Having looked after the “bowling speeds” list on CricInfo for the past couple of years, I must say that the events of the last few weeks have been rather bewildering. We have seen Shoaib Akhtar unveil his new found genuine extra yard of pace in Pakistan, we’ve seen the 100 mph mark broken on a single horizontal velocity radar device, and the most puzzling and quite humorous “revelation” of all, was the fact that Brett Lee had registered 161.8 kph on the IDS Sports radar guns in Australia in the 2000/1 season.
Over the past 16 months or so I must have received 60 emails regarding that particular ball. In hindsight the correct thing to do would have been to add a little note to the bowling speeds list to let the public know why that measurement was not listed. I did not do that. Instead, I chose to answer each and every one of those e-mails with a standard reply which I will now pass on.
The ball in question was recorded by the IDS Sports company. After many years in the field they have the business of recording bowling speeds down to a fine art and very few erroneous speeds actually get to the T.V monitors. The 161.8 kph ball from Lee to Walsh in Brisbane was one such ball, however.
Three IDS radar instruments are trained at the ball, and are triggered just prior to the time of a ball’s release by the bowler. The three radar guns in question usually display the same result, give or take a kph or so. A slight difference occurs when one radar actually records the ball at the exact point of release and thus will record a slightly higher reading than the other two which capture it a split second later. The speed at the point of release is what is displayed on the T.V monitors and at the ground.
If, say, the one particular gun records a speed of 160 kph and the other two record 142kph and 141kph, then it is assumed that the 160 kph speed is incorrect. A certain message will then usually appear on the gun in question to inform the gun’s handler that a microwave emitting device has interfered with the frequency of that particular gun and the highest speed recorded is dismissed as an error.
In the case of the ball in question, this is exactly what took place, except for the fact that this particular ball escaped the net so to speak. The speed of 161.8 kph did appear on the public’s television screens and many people may have seen it. What makes this particular situation a little humorous and more than a little disturbing is the fact that 16 months after the event, the ball is making headlines all around the world.
I use the word humorous because that very day and later in the telecast, the ball in question was referred to by Richie Benaud. Now I personally didn’t bother to keep the tape for reference, but in general terms Mr Benaud said that the ball from Brett Lee to conclude the West Indian innings showed up as above 160kph, but the actual ball speed was 142kph as recorded by the back up radars. Obviously the anonymous person who managed to help this video into the hands of Brett Lee’s manager must have missed the afternoon’s telecast, or simply chose to ignore those words by one of cricket’s very best and experienced commentators.This matter was resolved a mere hour or so after the event, but 16 months later it raises its head in what must at least be deemed as highly unusual circumstances.
Just for the record. Brett Lee’s fastest ball of the 2000/1 season in Australia was recorded at 150 kph in the Perth test. Following ankle injuries, Brett Lee’s speed had not yet returned to that of the 1999/00 season in which he was consistently around and beyond the 150kph mark. From memory, the bowling spell in question was constantly around the 144kph mark and definitely no single ball of that spell exceeded 150kph. Brett Lee’s fastest recorded delivery is 157.4 kph and he has not broken the 100mph mark, as yet.
© Eddie Smith/ CricInfo
Thanx for clearing that up Eddie. Its much appreciated.
it is really a shame on part of Australia to try and claim this record in such a deceitful way. They should have been gracious enough to acknowledge the milesone acheived by Shoaib. Thanks for clarifying the point.
I'm an Aussie. I think it is more ignorance than anything else.
The worlds media loved that twist and they ran with the story hard. It's a shame that it got so far.
I don't think Lee is excited about breaking 100mph record, he has become a mature bowler since then.
Don't be fooled guys. Lee wants the number 1 ranking and he wants it bad.
He's very image consious and it will also cost him big dollars in endorsements if he isn't top of the tree.
[quote]
Originally posted by Eddie Smith:
**Don't be fooled guys. Lee wants the number 1 ranking and he wants it bad.
He's very image consious and it will also cost him big dollars in endorsements if he isn't top of the tree.**
[/quote]
So what's wrong with that, who doesn't want to have all those things. Are you on a personal crusade against Lee ? I would rather believe Lee than a person ( who has just an article on Cricinfo as his credentials) on this whole thing.
I think Lee is fine with Shoaib's feat. Dont care what other Australian's think about it.
AK
After watching Lee's interview he says that he is happy with Shoaib's achievement but after taking wickets, speed is the next thing.
Its going to be an exciting contest this June.
[quote]
Originally posted by UMAIR316:
**After watching Lee's interview he says that he is happy with Shoaib's achievement but after taking wickets, speed is the next thing.
Its going to be an exciting contest this June.
**
[/quote]
31 Days left PAK vs Aust. Can't wait.
I train in weights with my brother. If he benches a personal record then i'm happy for him but it doesn't mean that I don't want to beat him, does it?
Competition in a good thing. Friendly rivalry.
I'm as big a Lee fan if not bigger than Shoaib and what i've said is by no means down grading Lee. It's just fact.
[quote]
Originally posted by Eddie Smith:
I'm as big a Lee fan if not bigger than Shoaib and what i've said is by no means down grading Lee. It's just fact.
[/quote]
It certainly doesn't seem so from your posts (hint-read your 2nd post on this thread).
AK
What your problem Asif, you have been bad mouthing him since he first came here.
I think you are mad because he is taking Shoiab's side.
Thanks Eddie for providing us with such an interesting article, keep us updated on this pace controversiry.
[quote]
Originally posted by Asif_k:
** It certainly doesn't seem so from your posts (hint-read your 2nd post on this thread).
**
[/quote]
quit it asif now don't start this with eddie.
[quote]
Originally posted by Eddie Smith:
**I train in weights with my brother. If he benches a personal record then i'm happy for him but it doesn't mean that I don't want to beat him, does it?
Competition in a good thing. Friendly rivalry.
I'm as big a Lee fan if not bigger than Shoaib and what i've said is by no means down grading Lee. It's just fact.
**
[/quote]
The guy has explained in his 2nd post what he meant and you are still insisting him this is not what he meant?
[This message has been edited by Question (edited May 12, 2002).]
Oh Please you guys..What are you trying to prove here ? Does Shoaib Akhtar need a certificate from one Mr. Eddie Smith whose only credential is that he has published an article on cricinfo on him ? why would an Australian come on this forum and try to defend a Pakistani player and If someone says that Lee is a matured bowler - he comes back with another post 'Dont be fooled guys..'. Then He starts another post cribbing that Cricinfo didn't publish his full article and blah blah.
Why would he do that ? Why does he want us to believe that Lee is fooling us ?
AK
I fail to see why Asif is getting so hostile here.
So there are two extremely fast bowlers who are both trying to claim the title of world's fastest bowler of all time. Right now one of them is ahead, and the other is (and will be) making all efforts to break the current record. Competition is the name of the game and as much as we wish to see the puritan side of the game, the media endorsements are a valid reality for players.
There is nothing wrong here. We all know that Lee will be trying to bowl faster and if he breaks Akhtar's current record, Akhtar will be doing the same.
During this process, Lee's media agent did a faux pas by sending an erroneous claim to the authorities which was promptly disputed by sources in Australia. End of story.
One person collected all this information and pasted it here, so why is there a need for one member to be so hostile?
If you dispute the facts, go right ahead and provide your argument. Otherwise save your personal attacks for some other occassion.
Pristine, I dont dispute the facts that Shoaib is faster than Lee (My statements are on record on Gupshup, when Australian’s produced that fake video). Neither am I attacking Mr. Smith personally. Mr. Smith somehow tried to convince us that Brett Lee is trying to fool us ? I dont understand how.
In one of his articles on Cricinfo The myth of Lee’s 100 mph delivery (published on 4th May 2002) Mr. Smith says :
“Just for the record. Brett Lee’s fastest ball of the 2000/1 season in Australia was recorded at 150 kph in the Perth test. Following ankle injuries, Brett Lee’s speed had not yet returned to that of the 1999/00 season in which he was consistently around and beyond the 150kph mark.”
However it wasn’t long ago (March 8th 2002) when he had written another article on Lee on Cricinfo itself Claiming Lee to be the world’s fastest bowler. There is another article on Cricinfo which says that During the tour of South Africa Lee was bowling faster than Ever Lee Ready to test the speed camera again Both contradict Mr. Smith’s recent claim that Lee has not returned to his speed of 1999.
Can Mr. Smith Clarify, If Lee bowled a delivery of 157.4 and 157.2 KPH (In his own words, not mine), How he has not reached his speed of 1999 ?
Or Is he suggesting that in 1999 Lee was bowling faster than 157.3 ?
I hope I have made my point clear. And before any of you jumps onto any conclusion, Please read my post and links.
AK
PS :- In his latest Article Mr. Smith talks about Shoaib’s ‘new found genuine extra yard of pace’. Perhaps he has not been reading Player’s views about his bowling. During Pakistan’s tour of India (ATC 1998-99) One Indian batsman said that He had noticed at least an extra yard of pace in Shoaib’s ball despite of the fact that he had faced Shoaib at Calcutta (Relatively slow) and Lee in Australia (Fast Pitches).
[This message has been edited by Asif_k (edited May 13, 2002).]
Wow asif that's a lot of angst.
Lee is faster now than in 99. He was injured prior to the Indian series in 2001. During the 2000/1 series in Australia he wasn't all that fast anyway. He returned in the triseries/Ashes mid 2001 and has been getting faster with every series as I have stated. By memory his fastest in the Ashes was 152, Vs NZ 154.5, Triseries in OZ 154.6, Vs SA in RSA 157.4. So he's been getting faster the longer he goes without an injury. That's his way.
It's now 2002 Asif, not 2000/1. In the 2000/1 season in Australia his fastest ball was 150.0kph. This is fact.
In March or whenever Lee bowled 157.4 and 157.3 making him number 1 at the time. This is also fact.
Shoaib has become number 1 now and that is fact.
Lee has publicly stated that he can't wait for Shoaib to get out here in June so the two can go head to head. Shoaib's his buddy and Lee is happy for him. But Lee wants to be top dog. Ever since he was a kid he's wanted to be the fastest. He wants to be the fastest now. Nothing has changed.
The last part of your post Asif doesn't make sense.
Stop reading into things. There is no malice in what I have said. All I have done is put the facts down in writing.
The fact is that going by their most recent series both Lee and Shoaib are bowling faster now than they ever have. Even faster than 99/00 in OZ.
[This message has been edited by ehsan (edited May 14, 2002).]
[quote]
Originally posted by Question:
** 31 Days left PAK vs Aust. Can't wait.**
[/quote]
me too.
it'll be good
Eddie, mate the problem Asif has with you is that he suspects that you are a Pakistani in the guise of an Aussie. Anyways, I assure you that we are much more hospitable people that we might have come off as.
Yaar Asif, I thought you were going to abide by Pristine's advice? Give it a rest will you, you and Eddie are saying the same thing. I don't see what the problem is?