian batsmen. It was while playing against Barbados that the Indian skipper Nari Contractor was seriously hurt by a bouncer from Griffith and had to be hospitalised. Then Manjrekar was hit on the nose by another short pitched delivery. When Pataudi himself walked out to bat, he completely failed to see the first three deliveries before being clean bowled by the fourth one. Several players felt that Griffith was a "thrower'' but the issue was never proved beyond doubt.
But what makes fast bowlers what they are? What are the ingredients that go into the making of a genuine pacemen who can beat the bat by pace alone? According to Dennis Lillee, a fast bowler should preferably be about six feet tall, have a strong and athletic physique but at the same time be supple, agile and have plenty of stamina. But apart from the physical attributes, the ideal fast bowler should also have the right kind of temperament, a lot of nervous energy, and an eagerness to get on with the job and dismiss batsmen as quickly as possible. Lillee himself, Allan Donald and Frank "Typhoon'' Tyson seemed to have been modelled exactly along those lines.
But there have been exceptions also. Pacemen such as Harold Larwood, Ray Lindwall and Malcolm Marshall have been very quick without being exceptionally tall. They could gain pace by other methods. Many experts have praised Lindwall's action including Fred Trueman who says that Ray's action is perhaps the most perfect of all. According to Trueman, Lindwall's action was so smooth and effortless that he seemed to be operating on roller ball bearings !
While Pakistan has had some great fast bowlers such as Imran Khan, Waqar Yunis and Wasim Akram, India for reasons unknown has only produced just one paceman of international repute in Kapil Dev. And Kapil relied more on seam and swing rather than blistering pace. In the good old days they used to say that Mohammed Nissar in the initial overs was as fast as the legendary Harold Larwood but in the absence of sophisticated measuring and timing devices, the fact could not be thoroughly verified.
But why India lags behind in this department is a mystery. Perhaps it has to do with the docile pitches that are available in this country. Or perhaps it has to do with the mental make-up of the Indian players who are masters in the craft and guile of spin bowling but lack the fire and aggression of the great speedsters. But one certainly hopes that in future India too will produce a fast bowler who can make the ball come off the pitch like a rocket and zip past the batsman's ear. And hopefully he may even command the awe and respect of being called the fastest bowler on earth.
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