Slower Ball

Following on this post, I’ve just found some videos about the quicks of the late 1970s.

There was a fast bowling competition in 1979, won by Thommo:

…but there was also another timing session around the same timel where Thomson was recorded at 99.9 mph. That I knew – what I didn’t know, and is revealed in the Thommo/Imran chat here, was that the way they timed those deliveries means you have to add about 10% to compare them to the moderns, whose speed is measured 5 feet after release, not when it gets to the batsman’s end after pitching. Wow.

Just look at how the last ball at 8’06” is climbing like a rocket as it hits the keeper’s gloves: