@@UmpireStrikesBack oh no Ofcourse not! Was just letting everybody know we are aware of the difference. It’s hard breaking the habit of decades using the word throw. Especially since for us it’s never been correlated with bending of the elbow. Throw has always been used as a loose term for using force to move an object using your arm.
@RealFansSports and Bodyline , Pompus English Captain Douglas Jardine , a twat , decided to beat Australia he had to employ a tactic , and decided that Bradman was key , and all batsmen will receive a constant barrage off short ball bowled at the body head preferably, and Harold Larwood , arguably the fastest bowler in the colonies , But it was "JUST NOT CRICKET" there is only one team playing cricket out there and it's. Isn't England , and it was dirty Cricket, but so be it , the most unsporting thing I've ever seen , would be a certain underarm , Bloody piss weak , any one but a little brother would had a fkn dip , so. GREG you put it on yah Lil bro , prick , NOT OUT
I was lucky enough to watch Jeff Thomson play live, but only towards the end of his career in a Sheffield Shield match (interstate cricket) where he was past his peak speed. Even then from side on his bowling was faster than the naked eye could see. The wicket keeper was also standing some 25 metres behind the stumps and was taking the ball at shoulder height. We moved around to get behind the wicket to have a chance to actually see the ball and even then you only got an impression of the bowl as it was so quick. The only other bowlers I have seen live that could match that pace were a young Craig McDermott, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson- none of whom could have matched a pre injury Thommo.
I saw Jeff Thompson bowl once. I was sitting side-on to the pitch, so I didn't really see the ball, just a frighteningly fast blur and a batsman trying desperately to get out of the way of the red missile coming at him. It was only a tour match against an English county side, so he probably wasn't giving it full blast, but man it was fast, and hostile.
I've had the same experience sitting square of the wicket and I was always amazed by how far back Marsh the wicket-keeper had to stand, he might as well take a seat in the grand stand
@@jonsant7232 You're right. That was my first time seeing a real fast bowler in action and I was amazed at how far back Marsh was. I bet his hands still stung though.
Hey guys. The English left handed opener hit in the jewels is a very famous incident. Here is David Lloyd hilariously retelling the story ruclips.net/video/DrCNUrnsu2s/видео.html Also Jeff Thomson claims the speed gun speeds were not originally recorded at release - they recorded basically average speed across the wicket. He claims the calculation was changed post his retirement to make subsequent bowlers not seem so much slower. The speeds nowadays are calculated using math to be the actual out of the hand release speeds so Shoaib's speed was at release 100mph but Jeff's speed out of the hand was likely a lot higher.
Thommo's top speed was recorded when he had not played competitive cricket for a year as he had not been cleared by the Australian Cricket Board to World Series Cricket. Thommo was sitting in the stadium half the day drinking beer when at the lunch break Kerry Packer the owner of World Series Cricket told Thommo he had to compete in the fastest bowler contest. Thommo was in a suit and had to borrow pants , shirt and shoes to compete and half drunk still won the competition, bowling 160km and also won the accuracy. And not played or trained in months.
He went for the head and the toes. He had the most lethal yorker in the game and broke many batsman's toes. As for the how fast he bowled he was recorded at 161 kilometres per hour in the late 70's I think 77 againsed the West Indies in Perth. The difference in how they recorded the speed then to now is that Thompson's was recorded when the ball reached the batsman now they record the speed as the ball leaves the bowlers hand. So Thompson's was recorded at its slowest point and now it is recorded at it's fastest point. Aktars was 161.8 when it left his hand Thompson's was 161 when it reached the batsman. Experts say that the ball looses between 8 to 10 kilometres by the time it gets to the batsman. So Thompson's 161 would be 8 to 10 kilometres faster when the ball left his hand.
Jeff Thompson was extremely flexible, few people are flexible enough to bowl using his action. I watched him bowling at the gabba, the keeper was standing about 25 metres behind the wicket, and taking catches over his head. He is a nice bloke, with a wry sense of humour.
He's very funny and humble. I saw an acceptance speech from him and it was thoroughly entertaining. I think it ended in tears, maybe about Rod Marsh?? Anyway, he seems like an out and out great bloke.
In Thommo’s day, as he explains in an interview with Sachin Tendulkar, the speed was measured at the batsman’s stumps. When live speeds started the bowlers were no where near Jeff’s 160km/h mark and Kerry Packer wanted higher speeds so the more modern radars now the speed from the bowlers hand, not at the opposite end. This means that Jeff could actually have bowled at 175-180km/h if bowling today. Also note it wasn’t unusual for Jeff to see the ball to go over the keepers head and over the boundary without touching the ground after bouncing on the pitch. You don’t see that these days!
I remember seeing this guy bowl. He bowled so fast I could not see the ball come out of his hand. His speed also meant that he tended to lose control and the ball could go anywhere. Which if you are a batsman it living hell. You have a fraction of a second to make a decision about what shot to play. In addition some bowlers will bowl in a pattern. Thompson did not know where it was going so no batsman did either. His career was short as he injured his bowling arm and after he got back into the game he could not bowl as fast
Aside from the bean ball bouncers aimed at the head he also aimed for the toe - the sandshoe crusher. This delivery is called a yorker in traditional cricket parlance....
Thomo's first practice game was against the poms and his captain told him to bowl dead slow at them so the could surprise them in a proper international game. The pons thought this guys easy to play against we don't understand the hype behind him. Then first proper game came a week later and thommo released hell and fury on them and took wickets so fast and broke the cup one pom was wearing that it opened up and allowed his groin to pop out thru the crack in the cup and close back up on his groin on the wrong side of the protective cup. Lol
Great to see you guys in the States taking an interest in cricket and enjoying it. Having watched him live as well as on TV a lot at his peak I have no doubt he was consistently faster than anyone since, including Shoaib Akhtar, probably by a few km/hour. They only measured speed in those days in a few tests off the field , never during a match, so he was really never tested, though when he was a couple years after his peak he was much quicker than some great fast bowlers from the West Indies, Pakistan, South Africa and Australia. But it’s important to know his peak was only two years, those two series shown in these clips from 1974-1976. He was never quite the same after dislocating his shoulder in a collision with a fielder trying to catch the ball in late 1976. In those clips from the early 1980s when he is in a yellow uniform he was much slower. He didn’t retire particularly young as the commentator suggests. He toured England for a Test series in 1985 when he was 34/35. Important to know the importance of the type of wickets in different countries. A super fast bowler works well on the faster pitches of Australia and South Africa, but not always on the slower pitches of England, India and Pakistan, for example. Thomson’s action was unusual because of the javelin style, but in many ways ideal, being perfectly side on. As someone who played cricket for 35 years, including against some international players, and watched for longer, I’d say cricket doesn’t require greater hand eye coordination than baseball, except for catching close to the batter with no gloves. The ball is delivered about 3 metres closer to the batter in baseball and doesn’t bounce, which slows it down. And it’s travelling mostly 90-100 mph from the pitcher’s hand in baseball, whereas not many bowlers in cricket bowl over 90 mph, even at the highest level. And it’s difficult to make the cricket ball drop or curve downwards or sideways consistently as it does in baseball. That’s why a good baseball batter gets the ball in play around 30% of the time without getting out. Whereas in cricket it’s mostly difficult to get good players out. But each requires different kinds of skills. But whatever you read, in comments don’t believe anyone who tells you Akhtar was quicker than Thomson at his peak. It’s not just me but a whole bunch of the best international players across both eras.
Collis King told me that after Thommo bowled his first session in the West Indies, a bunch of Windies players, ground staff and officials went out to inspect the pitch because they thought there might've been something wrong with it, coz they couldn't figure out how he got the ball to bounce up so sharply of moderate lengths
The batsman had just under 1/2 second from the time the ball left his hand to the time they hit the ball (or the ball hit the batsman). In reality, they had about 1/4 second to make a decision on how they were going to play the shot and 1/4 second to play it. They relied on the body language of the bowler to figure out where the body would hit the ground.
Wasn't there an incident where an English player went to Aussie changing rooms to demand an apology for a slur he heard on the field? He then saw they talked like that even to themselves. I believe the slur was "bastard".
All cricketers were, it was fairly social even at the highest levels. Professionalim in sport didn't really arrive until the late 80's, thats when the corporations really got involved and expected the players to toe the line due to a fear of their products being connected with blokes playing drunks. Now they cant put a foot wrong in any way.
Lillee more than Thompson changed cricket in another way: weightlifting. Until then bowlers were advised not to lift weights for fear of altering their finely developed bowling arm muscles. Lillee proved that wrong. Now every bowler's workout follows Lillee's regimen, especially dragging weights gladiator style. Thompson and Lillee were certainly the most feared pair until West Indies players became faster and more accurate. Thompson did not have as much ball control as Lillee did, but in those days the pitches were erratic for this style of pace bowling. Once the pitches were fixed and the batsmen figured out how to handle pace, it was easy to score runs. That's how India won its very first World Cup soon after touring West Indies.
Thanks for the history lesson! Yeah I always find it interesting how the ideas behind training change through the generations. I’m a personal trainer and with baseball they used to believe that working out shoulders caused injuries but now it has been proven the opposite
Back in the 1930's the English used a tactic against Australia called 'Bodyline' where the pace bowlers aimed AT the batsman, not the wicket. And by saying 'at the batsman' it was a short pitched ball aimed to rise up and hit the batsmans head. This was developed to counter the Australian batsman Don Bradman. Bradmans Test batting average was 99.94. And but for going out for a duck (ie no score) in his last innings it would have been 100. That was set between 1928 and 1948. It is still a record today. The second closest is Harry Brook at 62.15. This is still remembered today by the Aussies and back in those days it sparked a serious diplomatic incident Jeff was not trying to bowl bodyline as he didnt aim at the man but he was still dangerous as was Dennis Lillie
Bodyline or as the English captain Jardine called it “Leg Theory” had the bowler come around the wicket so that the starting point of the delivery was outside the line of the batter’s body and then pitched short aimed at their ribcage or head. The Australian team refused to respond in kind and as this was still in the amateur era they considered it to be an ungentlemanly way to play the game. There were many injuries to the Australian players who were often unable to return to their occupations after the match due to their injuries (at least until they healed) and this generated much outrage in Australia and embarrassment for those English who did not support these tactics.
@@mymartianhome Splitting hairs, there is leg theory and fast leg theory. Leg theory is when the ball is bowled at the leg stump. It was used before the First World war mainly by slow and medium pace bowlers. Fast leg theory ie. bodyline is when the ball is bowled at speed aiming at the batsmans body. This was developed specifically for use against Bradman by The English
I watched the 74/75 Ashes series in Australia and Thompson bowled balls that went past the batsman’s chins and hit the sight screen on the full. That is how quick he was and I have never seen another fast bowler do that. The only way they could measure the speed back then was timing it from Wicket to Wicket. For Thompson to reach 160km/h using this measure he had to release it at about 180km/h. Note that it is the speed at release that they measured now, they don’t take into account the reduction in speed of the ball when it bounces.
I have heard this from a few people. Would the pitch have aided him a little because the pitches would have been uncovered and much faster than today? Not disrespectful but just trying to understand how someone could hit the sight screen on the full
If he was 180 in 1974 ,he measured only 147 in 1979 using speed from the hand as they do today. That means he lost 35kph of pace in 5 years as did Roberts , Holding and Lillee mysteriously.. I know the old stories of Thommo being in the bar and suddenly pitching up and winning the 79 speed challenge but all of them were much slower.Very strange.
@@relevantbrother8964 1979 was after he had his shoulder injury and he was nowhere near as fast after that. You can see that from the videos and the players say the same thing.
@@aqibpeer7451 pitches were covered in 1974. The pitches were actually no different than today. He did it in Perth which is no surprise as it is a fast bounce wicket. But he also did it in Sydney and that was a spinner’s paradise as it is today. Melbourne is the only pitch that has changed significantly in the last 50 years but they were all covered back then.
Thommo as he was known, was actually clocked at 110 MPH in the early days of recording speeds. He was quoted as saying, "If I don't know where the ball is going, what chance have those poor bastards got (referring to the Batsmen). Thommo holds the record of breaking the most bats in Test Cricket, (24).
If you guys haven’t looked up Shaun “The Wild Thing” Tait he is another incredible Aussie fast bowler with an unorthodox action. He once hit AB Devilier who was late on the ball, bottom edged it into his hip, and the pain was so great AB spun around and couldn’t hold his bat up and dropped it onto the stumps which counted as a wicket.
Thommo was a legit freak made of the old school stuff. The realist fast bowler to ever look down a pitch. Imagine having to face him one over & Dennis Lillee the next over after over? Imagine the effect that would have on any batters moral?
As a kid I was taken to the MCG to see Aus vs WI in the mid seventies. The WI had 4 fast bowlers and Aus had 2 (Lillee & Thomson). Thomson was the fastest of the 6, but not by much and it showed me just how much courage was needed to bat against these bowlers without helmets. Sadly, Jeff Thomson collided with a fielder a couple of years later and had to have his right shoulder reconstructed. He was never quite the same bowler after that. He probably was the fastest bowler ever before his injury, but as speeds were not measured accurately back then its hard to say. Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee and a couple of others were really quick and once someone bowls over 160 Kmh it is probably just academic anyway.
Unfortunately I think you are misremembering your childhood. 75/76 West Indies played Lance Gibbs. Then WSC happened, Thommo only played 5 matches all in the West Indies. In 1979/80 Thommo did not play. I cannot find an ODI where that happened.
@@UmpireStrikesBack Maybe my memory is merging the Aus v Eng series from the previous year, which I also went to when Thomson was seriously scary, with the WI series. I do remember the gasps in the crowd when Dennis Lillee hit Viv Richards on the head when he was wearing just a cap, but amazingly Viv just shrugged it off and faced the next ball. I guess the point is, there were some serious fast bowlers in that 70s era and if you were listing the top 10 pace bowlers of all time Lillee, Marshall, Roberts, Holding and Garner from that era would all be in contention. I think had Thomson not injured his shoulder, he would have been up there too.
He dislocated his shoulder in a collision with Alan Turner when going for a catch at around mid-wicket from memory. I remember when Thommo came back, he could never throw the ball in from the boundary, he had to bowl it. But, you're right, after that injury he was never as quick.
The English batsman hit in "the jewels" at 5.04 is David Lloyd. Over the many years since has said, whenever he see's Thomo he covers up the jewels & his pitch of voice becomes higher instantly.
Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee were legendary bowlers, they were complimented by the Wicket Keeper (catcher for you Americans) by Rod Marsh who only wore Keeper's Gloves. No helmet, no chest protector. The immortal trio decimated teams. Where you said "they aren't wearing helmet here", the batsmen were wearing white helmets with clear plastic face protectors. First prototype.
There is very little real data on bowling speeds from back then, it was considered too impractical for TV, everything took a long time and man hours to set up and calibrate the cameras, then it took a couple of days of checking and calculating to get the result. Just based on the distance the wicketkeeper and slips are standing back and the distance the ball is carrying past the batsman it looks like Thomson has a few kmh on anybody in the 21st century but who can really say for certain. Thomson was measured over perhaps a dozen balls in his entire career, current bowlers are measured over every ball in every match in every format. Thomson broke many toes and fingers and stumps but amazingly I dont think he ever hit a batsman in the head.
Hysterical and VERY interesting guys!!! Thomson WAS the fastest and by a long way. I saw him bowl in Sydney in 1977....could not see the ball through the air. Jeff Thomson was an incredibly flexible human being...much more than normal people. Ball was dark red not white like a baseball. The colour of the ball does make a difference. Cheers from Hunter Valley Australia. T20 cricket coming to the USA THIS YEAR.
Hey mate, I'm from Cessnock, my mum watched him live at his peak, said there was nothing like it. She still tells the story of Thommo hitting the same batter on the foot 3 times and the guy had to be carried off. Apparently, before the match he was warming up (or maybe during break, I wasn't there) he bowled a bouncer that flew over the boundary. I used to bowl with his action as a kid, but multiple shoulder dislocations made it no longer viable, had to revert to a regular style and give up speed and rely on swing and being more clever with what I had left - still opened the bowling though (and closed the batting haha).
Errr... no... Irongloves Marsh was not even the best keeper of his time. Allan Knott had him covered comfortably. And there have been better Australian keepers since, notably Ian Heally. Bacchus was a very good gloveman and occasionally good batsman. I was at the MCG the day Bill Lawry declared when Marsh was in the 90's and would have been the first australian keeper to make 100. He was a dynamic player and part of the culture that made the Aussie teams of the 70's and 80's so powerful, but he was not 'the best wicket keeper of all time'
Nope. Ian Healy was just as good 'keeping to the quicks but MUCH better standing up close for spinners (and you had to be good to keep to Shane Warne). And West Indian Derek Murray was just as good 'keeping to quicks too.
100mph bowls is scary...btw guys, he is still alive today - I met him several times after he retired - he was a handyman who came into the place I worked at often and I served him often.
Go for Mitchell Johnson another Aussie who brought back the fear and threatened batsmen to leave the crese. Watch 2013-14 ashes a slingy action fast bowler. He was firing lethal rockets (bouncers).
He once said that he didn't know where the ball was going to go so what hope did the batsman have . The English had heard of Dennis lillee being quick , and he was , but the Aussies said you haven't seen anything yet , Thompson is quicker . They couldn't believe it but he was . The two together were extremely scary.
Brilliant cricketing era - Thomson/Lillee bowling (and others), great fielding, amazing wicket keeping. What a team. Noteworthy it has to be bowled on wicket. Wides would grant opposition a run. So to be so fast and accurate is to be admired.
It’s actually amazing Thommo never killed anyone. I’ve watched some fast bowlers in my time and the one who left an impression on me was Waqar Younis of Pakistan.
A couple of tidbits on Thommo. Was from my hometown suburb in Sydney. Played for my soccer club (is about ten years older than me) was banned for life for punching a referee. I would ride my bike down to the local oval to watch him play local (Grade) cricket. Would open the bowling with another Australian bowler Len Pascoe. Both terrifyingly quick. As you say this is before helmets around 1973. He then moved to Queensland (a state north of New South Wales) and while playing for Queensland his housemate was killed by a cricket ball while playing grade cricket fielding in close. Helmets were introduced for both batting and in close around 1977. His delivery was also very difficult for batsmen because they need to watch the ball in the bowlers hand. Coming from behind him, it cut down the batters time to see the ball and what type of ball he was bowling.
Thompson was part of the Test line up for Australia when I was a kid, his delivery style was certainly unorthodox, he just ran in with a flurry of arms and legs, out of which flew a cricket ball at full pace. It really wasn't pretty, but absolutely effective, and with Denniss Lillee bowling from the other end, you couldn't help but become enthralled. This is the era that I learned to love Cricket.
As an Aussie back in the Day, Sunburned half Pissed (drunk) Rod Marsh behind the wickets, with Jeff Thomson from one end Dennis Lilly thundering in from the other end, Mate that was cricket. Cricket never better than those days. These days we have cheats, then the worst things was letting those same cheaters represent Australian again 😢😢 no integrity I would think representing your country would be awesome, so why would you jeopardize that. No way no how ever. That's the reason I don't watch cricket these days. 😮 But back in the day, Thommo was a GOAT.100%
See if you can find Thomson's bowling his unique "sand shoe crusher" to Tony Greig. I was lucky enough to watch Lillei and Thomson bowl at a 42 year old Sir Colin Cowdrey (74/75 Ashes Series) a middle aged man batting against L & T.......balls of steel....never would tell that to an English man.
I was at the WACA. When Cowdrey came out to bat, there was a noticeable murmur throughout the crowd. Everyone anticipated he would be slaughtered. From memory, he didn't bat great, but took a hell of a beating and didn't buckle.
The bouncers limit only applies to limited overs matches.. In that 74/75 series in Australia the only rule was the umpires could tell the bowler he was endangering the batsmen. Bear in mind this series was a few years before there were helmets available. Try watching on You Tube there are sections of Thommo bowling in that series where the batsmen, with no helmets, were just about avoiding the ball hitting them on the head. You showed one clip of a batsman being struck in the groin. The batter was David Lloyd, also known as Bumble. He tells the story about how the groin protector shattered in that moment and his wedding tackle got tangled in the debris. Hilarious story if you can find it.
Jeff Thompson actually bowled at around 175-180 Km an hour (110 -112 mph), not 160 km per hour (100 mph). They changed the way bowling was measured after him. When he was bowling they measured ball speed when it reached the batsman. After Thompson, they measured ball speed out of the bowlers hand. It was a trick because promoters realised that bowlers after Thompson just did not bowl as fast, To be clear, the ball on average loses 10-15% of its speed in period from bowlers hand until it reaches the batsman.
Actually I don't think he ever said he aimed for the head - although he might have said that once to intimidate the Poms. What he did say, which is perhaps more frightening, was he wasn't sure where the ball was going and if he didn't know he was damn sure the batsman at the other end didn't. At 100mph plus from about 19.5 yards away. Apart from being fast he possessed a wicked yorker and bouncer.
Thommo's first test he had a broken foot and was dropped from the Australian Test team and he was not included in the New South Wales State team as well. This really pissed Thommo off and he decided to target all State team players he encountered in club matches. On one occasion in a club game a NSW batsman knew Thommo would target him so he prepared by batting against the bowling machine set at 100 miles per hour at training sessions and claimed he was comfortable with facing that speed. When His turn to bat came was when the previous batsman retired hurt after being hit by a Thommo delivery. Apparently as the batsman was taking guard he was looking at a pool of blood from the previous batsman on the pitch. He was at ease with 100mph bowling, BUT not for what Thommo bowled. He claims it was a hell of a lot faster than 100mph and he could not see the ball and had no idea where the ball was. This was a Highly skilled 1st Class cricketer batting at number 4, so he was more than a capable batsman.
I was born in 73, growing up with only 2 channels on tv, 1 (ABC of Australia) had every test match (prior to 1 day cricket), so watching these guys was a done thing, you would play backyard cricket, coming in for breaks to see the score and get food, drinks or frozen treats, simpler days lol
The difference between fast bowling and pitching is that as a bowler you can hit batters anytime you like. Think Nolan Ryan being able to pitch the occasional ball into the middle of your back and it only being called a ball.
I have seen Jeff Thomson and Shoaib Akhtar bowl live and both were incredibly fast. But you must remember that in Thommo's day they only occasionally timed the bowling speed and used a police hand held speed gun. Something to note is today they have better timing equipment and they time the speed of the ball out of the bowlers hand. In Thommo's day they timed the ball after it has bounced on the pitch and arrived at the batsman's wicket 22 yards away. The speed of the ball decreases by up to 20% once it bounces on the pitch. If they used today's timing method on Thommo's bowling and timed the ball out his hand his speed would be more like 180km per hour
Most Wicket Keepers, especially Rod Marsh, wore 'inners' inside the gloves. Usually made of Chamois and cotton and soaked in water prior to playing. The water absorbed some of the impact. Sounds crazy, but I used to use the same method when I played. It gives an extra barrier between Skin and Glove.
The bloke who said he was after blood was lying, you get people out by hitting the bat for catches, hitting the pads in front of the wickets,or hitting the wickets, it's terrifying when the ball bounces higher, because the faster you bowl, the more it bounces in general, he got heaps of people out, if he aimed for heads he would get nobody out, but he did sometimes try to intimidate batsman by bowling a short ball if the batsman was scoring runs off him
famously. Jeff Thommo Thomson was timed at the magical 99 mph, yes, he aimed at the head, and wasn't backward in admitting it, as part of his strategy to get the batsmen out lbw by pushing them back in the crease, he had a devastating yorker, his main weapon
Good to see this. There are some other early bowlers like Larwood and Tyson that were also legendarily fast. Both are thought by some people to be the fastest of all time, but very difficult to measure. They have to take what footage there is, and try and come up with a measure from the old footage, which isn't very accurate.
It's worth noting that nowadays the ball is timed out of the bowlers hand but in the 70's it was off the pitch so by that time the ball would have slowed somewhat
A cricketer, Phil Hughes of Australia, actually died in 2014 after being hit on back of the head facing a bouncer. This lead to redesigns to the helmet. Cricket is no joke in terms of potential dangers faced from the ball.
For a short period probably the fastest ever. There's nothing more thrilling in cricket than seeing a genuine fast bowler live as it's much much faster than it looks on TV. If you're watching 'side-on' you won't even see it.
Bowlers bowl, never throw. Fielders field, catch, and throw. Keepers catch. You misuse any of these words, you will be met with the strictest of English upper lips.
Not just the head, he had a ball called the sandshoe crusher. I remember watching Lillie and Thomo bowl against the West Indies at the SCG in 1976 with my grandfather. His unique action caused him major back problems as he aged.
Not at the SCG in 1976. I was at that Test, and Lillee was injured and didn’t play. Lillee had back problems early in his career, not Thommo. Thommo was never quite the same after he dislocated his shoulder in a collision in the field in late 1976.
Thank you for checking out the video, if you have a link that we can look at that would be great. Here is a link to the request form so you can send us a link that we can check out. tinyurl.com/RFSREQUEST
In case you don't know, it's about 70 feet from where the bowler lets it go to where the batsman is standing and the same distance again to the wicketkeeper. Also, Thommo regularly exceeded 160 km/hr until he badly injured his shoulder in the late 70's.
It is exactly 22 yards - (1 chain or 66 feet) from stump to stump.(around 20 mts). The bowler releases the ball from the front or 'popping' crease which is 4 ft in front of the stumps at the bowlers end. The batsman also stand around about the popping crease at the recieving end, so the distance between the delivery of the ball and the batsmans normal stance is (66-8) around 58 feet.
Those West Indies sides of the late 70's and 80's were awesome. The four fast bowlers (Garner, Holding, Marshall and Roberts) and the amazing Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd in the batting line up were so entertaining.
As a young woman (I'm 68 now!) I used to take myself to the cricket in Melbourne and watch these 2 - very exciting. Nice to hear about Thommo because we mainly just heard about Lillee after they stopped playing . Thanks!
I am 60 now and i remember seeing the greatest team ever come to Australia in 1979 . I constantly badgered my parents to get me tickets to see Australia v W.Indies at the MCG. At Christmas i got the tickets and they were side on to the pitch right on the fence The West Indian bowlers were scary fast and watching the great man Viv Richards pummel us with the bat , was one of my greatest memories as a kid
Mitchell Johnson is the scariest bowler in this century not the fastest ever but a bone cruncher Batsmen knew that retiring them injured was the same as taking their wicket. He is the type of guy that wanted to include tko,s on the stats sheet no regrets it's the batsman's job to defend themselves not the bowlers. I miss him .
You guys should react to Fire in Babylon... Documentary about West Indies Fast bowling..... Btw like your content... Enjoy the T20 world Cup happening in the US + WI 👍🏼
Jeff Thomson is still the fastest clocked Test Bowler of All-time. He was clocked in 2x separate studies & registered 160.60kmh. He also recorded 160.45kmh, 160.45kmh. Those 3x ball's, are faster than 2nd placed Mitchell Starc, who recorded 160.40kmh. Andy Robert's 3rd with 159.49kmh. No doubt Thommo regularly bowled at the 100mph mark & higher than his recorded 160.60kmh. Akhtar, Tate & Lee broke 100mph in ODI white ball cricket. They never surpassed 157.4kmh in Test Cricket. Thommo was a minimum 3.2kmh faster than them in Tests. No doubt he would have breezed past Akhtar's ODI record, if he was clocked bowling in ODI. Thommo would have nudged 165kmh, if you add the 3.2kmh difference.
I've been watching cricket since the 1970s and have seen some very fast bowlers live - Alan Donald, Andy Roberts, Bob Willis, Brett Lee, Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Mitchell Johnson, Richard Hadlee, Shaun Tait, Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Aktam, etc, and Thommo was faster than them all - he was truly frightening. In the video they said how Thommo was clocked at 160.4km/h, a few points slower than Akhtar's fastest recorded delivery. But here's the catch; these days, the ball is clocked cming out out the bowler's hand, but it Thommo's day it was clocked at when it arrived att the batting crease, and by then it had lost around 12-15% of its pace. which means if measured today it would be around 180km/h, which coincides with how fast the late great Australian wicketkeeper Rod Marsh said he bowled at i.e. 175-180km/h. Interestingly, Marsh admitted that while he had no problem 'keeping to Lillee (who was no slouch) he found Thommo's extra pace difficult, even though he stood about 5-6 metres further back. There are stories of Thommo bowling bouncers which sailed over the batsman's and keeper's heads and hit the sightscreen on the full - that's true, as I saw it happen once. At the old 'Gabba ground in Brisbane (Australia) during a Sheffield Shield (i.e. intetstate match) I attended Thommo bowled a bouncer which really took off (he was very strong and the ball hit the wicket very hard and generated a lot of bounce) sailed metres over the keeper's head (I think it was Ray Phillips), cleared the boundary and hit sightscreen, and bounced off landed on the dog track between the boundary and the spectators. The whole crowd went silent, while the two batsmen just looked at each other and shook their heads. The old 'Gabba wasn't the biggest ground when it had the dog track but that was still some effort - I never saw another bowler even come close. Yep, he was bloody quick all right.
As with everything, there is a lot of hype about Jeff Thompson. He was scary and super fast, really REALLY quick, but not definitely the fastest. West Indian Wesley Hall was just as quick in the 1960's. Thompsons senior team mate, Dennis Lillee , was probably faster than Thommo until he cracked his spine......an injury that often ends the career of fast bowlers, especially super fast school kids. Lillee refused to give up, and after many operations he trained himself back into cricket, then 1st Class cricket and then finally back into 5 day test cricket.......but only bowling at about 3/4 pace. So.....the most feared bowling attack was Jeff Thompson bowling thunderbolts and Lillee only bowling at 3/4 pace. Although wicket keeper Rod Marsh did issue a warning that occasionally Lillee let rip with a faster ball that would kill someone if it hit them. Aust vs West Indies at MCG boxing day test......i cant remember the year, probably around 1975. Lillee is bowling well and the West Indies cant score of him, but no wickets. Thompson takes first 5 wickets and the West Indies are in trouble. Dennis Lillee is bowling well for no reward ( no wickets ) and angry. He lets go A FAST one.....hits the off stump before the batsman can play at it.....bat still in the BACK swing when the ball passes Rod Marsh ( about 20 to 30 yards behind the batsman ), who cant see the ball. Marsh was still looking for the ball ahead, after it had passed him. lol Thats the quickest ball i ever saw .....but a few years later the West Indies had Andy Roberts and Michael Holding, who were just as good and dangerous as Lillee and Thompson.......until the Windies added Joel Garner. Roberts, Holding and Garner is the most feared bowling attack ever, by a long way.
Would be interesting if every single ball he bowled was timed liked nowadays. Just saying, I dare say some of them would be in excess of 160 km/hr but that's subjective until proper proof is given.
Jeff Thompson was an animal of a bowler. He would thump in yorkers (toe crushes) at 150 kph (95 miles) and then dig a short one aiming straight for the batters head at 160 kph (100 miles). Batters regularly found themselves on the floor either from being hit or just jumping out of the way. Partner him up with Dennis (stay-clear-or-get-hurt) Lilly and you had arguable the scariest bowling line-up in modern day cricket. It has been said that Thompson bowled a ball at 170 kph (105 miles) but the way they timed it from footage was a bit dubious so has never really been accepted. The two of them were so good that Toohey’s (Australian beer brand) wrote a whole advertising campaign about them with a song describing playing against them and with them was written.
You should check out the great West Indies teams of the 70's and 80's. They bowled with a battery of FOUR fast bowlers, each one bowling at or near Thompsons pace. Check out Michael Holding from that team. They called him whispering death because of his speed in bowling and the way he glided in to bowl. They dominated cricket with these bowlers and some great batsmen.
you was doing well with your information on cricket !! then suddenly you say there was only so many bouncers they could THROW !!!! 😱😱 never mind keep trying !!!!
The batsman receiving the "nut shot" was David Lloyd. Lloyd tells the story often and well. ruclips.net/video/DrCNUrnsu2s/видео.htmlsi=2JJRtiCMliMATqZo
G’day fellas , there’s a video you might want to watch “Worlds fastest bowler competition 1979 World Series Cricket”. with Thomo being the fastest. Also maybe have a ‘Cricket Ball’ on the show to explain to Americans how hard it is.
I saw Jeff Thomson playing for Australia several times in Sydney. He was literally like lightning. Rod Marsh was standing back over 20 yards and catching the ball at head height! I played soccer with Jeff’s nephew, Matthew for a bunch of years. Nice guy. I never got to meet Jeff though. I also played cricket and copied Jeff’s bowling style perfectly. It absolutely generated more power. I’ve tried to explain this sling shot action to many people but they just don’t realise how effective it is. The difference in the foot action allows your bowling arm to start the sling shot action with your hand pointing straight down at the ground… which gives approximately an extra 70-90 degrees of rotation before releasing the ball. If you watch videos of Jeff’s action, his arm goes through an approximate 200 degree arc before releasing the ball. The normal bowling action only allows approximately 100 degrees before release. He really should receive more recognition for his unique style… and I believe it should be taught to new bowlers because of its mechanical advantages.
Since the T20 WORLD CUP is coming up, I think you guys should watch IPL (Indian Premier League) which is going on. It will help you understand the game.
If cricket bowlers through bowl like in baseball then cricket bowlers will go up to 180-190km/hr. Or 115+ mph. This isn't a through, this is overarm motion. They can't bend their elbows more than 15 degrees. It will be a illegal delivery bowler will be banned from bowling in cricket if he throw.
Loved coming home from school and watching the Thompson, Lillee and Marsh trio during the West Indies/Australia domination of cricket. Lillee /Thompson for bowling and Marsh for the batting, not the best but a slogger and always entertaining. Good days
I’m unsure if it’s already been mentioned, Rod Marsh the wicket keeper, would place pieces of steak inside his gloves to damping the impact of the ball on his hands, especially with Thompson & Lillie.. I used to love watching Thompson & Lillie bowling in the test matches.. Great to see the USA is taking an interest in cricket. Top job fellas 😀👍
You guys need to check out the infamous 'Bodyline' series where some of the fastest English bowlers (Harold Larwood) deliberately bowled at the body of the batsman, with a huge line of slip catchers behind. Not very sporting, very dangerous and still infamous!
Check out the story of Douglas Jardine. He was the original "head-hunter" of Cricket. There was a mini-series called "Bodyline" that details how he bowled at Aussie Cricketers, way 'back in the day'.
The main wicket keeper of the Australian Cricket Team, Rodney Marsh, used to place raw steaks in his wicket keeping gloves before commencing play to help protect his palms and wrists from the blows of continually catching or stopping the thunderbolt deliveries from Thompson and Lillee. His hands probably smelled terrible by the end of the day's play but at least his could still have some feeling and flex in his hands, fingers and wrists.
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Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson and Rod Marsh were the backbone of the Aussie bowling attack in the mid 77s
Aye, that they were. I'm 58 and grew up watching those three deliver slaughter on all comers !!
You need to watch the history of "bodyline" between Australia and England in the early 30s ashes series
The term "sandshoe crusher" came from Thompson's yorkers
When asked about his accuracy, the response was along the lines of: if I don't know where the ball is going then the batsman definitely won't know.
I remember as a boy seeing him knock a middle stump out and send it flying. 3 spins+ through the air.
PLEASE, stop saying "throw". Throwing is an illegal delivery. Say bowl, bowler, bowling, bowled etc.
Just a habit my brother. we catch ourselves most the time but every once in a while it slips out. We are aware that it is not allowed.
@@RealFansSports Please don't take it as an insult. Only a comment.
@@UmpireStrikesBack oh no Ofcourse not! Was just letting everybody know we are aware of the difference. It’s hard breaking the habit of decades using the word throw.
Especially since for us it’s never been correlated with bending of the elbow. Throw has always been used as a loose term for using force to move an object using your arm.
Listen you twoJeff Thomson was the most lethal bowler ever. So was Michael Holding for the WestCaribbeans). So, watch that as well.
@RealFansSports and Bodyline , Pompus English Captain Douglas Jardine , a twat , decided to beat Australia he had to employ a tactic , and decided that Bradman was key , and all batsmen will receive a constant barrage off short ball bowled at the body head preferably, and Harold Larwood , arguably the fastest bowler in the colonies , But it was "JUST NOT CRICKET" there is only one team playing cricket out there and it's. Isn't England , and it was dirty Cricket, but so be it , the most unsporting thing I've ever seen , would be a certain underarm , Bloody piss weak , any one but a little brother would had a fkn dip , so. GREG you put it on yah Lil bro , prick , NOT OUT
I was lucky enough to watch Jeff Thomson play live, but only towards the end of his career in a Sheffield Shield match (interstate cricket) where he was past his peak speed. Even then from side on his bowling was faster than the naked eye could see. The wicket keeper was also standing some 25 metres behind the stumps and was taking the ball at shoulder height.
We moved around to get behind the wicket to have a chance to actually see the ball and even then you only got an impression of the bowl as it was so quick.
The only other bowlers I have seen live that could match that pace were a young Craig McDermott, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson- none of whom could have matched a pre injury Thommo.
Yes I saw him and a lot of the great West Indian's play live. Always sat behind the wicket or would have no idea what was going on lol
I saw Jeff Thompson bowl once. I was sitting side-on to the pitch, so I didn't really see the ball, just a frighteningly fast blur and a batsman trying desperately to get out of the way of the red missile coming at him. It was only a tour match against an English county side, so he probably wasn't giving it full blast, but man it was fast, and hostile.
I've had the same experience sitting square of the wicket and I was always amazed by how far back Marsh the wicket-keeper had to stand, he might as well take a seat in the grand stand
@@jonsant7232 You're right. That was my first time seeing a real fast bowler in action and I was amazed at how far back Marsh was. I bet his hands still stung though.
Hey guys. The English left handed opener hit in the jewels is a very famous incident. Here is David Lloyd hilariously retelling the story ruclips.net/video/DrCNUrnsu2s/видео.html
Also Jeff Thomson claims the speed gun speeds were not originally recorded at release - they recorded basically average speed across the wicket. He claims the calculation was changed post his retirement to make subsequent bowlers not seem so much slower.
The speeds nowadays are calculated using math to be the actual out of the hand release speeds so Shoaib's speed was at release 100mph but Jeff's speed out of the hand was likely a lot higher.
Thommo's top speed was recorded when he had not played competitive cricket for a year as he had not been cleared by the Australian Cricket Board to World Series Cricket.
Thommo was sitting in the stadium half the day drinking beer when at the lunch break Kerry Packer the owner of World Series Cricket told Thommo he had to compete in the fastest bowler contest.
Thommo was in a suit and had to borrow pants , shirt and shoes to compete and half drunk still won the competition, bowling 160km and also won the accuracy.
And not played or trained in months.
He went for the head and the toes. He had the most lethal yorker in the game and broke many batsman's toes. As for the how fast he bowled he was recorded at 161 kilometres per hour in the late 70's I think 77 againsed the West Indies in Perth. The difference in how they recorded the speed then to now is that Thompson's was recorded when the ball reached the batsman now they record the speed as the ball leaves the bowlers hand. So Thompson's was recorded at its slowest point and now it is recorded at it's fastest point. Aktars was 161.8 when it left his hand Thompson's was 161 when it reached the batsman. Experts say that the ball looses between 8 to 10 kilometres by the time it gets to the batsman. So Thompson's 161 would be 8 to 10 kilometres faster when the ball left his hand.
Jeff Thompson was extremely flexible, few people are flexible enough to bowl using his action. I watched him bowling at the gabba, the keeper was standing about 25 metres behind the wicket, and taking catches over his head. He is a nice bloke, with a wry sense of humour.
He's very funny and humble. I saw an acceptance speech from him and it was thoroughly entertaining. I think it ended in tears, maybe about Rod Marsh?? Anyway, he seems like an out and out great bloke.
In Thommo’s day, as he explains in an interview with Sachin Tendulkar, the speed was measured at the batsman’s stumps. When live speeds started the bowlers were no where near Jeff’s 160km/h mark and Kerry Packer wanted higher speeds so the more modern radars now the speed from the bowlers hand, not at the opposite end. This means that Jeff could actually have bowled at 175-180km/h if bowling today.
Also note it wasn’t unusual for Jeff to see the ball to go over the keepers head and over the boundary without touching the ground after bouncing on the pitch. You don’t see that these days!
Yes he was bowling at about 180kms an hour.
I remember seeing this guy bowl. He bowled so fast I could not see the ball come out of his hand. His speed also meant that he tended to lose control and the ball could go anywhere. Which if you are a batsman it living hell. You have a fraction of a second to make a decision about what shot to play. In addition some bowlers will bowl in a pattern. Thompson did not know where it was going so no batsman did either. His career was short as he injured his bowling arm and after he got back into the game he could not bowl as fast
Aside from the bean ball bouncers aimed at the head he also aimed for the toe - the sandshoe crusher. This delivery is called a yorker in traditional cricket parlance....
Thomo's first practice game was against the poms and his captain told him to bowl dead slow at them so the could surprise them in a proper international game. The pons thought this guys easy to play against we don't understand the hype behind him. Then first proper game came a week later and thommo released hell and fury on them and took wickets so fast and broke the cup one pom was wearing that it opened up and allowed his groin to pop out thru the crack in the cup and close back up on his groin on the wrong side of the protective cup. Lol
Great to see you guys in the States taking an interest in cricket and enjoying it. Having watched him live as well as on TV a lot at his peak I have no doubt he was consistently faster than anyone since, including Shoaib Akhtar, probably by a few km/hour. They only measured speed in those days in a few tests off the field , never during a match, so he was really never tested, though when he was a couple years after his peak he was much quicker than some great fast bowlers from the West Indies, Pakistan, South Africa and Australia. But it’s important to know his peak was only two years, those two series shown in these clips from 1974-1976. He was never quite the same after dislocating his shoulder in a collision with a fielder trying to catch the ball in late 1976. In those clips from the early 1980s when he is in a yellow uniform he was much slower.
He didn’t retire particularly young as the commentator suggests. He toured England for a Test series in 1985 when he was 34/35. Important to know the importance of the type of wickets in different countries. A super fast bowler works well on the faster pitches of Australia and South Africa, but not always on the slower pitches of England, India and Pakistan, for example. Thomson’s action was unusual because of the javelin style, but in many ways ideal, being perfectly side on.
As someone who played cricket for 35 years, including against some international players, and watched for longer, I’d say cricket doesn’t require greater hand eye coordination than baseball, except for catching close to the batter with no gloves. The ball is delivered about 3 metres closer to the batter in baseball and doesn’t bounce, which slows it down. And it’s travelling mostly 90-100 mph from the pitcher’s hand in baseball, whereas not many bowlers in cricket bowl over 90 mph, even at the highest level. And it’s difficult to make the cricket ball drop or curve downwards or sideways consistently as it does in baseball. That’s why a good baseball batter gets the ball in play around 30% of the time without getting out. Whereas in cricket it’s mostly difficult to get good players out. But each requires different kinds of skills. But whatever you read, in comments don’t believe anyone who tells you Akhtar was quicker than Thomson at his peak. It’s not just me but a whole bunch of the best international players across both eras.
Collis King told me that after Thommo bowled his first session in the West Indies, a bunch of Windies players, ground staff and officials went out to inspect the pitch because they thought there might've been something wrong with it, coz they couldn't figure out how he got the ball to bounce up so sharply of moderate lengths
The batsman had just under 1/2 second from the time the ball left his hand to the time they hit the ball (or the ball hit the batsman). In reality, they had about 1/4 second to make a decision on how they were going to play the shot and 1/4 second to play it. They relied on the body language of the bowler to figure out where the body would hit the ground.
Aussie cricketers were a bunch of drunks back in those days and still won most of their matches
Wasn't there an incident where an English player went to Aussie changing rooms to demand an apology for a slur he heard on the field? He then saw they talked like that even to themselves. I believe the slur was "bastard".
@@vp4744 Think that was Lord Tennyson back in an Ashes series in the 1920's.
@@HBr-j7c That's probably right, because it's something I read. Thanks.
All cricketers were, it was fairly social even at the highest levels. Professionalim in sport didn't really arrive until the late 80's, thats when the corporations really got involved and expected the players to toe the line due to a fear of their products being connected with blokes playing drunks. Now they cant put a foot wrong in any way.
@@iankearns774 yes, the price of money
Lillee more than Thompson changed cricket in another way: weightlifting. Until then bowlers were advised not to lift weights for fear of altering their finely developed bowling arm muscles. Lillee proved that wrong. Now every bowler's workout follows Lillee's regimen, especially dragging weights gladiator style.
Thompson and Lillee were certainly the most feared pair until West Indies players became faster and more accurate. Thompson did not have as much ball control as Lillee did, but in those days the pitches were erratic for this style of pace bowling. Once the pitches were fixed and the batsmen figured out how to handle pace, it was easy to score runs. That's how India won its very first World Cup soon after touring West Indies.
Thanks for the history lesson!
Yeah I always find it interesting how the ideas behind training change through the generations. I’m a personal trainer and with baseball they used to believe that working out shoulders caused injuries but now it has been proven the opposite
Back in the 1930's the English used a tactic against Australia called 'Bodyline' where the pace bowlers aimed AT the batsman, not the wicket. And by saying 'at the batsman' it was a short pitched ball aimed to rise up and hit the batsmans head. This was developed to counter the Australian batsman Don Bradman. Bradmans Test batting average was 99.94. And but for going out for a duck (ie no score) in his last innings it would have been 100. That was set between 1928 and 1948. It is still a record today. The second closest is Harry Brook at 62.15.
This is still remembered today by the Aussies and back in those days it sparked a serious diplomatic incident
Jeff was not trying to bowl bodyline as he didnt aim at the man but he was still dangerous as was Dennis Lillie
Bodyline or as the English captain Jardine called it “Leg Theory” had the bowler come around the wicket so that the starting point of the delivery was outside the line of the batter’s body and then pitched short aimed at their ribcage or head.
The Australian team refused to respond in kind and as this was still in the amateur era they considered it to be an ungentlemanly way to play the game. There were many injuries to the Australian players who were often unable to return to their occupations after the match due to their injuries (at least until they healed) and this generated much outrage in Australia and embarrassment for those English who did not support these tactics.
@@neumanmachine3781 "There are two teams out there, but only One of them is Playing Cricket" Australian captain of the day.
@@kevharper1378 one of the greatest statements in cricketing history.
I believe there was also the England tour of Australia when the Australians used bodyline against England but that was several years before.
@@mymartianhome Splitting hairs, there is leg theory and fast leg theory.
Leg theory is when the ball is bowled at the leg stump. It was used before the First World war mainly by slow and medium pace bowlers.
Fast leg theory ie. bodyline is when the ball is bowled at speed aiming at the batsmans body. This was developed specifically for use against Bradman by The English
I watched the 74/75 Ashes series in Australia and Thompson bowled balls that went past the batsman’s chins and hit the sight screen on the full. That is how quick he was and I have never seen another fast bowler do that. The only way they could measure the speed back then was timing it from Wicket to Wicket. For Thompson to reach 160km/h using this measure he had to release it at about 180km/h. Note that it is the speed at release that they measured now, they don’t take into account the reduction in speed of the ball when it bounces.
I have heard this from a few people. Would the pitch have aided him a little because the pitches would have been uncovered and much faster than today?
Not disrespectful but just trying to understand how someone could hit the sight screen on the full
If he was 180 in 1974 ,he measured only 147 in 1979 using speed from the hand as they do today. That means he lost 35kph of pace in 5 years as did Roberts , Holding and Lillee mysteriously..
I know the old stories of Thommo being in the bar and suddenly pitching up and winning the 79 speed challenge but all of them were much slower.Very strange.
@@relevantbrother8964 1979 was after he had his shoulder injury and he was nowhere near as fast after that. You can see that from the videos and the players say the same thing.
@@aqibpeer7451 pitches were covered in 1974. The pitches were actually no different than today. He did it in Perth which is no surprise as it is a fast bounce wicket. But he also did it in Sydney and that was a spinner’s paradise as it is today. Melbourne is the only pitch that has changed significantly in the last 50 years but they were all covered back then.
@@jamesmorgan4121 he must have been really fast then. Scary af 😲
He tended to go for the toes not the head. He liked the toe crusher. Sandshoe crusher as said by someone else in the comments.
Thommo as he was known, was actually clocked at 110 MPH in the early days of recording speeds. He was quoted as saying, "If I don't know where the ball is going, what chance have those poor bastards got (referring to the Batsmen). Thommo holds the record of breaking the most bats in Test Cricket, (24).
Dont believe he was ever clocked at more than 100. Still the fastest ever, at least that I’ve seen in 55 years.
If you guys haven’t looked up Shaun “The Wild Thing” Tait he is another incredible Aussie fast bowler with an unorthodox action.
He once hit AB Devilier who was late on the ball, bottom edged it into his hip, and the pain was so great AB spun around and couldn’t hold his bat up and dropped it onto the stumps which counted as a wicket.
Thommo was a legit freak made of the old school stuff. The realist fast bowler to ever look down a pitch. Imagine having to face him one over & Dennis Lillee the next over after over? Imagine the effect that would have on any batters moral?
and without a helmet 😳
As a kid I was taken to the MCG to see Aus vs WI in the mid seventies. The WI had 4 fast bowlers and Aus had 2 (Lillee & Thomson). Thomson was the fastest of the 6, but not by much and it showed me just how much courage was needed to bat against these bowlers without helmets. Sadly, Jeff Thomson collided with a fielder a couple of years later and had to have his right shoulder reconstructed. He was never quite the same bowler after that.
He probably was the fastest bowler ever before his injury, but as speeds were not measured accurately back then its hard to say. Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee and a couple of others were really quick and once someone bowls over 160 Kmh it is probably just academic anyway.
Unfortunately I think you are misremembering your childhood. 75/76 West Indies played Lance Gibbs. Then WSC happened, Thommo only played 5 matches all in the West Indies. In 1979/80 Thommo did not play. I cannot find an ODI where that happened.
@@UmpireStrikesBack Maybe my memory is merging the Aus v Eng series from the previous year, which I also went to when Thomson was seriously scary, with the WI series. I do remember the gasps in the crowd when Dennis Lillee hit Viv Richards on the head when he was wearing just a cap, but amazingly Viv just shrugged it off and faced the next ball. I guess the point is, there were some serious fast bowlers in that 70s era and if you were listing the top 10 pace bowlers of all time Lillee, Marshall, Roberts, Holding and Garner from that era would all be in contention. I think had Thomson not injured his shoulder, he would have been up there too.
He dislocated his shoulder in a collision with Alan Turner when going for a catch at around mid-wicket from memory. I remember when Thommo came back, he could never throw the ball in from the boundary, he had to bowl it. But, you're right, after that injury he was never as quick.
The English batsman hit in "the jewels" at 5.04 is David Lloyd. Over the many years since has said, whenever he see's Thomo he covers up the jewels & his pitch of voice becomes higher instantly.
Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee were legendary bowlers, they were complimented by the Wicket Keeper (catcher for you Americans) by Rod Marsh who only wore Keeper's Gloves. No helmet, no chest protector. The immortal trio decimated teams. Where you said "they aren't wearing helmet here", the batsmen were wearing white helmets with clear plastic face protectors. First prototype.
There is very little real data on bowling speeds from back then, it was considered too impractical for TV, everything took a long time and man hours to set up and calibrate the cameras, then it took a couple of days of checking and calculating to get the result. Just based on the distance the wicketkeeper and slips are standing back and the distance the ball is carrying past the batsman it looks like Thomson has a few kmh on anybody in the 21st century but who can really say for certain. Thomson was measured over perhaps a dozen balls in his entire career, current bowlers are measured over every ball in every match in every format. Thomson broke many toes and fingers and stumps but amazingly I dont think he ever hit a batsman in the head.
Hysterical and VERY interesting guys!!! Thomson WAS the fastest and by a long way. I saw him bowl in Sydney in 1977....could not see the ball through the air. Jeff Thomson was an incredibly flexible human being...much more than normal people. Ball was dark red not white like a baseball. The colour of the ball does make a difference. Cheers from Hunter Valley Australia. T20 cricket coming to the USA THIS YEAR.
Hey mate, I'm from Cessnock, my mum watched him live at his peak, said there was nothing like it. She still tells the story of Thommo hitting the same batter on the foot 3 times and the guy had to be carried off.
Apparently, before the match he was warming up (or maybe during break, I wasn't there) he bowled a bouncer that flew over the boundary.
I used to bowl with his action as a kid, but multiple shoulder dislocations made it no longer viable, had to revert to a regular style and give up speed and rely on swing and being more clever with what I had left - still opened the bowling though (and closed the batting haha).
There’s the legendary story about the time Jeff Thompson balled to Don Bradman in the nets.
Rod Marsh wasn't only the best wicket keeper the world has seen, he was also very handy with the bat. A true allrounder.
Errr... no... Irongloves Marsh was not even the best keeper of his time. Allan Knott had him covered comfortably. And there have been better Australian keepers since, notably Ian Heally. Bacchus was a very good gloveman and occasionally good batsman. I was at the MCG the day Bill Lawry declared when Marsh was in the 90's and would have been the first australian keeper to make 100. He was a dynamic player and part of the culture that made the Aussie teams of the 70's and 80's so powerful, but he was not 'the best wicket keeper of all time'
Nope. Ian Healy was just as good 'keeping to the quicks but MUCH better standing up close for spinners (and you had to be good to keep to Shane Warne). And West Indian Derek Murray was just as good 'keeping to quicks too.
100mph bowls is scary...btw guys, he is still alive today - I met him several times after he retired - he was a handyman who came into the place I worked at often and I served him often.
Go for Mitchell Johnson another Aussie who brought back the fear and threatened batsmen to leave the crese.
Watch 2013-14 ashes a slingy action fast bowler. He was firing lethal rockets (bouncers).
No way near as fast as Thommo mate. Thommo was only ever measured after he ran into Alan Turner and rooted his shoulder.
He once said that he didn't know where the ball was going to go so what hope did the batsman have . The English had heard of Dennis lillee being quick , and he was , but the Aussies said you haven't seen anything yet , Thompson is quicker . They couldn't believe it but he was . The two together were extremely scary.
Thompson bowling action is different because he started as a javelin thrower in school.
Brilliant cricketing era - Thomson/Lillee bowling (and others), great fielding, amazing wicket keeping. What a team. Noteworthy it has to be bowled on wicket. Wides would grant opposition a run. So to be so fast and accurate is to be admired.
It’s actually amazing Thommo never killed anyone.
I’ve watched some fast bowlers in my time and the one who left an impression on me was Waqar Younis of Pakistan.
A couple of tidbits on Thommo. Was from my hometown suburb in Sydney. Played for my soccer club (is about ten years older than me) was banned for life for punching a referee.
I would ride my bike down to the local oval to watch him play local (Grade) cricket. Would open the bowling with another Australian bowler Len Pascoe. Both terrifyingly quick. As you say this is before helmets around 1973.
He then moved to Queensland (a state north of New South Wales) and while playing for Queensland his housemate was killed by a cricket ball while playing grade cricket fielding in close. Helmets were introduced for both batting and in close around 1977.
His delivery was also very difficult for batsmen because they need to watch the ball in the bowlers hand. Coming from behind him, it cut down the batters time to see the ball and what type of ball he was bowling.
Thompson was part of the Test line up for Australia when I was a kid, his delivery style was certainly unorthodox, he just ran in with a flurry of arms and legs, out of which flew a cricket ball at full pace. It really wasn't pretty, but absolutely effective, and with Denniss Lillee bowling from the other end, you couldn't help but become enthralled. This is the era that I learned to love Cricket.
As an Aussie back in the Day, Sunburned half Pissed (drunk) Rod Marsh behind the wickets, with Jeff Thomson from one end Dennis Lilly thundering in from the other end, Mate that was cricket.
Cricket never better than those days. These days we have cheats, then the worst things was letting those same cheaters represent Australian again 😢😢 no integrity I would think representing your country would be awesome, so why would you jeopardize that. No way no how ever. That's the reason I don't watch cricket these days. 😮 But back in the day, Thommo was a GOAT.100%
GOAT means Greatest Of All Time Time and Tommo was that!!
I stopped watching when they started taking the knee before games.
See if you can find Thomson's bowling his unique "sand shoe crusher" to Tony Greig. I was lucky enough to watch Lillei and Thomson bowl at a 42 year old Sir Colin Cowdrey (74/75 Ashes Series) a middle aged man batting against L & T.......balls of steel....never would tell that to an English man.
I was at the WACA. When Cowdrey came out to bat, there was a noticeable murmur throughout the crowd. Everyone anticipated he would be slaughtered. From memory, he didn't bat great, but took a hell of a beating and didn't buckle.
Those fielding in slips also feared Thommo bowling and they were around 20m from the bat. Chappell/Walters etc have said this along with Rod Marsh.
The bouncers limit only applies to limited overs matches.. In that 74/75 series in Australia the only rule was the umpires could tell the bowler he was endangering the batsmen. Bear in mind this series was a few years before there were helmets available. Try watching on You Tube there are sections of Thommo bowling in that series where the batsmen, with no helmets, were just about avoiding the ball hitting them on the head. You showed one clip of a batsman being struck in the groin. The batter was David Lloyd, also known as Bumble. He tells the story about how the groin protector shattered in that moment and his wedding tackle got tangled in the debris. Hilarious story if you can find it.
Jeff Thompson actually bowled at around 175-180 Km an hour (110 -112 mph), not 160 km per hour (100 mph). They changed the way bowling was measured after him. When he was bowling they measured ball speed when it reached the batsman.
After Thompson, they measured ball speed out of the bowlers hand. It was a trick because promoters realised that bowlers after Thompson just did not bowl as fast, To be clear, the ball on average loses 10-15% of its speed in period from bowlers hand until it reaches the batsman.
Rod Marsh, Thommo's wicket keeper, would only EVER have been worried about being able to hold his beer after the days play! ;)
Actually I don't think he ever said he aimed for the head - although he might have said that once to intimidate the Poms. What he did say, which is perhaps more frightening, was he wasn't sure where the ball was going and if he didn't know he was damn sure the batsman at the other end didn't. At 100mph plus from about 19.5 yards away. Apart from being fast he possessed a wicked yorker and bouncer.
I'm Aussie, born in '65 and Thommo and Dennis Lillee dominated that era. They were unstoppable. We loved them !!
Thommo's first test he had a broken foot and was dropped from the Australian Test team and he was not included in the New South Wales State team as well.
This really pissed Thommo off and he decided to target all State team players he encountered in club matches.
On one occasion in a club game a NSW batsman knew Thommo would target him so he prepared by batting against the bowling machine set at 100 miles per hour at training sessions and claimed he was comfortable with facing that speed.
When His turn to bat came was when the previous batsman retired hurt after being hit by a Thommo delivery.
Apparently as the batsman was taking guard he was looking at a pool of blood from the previous batsman on the pitch.
He was at ease with 100mph bowling, BUT not for what Thommo bowled.
He claims it was a hell of a lot faster than 100mph and he could not see the ball and had no idea where the ball was.
This was a Highly skilled 1st Class cricketer batting at number 4, so he was more than a capable batsman.
only just clicked on, but I'm so glad you covered Jeff, he was a gun of the game
I was born in 73, growing up with only 2 channels on tv, 1 (ABC of Australia) had every test match (prior to 1 day cricket), so watching these guys was a done thing, you would play backyard cricket, coming in for breaks to see the score and get food, drinks or frozen treats, simpler days lol
a heap of wicketkeepers played with broken hands and fingers etc, purely from the power of the bowler
The vid he suggested at end, is def another bowler, along with Bruce Reid, Merv Hughes and Craig McDermott, that you guys will be impressed by
Batsman thinking he's going for a bouncer and you cop a 100mph yorker on middle stump
The difference between fast bowling and pitching is that as a bowler you can hit batters anytime you like. Think Nolan Ryan being able to pitch the occasional ball into the middle of your back and it only being called a ball.
I have seen Jeff Thomson and Shoaib Akhtar bowl live and both were incredibly fast.
But you must remember that in Thommo's day they only occasionally timed the bowling speed and used a police hand held speed gun.
Something to note is today they have better timing equipment and they time the speed of the ball out of the bowlers hand.
In Thommo's day they timed the ball after it has bounced on the pitch and arrived at the batsman's wicket 22 yards away.
The speed of the ball decreases by up to 20% once it bounces on the pitch.
If they used today's timing method on Thommo's bowling and timed the ball out his hand his speed would be more like 180km per hour
Thompson was fast, yes probably the fastest, but Dennis Lillee was a more accurate bowler
Most Wicket Keepers, especially Rod Marsh, wore 'inners' inside the gloves. Usually made of Chamois and cotton and soaked in water prior to playing. The water absorbed some of the impact. Sounds crazy, but I used to use the same method when I played. It gives an extra barrier between Skin and Glove.
The bloke who said he was after blood was lying, you get people out by hitting the bat for catches, hitting the pads in front of the wickets,or hitting the wickets, it's terrifying when the ball bounces higher, because the faster you bowl, the more it bounces in general, he got heaps of people out, if he aimed for heads he would get nobody out, but he did sometimes try to intimidate batsman by bowling a short ball if the batsman was scoring runs off him
famously. Jeff Thommo Thomson was timed at the magical 99 mph, yes, he aimed at the head, and wasn't backward in admitting it, as part of his strategy to get the batsmen out lbw by pushing them back in the crease, he had a devastating yorker, his main weapon
Good to see this. There are some other early bowlers like Larwood and Tyson that were also legendarily fast. Both are thought by some people to be the fastest of all time, but very difficult to measure. They have to take what footage there is, and try and come up with a measure from the old footage, which isn't very accurate.
Benaud saw Larwood and played against Tyson, rated Thommo as the fastest.
It's worth noting that nowadays the ball is timed out of the bowlers hand but in the 70's it was off the pitch so by that time the ball would have slowed somewhat
A cricketer, Phil Hughes of Australia, actually died in 2014 after being hit on back of the head facing a bouncer. This lead to redesigns to the helmet. Cricket is no joke in terms of potential dangers faced from the ball.
From a rough calculation, the time from the ball leaving Thomson's hand to its arrival at the batsman (a distance of 20 yards) was about 0.4 seconds.
Ashes to Ashes dust to dust, if Thommo don't get ya, Lillee must...
For a short period probably the fastest ever. There's nothing more thrilling in cricket than seeing a genuine fast bowler live as it's much much faster than it looks on TV. If you're watching 'side-on' you won't even see it.
Shaun Tait was probably the bowler who was next fastest after Thommo.
He was clocked at 101 mph.
Thomson was a player to be feared.. absolute weapon.
Bowlers bowl, never throw. Fielders field, catch, and throw. Keepers catch. You misuse any of these words, you will be met with the strictest of English upper lips.
Yeah we’ve had them try to come at us lol.
Not just the head, he had a ball called the sandshoe crusher. I remember watching Lillie and Thomo bowl against the West Indies at the SCG in 1976 with my grandfather. His unique action caused him major back problems as he aged.
Not at the SCG in 1976. I was at that Test, and Lillee was injured and didn’t play. Lillee had back problems early in his career, not Thommo. Thommo was never quite the same after he dislocated his shoulder in a collision in the field in late 1976.
You should have a look at Sir Donald Bradman....
He AVERAGED 99 runs per game.
Best batsman Australia ever had
Thank you for checking out the video, if you have a link that we can look at that would be great. Here is a link to the request form so you can send us a link that we can check out. tinyurl.com/RFSREQUEST
In case you don't know, it's about 70 feet from where the bowler lets it go to where the batsman is standing and the same distance again to the wicketkeeper. Also, Thommo regularly exceeded 160 km/hr until he badly injured his shoulder in the late 70's.
It is exactly 22 yards - (1 chain or 66 feet) from stump to stump.(around 20 mts). The bowler releases the ball from the front or 'popping' crease which is 4 ft in front of the stumps at the bowlers end. The batsman also stand around about the popping crease at the recieving end, so the distance between the delivery of the ball and the batsmans normal stance is (66-8) around 58 feet.
The four Horsemen from the West Indies were as fearsome if not scarier than Thomson.
Malcolm Marshall l wdnt wanna have faced!!
Those West Indies sides of the late 70's and 80's were awesome. The four fast bowlers (Garner, Holding, Marshall and Roberts) and the amazing Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd in the batting line up were so entertaining.
You really should do the Glenn McGrath video.
As a young woman (I'm 68 now!) I used to take myself to the cricket in Melbourne and watch these 2 - very exciting. Nice to hear about Thommo because we mainly just heard about Lillee after they stopped playing . Thanks!
I am 60 now and i remember seeing the greatest team ever come to Australia in 1979 . I constantly badgered my parents to get me tickets to see Australia v W.Indies at the MCG. At Christmas i got the tickets and they were side on to the pitch right on the fence The West Indian bowlers were scary fast and watching the great man Viv Richards pummel us with the bat , was one of my greatest memories as a kid
They sometimes played at this intensity for five days straight!!!
He was scary quick and also very fit.
Mitchell Johnson is the scariest bowler in this century not the fastest ever but a bone cruncher Batsmen knew that retiring them injured was the same as taking their wicket.
He is the type of guy that wanted to include tko,s on the stats sheet no regrets it's the batsman's job to defend themselves not the bowlers.
I miss him .
You guys should react to Fire in Babylon... Documentary about West Indies Fast bowling..... Btw like your content... Enjoy the T20 world Cup happening in the US + WI 👍🏼
Jeff Thomson is still the fastest clocked Test Bowler of All-time. He was clocked in 2x separate studies & registered 160.60kmh. He also recorded 160.45kmh, 160.45kmh. Those 3x ball's, are faster than 2nd placed Mitchell Starc, who recorded 160.40kmh. Andy Robert's 3rd with 159.49kmh. No doubt Thommo regularly bowled at the 100mph mark & higher than his recorded 160.60kmh.
Akhtar, Tate & Lee broke 100mph in ODI white ball cricket. They never surpassed 157.4kmh in Test Cricket. Thommo was a minimum 3.2kmh faster than them in Tests. No doubt he would have breezed past Akhtar's ODI record, if he was clocked bowling in ODI. Thommo would have nudged 165kmh, if you add the 3.2kmh difference.
TOMO..TOMO..TOMO.. we would chant slowly lol
I've been watching cricket since the 1970s and have seen some very fast bowlers live - Alan Donald, Andy Roberts, Bob Willis, Brett Lee, Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Mitchell Johnson, Richard Hadlee, Shaun Tait, Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Aktam, etc, and Thommo was faster than them all - he was truly frightening.
In the video they said how Thommo was clocked at 160.4km/h, a few points slower than Akhtar's fastest recorded delivery. But here's the catch; these days, the ball is clocked cming out out the bowler's hand, but it Thommo's day it was clocked at when it arrived att the batting crease, and by then it had lost around 12-15% of its pace. which means if measured today it would be around 180km/h, which coincides with how fast the late great Australian wicketkeeper Rod Marsh said he bowled at i.e. 175-180km/h. Interestingly, Marsh admitted that while he had no problem 'keeping to Lillee (who was no slouch) he found Thommo's extra pace difficult, even though he stood about 5-6 metres further back.
There are stories of Thommo bowling bouncers which sailed over the batsman's and keeper's heads and hit the sightscreen on the full - that's true, as I saw it happen once. At the old 'Gabba ground in Brisbane (Australia) during a Sheffield Shield (i.e. intetstate match) I attended Thommo bowled a bouncer which really took off (he was very strong and the ball hit the wicket very hard and generated a lot of bounce) sailed metres over the keeper's head (I think it was Ray Phillips), cleared the boundary and hit sightscreen, and bounced off landed on the dog track between the boundary and the spectators. The whole crowd went silent, while the two batsmen just looked at each other and shook their heads. The old 'Gabba wasn't the biggest ground when it had the dog track but that was still some effort - I never saw another bowler even come close. Yep, he was bloody quick all right.
As with everything, there is a lot of hype about Jeff Thompson.
He was scary and super fast, really REALLY quick, but not definitely the fastest.
West Indian Wesley Hall was just as quick in the 1960's.
Thompsons senior team mate, Dennis Lillee , was probably faster than Thommo until he cracked his spine......an injury that often ends the career of fast bowlers, especially super fast school kids.
Lillee refused to give up, and after many operations he trained himself back into cricket, then 1st Class cricket and then finally back into 5 day test cricket.......but only bowling at about 3/4 pace.
So.....the most feared bowling attack was Jeff Thompson bowling thunderbolts and Lillee only bowling at 3/4 pace.
Although wicket keeper Rod Marsh did issue a warning that occasionally Lillee let rip with a faster ball that would kill someone if it hit them.
Aust vs West Indies at MCG boxing day test......i cant remember the year, probably around 1975.
Lillee is bowling well and the West Indies cant score of him, but no wickets.
Thompson takes first 5 wickets and the West Indies are in trouble.
Dennis Lillee is bowling well for no reward ( no wickets ) and angry.
He lets go A FAST one.....hits the off stump before the batsman can play at it.....bat still in the BACK swing when the ball passes Rod Marsh ( about 20 to 30 yards behind the batsman ), who cant see the ball.
Marsh was still looking for the ball ahead, after it had passed him. lol
Thats the quickest ball i ever saw .....but a few years later the West Indies had Andy Roberts and Michael Holding, who were just as good and dangerous as Lillee and Thompson.......until the Windies added Joel Garner.
Roberts, Holding and Garner is the most feared bowling attack ever, by a long way.
Jeff Thompson was also New South Wales javalin champion. The great Freddy Truman (Englishman) was also terrifying.
Would be interesting if every single ball he bowled was timed liked nowadays. Just saying, I dare say some of them would be in excess of 160 km/hr but that's subjective until proper proof is given.
Jeff Thompson was an animal of a bowler. He would thump in yorkers (toe crushes) at 150 kph (95 miles) and then dig a short one aiming straight for the batters head at 160 kph (100 miles).
Batters regularly found themselves on the floor either from being hit or just jumping out of the way.
Partner him up with Dennis (stay-clear-or-get-hurt) Lilly and you had arguable the scariest bowling line-up in modern day cricket.
It has been said that Thompson bowled a ball at 170 kph (105 miles) but the way they timed it from footage was a bit dubious so has never really been accepted.
The two of them were so good that Toohey’s (Australian beer brand) wrote a whole advertising campaign about them with a song describing playing against them and with them was written.
Shoaib Akhtar was actually 161.3 Thompson at 160.45 is only 0.85 kmphr behind, or in MPH 0.52 mph so not a lot of difference , both incredibly fast.
You should check out the great West Indies teams of the 70's and 80's. They bowled with a battery of FOUR fast bowlers, each one bowling at or near Thompsons pace. Check out Michael Holding from that team. They called him whispering death because of his speed in bowling and the way he glided in to bowl. They dominated cricket with these bowlers and some great batsmen.
you was doing well with your information on cricket !! then suddenly you say there was only so many bouncers they could THROW !!!! 😱😱 never mind keep trying !!!!
The batsman receiving the "nut shot" was David Lloyd.
Lloyd tells the story often and well.
ruclips.net/video/DrCNUrnsu2s/видео.htmlsi=2JJRtiCMliMATqZo
G’day fellas , there’s a video you might want to watch
“Worlds fastest bowler competition 1979 World Series Cricket”.
with Thomo being the fastest.
Also maybe have a ‘Cricket Ball’ on the show to explain to Americans how hard it is.
I saw Jeff Thomson playing for Australia several times in Sydney. He was literally like lightning. Rod Marsh was standing back over 20 yards and catching the ball at head height! I played soccer with Jeff’s nephew, Matthew for a bunch of years. Nice guy. I never got to meet Jeff though. I also played cricket and copied Jeff’s bowling style perfectly. It absolutely generated more power. I’ve tried to explain this sling shot action to many people but they just don’t realise how effective it is. The difference in the foot action allows your bowling arm to start the sling shot action with your hand pointing straight down at the ground… which gives approximately an extra 70-90 degrees of rotation before releasing the ball. If you watch videos of Jeff’s action, his arm goes through an approximate 200 degree arc before releasing the ball. The normal bowling action only allows approximately 100 degrees before release. He really should receive more recognition for his unique style… and I believe it should be taught to new bowlers because of its mechanical advantages.
Since the T20 WORLD CUP is coming up, I think you guys should watch IPL (Indian Premier League) which is going on. It will help you understand the game.
If cricket bowlers through bowl like in baseball then cricket bowlers will go up to 180-190km/hr. Or 115+ mph. This isn't a through, this is overarm motion. They can't bend their elbows more than 15 degrees. It will be a illegal delivery bowler will be banned from bowling in cricket if he throw.
You guys are great so I decided to subscribe. Love your commentary on AFL, NRL and cricket. Keep it up. Much respect from down under
Loved coming home from school and watching the Thompson, Lillee and Marsh trio during the West Indies/Australia domination of cricket. Lillee /Thompson for bowling and Marsh for the batting, not the best but a slogger and always entertaining. Good days
I’m unsure if it’s already been mentioned, Rod Marsh the wicket keeper, would place pieces of steak inside his gloves to damping the impact of the ball on his hands, especially with Thompson & Lillie..
I used to love watching Thompson & Lillie bowling in the test matches..
Great to see the USA is taking an interest in cricket. Top job fellas 😀👍
I was in Sydney 74/75 test against England. Side on you couldn't see Thompson through the air. You could just see Lillee but Thompson was scary fast.
You guys need to check out the infamous 'Bodyline' series where some of the fastest English bowlers (Harold Larwood) deliberately bowled at the body of the batsman, with a huge line of slip catchers behind. Not very sporting, very dangerous and still infamous!
Check out the story of Douglas Jardine. He was the original "head-hunter" of Cricket. There was a mini-series called "Bodyline" that details how he bowled at Aussie Cricketers, way 'back in the day'.
The main wicket keeper of the Australian Cricket Team, Rodney Marsh, used to place raw steaks in his wicket keeping gloves before commencing play to help protect his palms and wrists from the blows of continually catching or stopping the thunderbolt deliveries from Thompson and Lillee. His hands probably smelled terrible by the end of the day's play but at least his could still have some feeling and flex in his hands, fingers and wrists.
Ashes to Ashes dust to dust. If Lillie doesn't get you Thomo must.... Was the old saying in the 70s. Australian Cricket.