The Pace Race Between Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee and Others in the Early 2000s _ Cricket News _ Cricinfo at 20 Years _ ESPN Cricinfo

7/27/2019 The Pace Race Between Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee and Others in the Early 2000s _ Cricket News _ Cricinfo at 20 Ye

1/18

Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar

You can see me, but can you see the ball?

2002: Never before has

there been so much

competition to melt the

speed gun. By Eddie

Smith

2011: Does cricket

possess a quality that

lends itself to expression

in music more than othersports? By Sidharth

Monga

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2/18

(http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/42655.h

and Australia's Brett Lee

(http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/6278.ht

have been clearly the two most

devastatingly destructive bowlers in

world cricket over the last few years.

In modern times nobody else has been

closer to the elusive 100 miles per hour

mark (160.9kph).

This may have been an ultimate goal of

these two rare gems but over the past

few years an intriguing battle has

ensued as they jostle for the title as the

world's fastest bowler.

So close has the margin been between

Shoaib and Lee that they have almostgone ball for ball, speed for speed, since

Lee's emergence in December 1999.

Before this, Shoaib held the mantle as

the world's fastest bowler.

Early in 1999, Shoaib was timed at

154.5kph (96mph) in Sharjah, the same

mark that he reached against South
http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/6278.htmlhttp://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/42655.html


3/18

Africa in Durban the previous year. In

May 1999, at the World Cup, Shoaib

proved himself the undisputed fastest

bowler in the world, by bowling at

153kph (95mph) in his opening spell

against South Africa. He then produced

the fastest ball of the tournament in the

final against Australia, once again

reaching 154.5kph (96mph).

In October 1999, the great Dennis Lillee

wrote an article for the West Australian,

suggesting the imminent arrival of a

sensational new speedster to the world

stage, a 22-year-old Australian, who at19 had been clocked at 148kph

(92mph). Although no name was

mentioned, by December 1999 the

cricketing world knew the name Brett

Lee.

In Lee's first Test match

(http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63866.html)

he ripped one down at 154.1kph

(95.77mph), signaling himself as a

genuine express bowler of rare ilk. The

two speedsters went head to head,

trading missiles throughout the

Australian summer, constantly bowling

in excess of the 150kph mark, up to andover 154kph. One wickedly brutal waist-

high full toss from Shoaib to Justin

Langer recorded a horizontal velocity of

154.2kph (95.83mph), Langer's hand

bore the brunt of the red missile.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63866.html


4/18

It was January 23, 2000


when Lee bowled what was considered

the fastest recorded opening spell in

history. Lee was consistently between

150-154kph, with a top speed of

154.8kph, which he bowled twice. His

third and fastest over of that spell will

go down as one of the fastest overs in

history, recording speeds of 153.2kph,

152.7kph, 153.9kph, 154.1kph,

154.5kph and 154.8kph, with an

average speed of 153.9kph. But Shoaib

was to come back with some pure speed

of his own.

In the second one-day final of the 1999-

2000 season at the MCG, Shoaib

bowled an over based on raw, untamed

aggression. His fourth over recorded

the following speeds: 151.7kph,

152.2kph, 152.9kph, 154.7kph,

153.5kph and 153.1kph, the average

being 153.0kph. The two men were fast

and getting faster.

On March 28, 2000 in Sharjah

(http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65787.html),

against South Africa, Shoaib bowled a

ball which registered a phenomenal156kph (97.0mph).

In early April in South Africa, at the

climax of a gruelling international

schedule, Lee had his chance to go for

the gun and eclipse Shoaib's mark, set

two weeks earlier. Lee produced a

seemingly effortless, rhythmical
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65787.htmlhttp://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65594.html


5/18

display, netting him the same personal-

best mark of 156kph (97.0mph). Not

only was this mark reached once but

twice in the same match; however, it

was not bettered.

Both players suffered stresses and

strains associated with their speed of

bowling. Lee had operations on both

ankles, found he had the first signs of a

stress fracture in his back and, when

fielding, he blew out the elbow of his

bowling arm in an injury akin to those

suffered by baseball pitchers.

When repairing the damaged elbow,

Lee's specialist also repaired long-

standing bone damage.

Shoaib constantly seemed to be

breaking down and had no doubt been

through the most horrendous period of

his life so far. Shoaib was passed fit andready for action in December 2000 and

it was revealed by Pakistani officials that

he had bowled at a speed of 158.4kph

(98.45mph), most likely in practice. The

fast man reached incredible highs and

lows in New Zealand, bowling one of his

most devastating spells with a fastest

ball of 151kph (93.85mph), before

breaking down and ultimately being

reported by the officials.

In the second match of the tri-nation

one-day series in England, a rusty,

under-prepared Lee was a surprise

inclusion to an injury-ravaged


6/18

Australian bowling line-up. Lee looked

weak and nervous in his return bout

and could bowl no faster than 140kph.

Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi Express

steamed in and in his first over recorded

the super fast time of 152.85kph

(95mph). But in his second over, he was

to hurl the red sphere faster than any

bowler in modern times. With the

eighth ball of his spell, Shoaib bowled a

157.2kph (97.7mph) bullet.

Akhtar now stood alone as the fastest

bowler in the world. He had just bowleda full 1.2kph faster than Lee's best of

156kph (97.0mph).

Only 3.25kph (2.02mph) now separated

the Pakistani paceman from the world

record, standing at 160.45kph

(99.72mph). A further 0.45kph

(0.28mph) past this point and Shoaibwould see a major ambition reach

fruition. The cricket equivalent of the

four-minute mile or the 10-second 100-

metre dash.

Not since December 1975 was anybody

recorded bowling that fast in match

conditions.

On that one day in Perth, Jeff Thomson

had recorded release speeds on

200/400 frames per second photosonic

cameras of 159.49kph and 160.45kph

(99.7mph), less than 0.3mph short of

the magical 100mph mark. In fact, two


7/18

men considered in the 'fastest ever'

category, Michael Holding (148.54kph)

and Andy Roberts (150.67kph) were

both 10kph slower than Thomson on

that day and an unwell Dennis Lillee

(139.03kph) was 20kph slower. As an

interesting side point, Jeff Thomson

was also recorded by conventional radar

the following year at 160.58kph to win a

"fastest bowler" competition.

This fastest ball of modern

times was released at a speed of157.4kph. It was a short-pitchedball, so a greater amount ofkinetic energy is taken from theball when it collides with the

pitch

Lee was below his best during the

Ashes, although in the fourth Test he

did bowl a spell close to his best,

bowling both the fastest over and fastest

ball of the five-Test series. Lee's hostile

over recorded an average speed of

148.3kph and peaked at 152.4kph.

In the meantime, Shoaib was making

another comeback to the international

arena following his injuries in England.


8/18

The wait was not long as the Rawalpindi

Express exceeded the 150kph mark

(150.7kph) in his very first over.

A mere four matches later and Shoaib

was given another forced absence as

suspicious officials reported him once

more. Ironically, Shoaib would bide his

time with Brett Lee's club side Mosman

as he waited for the process to take due

course.

While Lee and Shoaib were together on

Australia's eastern seaboard, a third

genuine "express" bowler was emergingand a legitimate threat to Shoaib's

crown. The new threat had not come

from the youngsters Mfuneko Ngam of

South Africa or Mohammad Sami of

Pakistan, as was expected, as both were

on the long road back from injury. But

another South African, a 24-year-old

peroxide blond power-pack had

materialised after spending two years in

the fast-bowling wilderness.

Back on December 10 1999, the then

fiery red-headed Mornantau Hayward

had stopped the gun at 151kph. His

speed reading against England had

stamped the 22-year-old as a 'fast man'

of the future. But over the next 22

months, Nantie battled with poor form

and injury which kept his speeds down

mostly to the 130s (kph) and low 140s

(kph).


9/18

In 2001 against Kenya, Hayward

bowled a shock 152kph to the hapless

Kenyans in a one-day international in

South Africa. A few days later Hayward

bowled a spell


to Sachin Tendulkar which had the

Little Master in all sorts of trouble.

In the first Test against India, Hayward

bowled the ball that would indelibly

stamp him into express bowling's "big

three".

He produced a 154.4kph blinder. Hisfastest delivery and faster than Lee had

bowled in 18 months.

In the third Test against New Zealand

Lee rejoined the pace race. He bowled

three stand-out balls in the match, two

of them measuring 153kph and one

touching in at 154.5kph. That was fasterthan he had bowled in Australia since

his debut season in 1999-2000, only

1.5kph from his fastest ball and more

importantly 0.1kph faster than

Hayward's personal best set the

previous month.

In the first South African Test in

Adelaide, Hayward shocked both

commentators and fans alike with his

new-found pace.

In the second Test, Lee was back in the

express lane again, bowling in the high

140s on occasion and breaking the
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66107.html


10/18

150kph barrier.

When the South African captain finally

let Hayward loose for a long spell he

came out swinging. He notched up

speeds of 150.2kph and 150.1kph twice

in a torrid spell. He was in the 150kph

zone for the first time on Australian

soil, but one ball in the middle of the

spell was of special significance.

Hayward bowled a ball to Steve Waugh

which came in at 154.3kph, just 0.2kph

under Lee's fastest ball and only 0.1kph

below his own quickest. Of particularnote was that the ball was bowled to

Steve Waugh and that Waugh came

within a whisker of playing on as did

Sachin Tendulkar.

Lee stopped the gun at the 150.5kph

mark in the second innings of the third

Test. But a new challenger was yet toemerge.

During the one-day international tri-

series to follow, Shane Bond of New

Zealand emerged from the pack.

In Bond's first two Tests, he notched

top speeds of 142.3kph and 146.2kph,

and then headed home to terrorise the

hapless Bangladeshis. He returned to

Australia as a fully-fledged and

confident speedster.


11/18

Bond not only proved to be the best

bowler of the tri-series series to follow

in Australia, he often pushed Lee for

the title of the fastest.

Lee's fastest ball of the summer came

on January 11, 2002 against New

Zealand, the ball registering 154.6kph.

Just 0.1kph faster than the ball in Perth

and once again, his fastest since the

156kph balls in April 2000.

On January 26, Bond joined the "big

three" in the 150kph club. During one

of the most devastating spells you'relikely to see in one-day cricket, Bond

bowled over Adam Gilchrist with a

151.2kph rip-snorter of a yorker.

Hayward's ankle injury gave a boost to

another young paceman as Makhaya

Ntini took over the reins as the No. 1

South African fast man. Ntini aspired tojoin the express pacemen's club and was

constantly up around the high 140s

(kph).

Ntini reached a pace peak in Australia

towards the end of his tour, clocking up

149.7kph and joined the likes of Bond,

Shoaib, Lee and Hayward. Just a few

weeks later back home in South Africa

he released a 151.4kph projectile on

February 22 2002.

In just a few short months, the

exclusive club of two had grown to five

and still there was another to come.


12/18

On the first day of the second Test in

South Africa, Lee blew away these

newcomers with a 157.4kph rocket. The

ball in question was called a no-ball but

this does not affect the speed of the

ball's release and thus the speed was to

stand as the new benchmark. Lee also

bowled a legal ball recorded at 157.3kph

by the EDH company's speed recording

devices and one in the third Test came

in at 156.2kph.

His two fastest balls had eclipsed

Shoaib's 157.2kph, recorded the

previous June against Australia and Leewas now No 1. But while Lee should

have been basking in the glory of his

fastest ball, the media as a whole chose

to concentrate on some off-hand

remark by wicketkeeper and Australian

team-mate Adam Gilchrist.

Gilchrist had chosen to rain on Lee's

parade when he called into question the

accuracy of the EDH speed guns. What

Gilchrist failed to acknowledge was that

the EDH guns actually track the ball

through the air, giving an actual ball

velocity at the time of release by the

bowler and not when the ball smacksinto his gloves some 40 or more metres

away.

This fastest ball of modern times was

released at a speed of 157.4kph. It was a

short-pitched ball so a greater amount

of kinetic energy is taken from the ball

when it collides with the pitch. Such


13/18


14/18

AFP

Brett Lee: the need for speed comes at a painful price

On April 12, Shoaib was to shock the

world with his new found pace. Bowling

with pace like fire, he clocked in at

159.5kph and with another ball of

157.4kph just for good measure. Shoaib

had just blown Lee's 157.4kph out of

the water in an inspired burst.

On April 17, Shoaib proved that his fast

times were no fluke, recording speeds of

159kph and 158.4kph.

In the first of three one-day

internationals against New Zealand, the

show which Shoaib put on can only be

described as phenomenal. Shoaib took

six wickets for 16 runs, clean-bowling


15/18

four New Zealand batsmen and

breaking a stump when Andre Adams

had trouble connecting with the ball.

Shoaib had done it again as he sent a

missile down at 159.9kph.

He was a mere 1.1kph shy of bursting

through the 100-miles-per-hour barrier

(160.9344kph) and half a kph or so

away from Jeff Thomson's world-record

160.45kph recorded during the 1975

Perth Test. During the third and final

one-dayer, Shoaib was to finally go

where no man had gone before.

On April 27, Shoaib burst through the

100 miles-per hour (160.9344kph)

barrier with a ball registering 161kph on

a speed gun operated in the ground by a

sponsor. The US-made Stalker radar

gun was run by the high-tech firm

Cybernet. The EDH radar however wasinoperative at the time and this caused

much confusion as to whether the time

would stand. Shoaib also clocked

160kph on the Stalker device and

159.8kph on the EDH device when it

was operational. The 161kph ball was

the sixth ball of Shoaib's second over

whilst Craig McMillan was facing.

Shoaib can now lay claim to being the

"Hundred Miles Per Hour Man", but

only unofficially. The ICC has declined

to make Shoaib's 161kph officially

recognised, but this is not surprising as

there is no policy in place to recognise

bowling speeds.


16/18


17/18


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Documents

The Pace Race Between Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee and Others in the Early 2000s _ Cricket News _ Cricinfo at 20 Years _ ESPN Cricinfo