Shoaib's raw power provides electrifying moments (12 June 1999)

12 June 1999

Shoaib's raw power provides electrifying moments

Ted Dexter

When Tiger Woods was selected for the Ryder Cup at Valderrama in 1997, there was much the same hype for the longest hitter in the world as there has been for the fastest bowler in the world, Shoaib Akhtar, during this World Cup.

We all know now that Tiger found it tough in match-play golf for his country as compared with medal-play for cash. And much the same has happened to Shoaib against the stronger teams. It was great for spectators to watch the young Woods battling against the old pro Costantino Rocca in his singles match and there has been no better sight than the enthusiastic and competitive Shoaib hurling the ball down at the world's top batsmen. However, the results have been much the same, with experience coming out on top.

I look forward to seeing the raw pace and truly wonderful bowling action of the young Pakistani put to proper use in another Test series, now that he is gathering experience and maybe becoming aware for the first time that he really is up among the fastest bowlers of all time. I am sure Jacques Kallis will testify to that after he was lucky to survive an absolute rocket of a ball which whistled past his head and the upstretched hands of the keeper in that definitive match at Trent Bridge.

It seems that the speed-gun measurement is good for comparative purposes but leaves a few question marks as to accuracy. When Gavin Larsen, of New Zealand, was credited with a ball at 85 mph at Headingley on Thursday, there were certainly raised eyebrows because nobody believed a single digit of the display. But when Shoaib regularly shows up in the middle 90s and Allan Donald is left trailing, then the message is clear.

The fastest officially recorded ball was 99 mph by Jeff Thomson in a competition which included Dennis Lillee. There was no electronic system available and the timing was made by checking on video equipment the number of frames that it took for the ball to travel from the bowler's hand to the batting crease at the other end, 60 feet or as near as makes no difference.

I seem to remember that it was 17.5 frames and with the known split-second duration of each frame, it was possible to come up with a figure. Given that the ball must slow down a little from the moment of delivery, it is likely that Tommo actually exceeded the magic 100 mph, if not on that occasion, then at least a few times in his career.

When comparing the pace of Shoaib, all his speed figures have been recorded in match conditions when accuracy will have been somewhere in the back of his head, although seeing the sprinting run-up and the full follow through, it is hard to imagine that he can actually bowl any quicker than he has shown already. What he will have when he returns to Test cricket is batsmen who are now fully aware of what they are facing, thinking of self-preservation rather than swinging the bat and a ring of slip fielders to catch the nicks.

Not that Shoaib is a stranger to Test cricket with 28 wickets from 10 Tests, rather expensive at an average of 34.6 but quite economical at only 3.1 per over. He has had one five-wicket return against South Africa in Durban and a match-winning performance against India in Calcutta with eight victims, including the prolific Rahul Dravid twice in the match and Sachin Tendulkar, clean bowled for nought.

His selection for this World Cup was won in the warm-up competition in Sharjah, a key part of his 23 one-day international career with wickets costing less than 20 apiece. In England, he has been less effective with wickets costing 25 and a higher economy rate at 4.6 per over. He remains well outside the top 20 in the PricewaterhouseCoopers world ratings, Test and one-day.

Statistics are certainly not uppermost in my mind when he runs up to bowl. There is the gleam in his eye, the exuberant athleticism and the extraordinary balance as he thunders through the bowling crease. And he has probably the longest sweep of his right arm I have seen.

His hand comes from slightly behind his back, not to the same extent as Thomson, but enough to wind up the spring that little bit more than most. The 'gather' is a copybook coiling of the shoulders against resistance from the hips, an amazing amount of 'lean-back', considering the pace he is travelling, and a whiplash delivery which fires the ball on its way.

It was Frank Tyson who wrote most graphically about the sheer physical exertion of bowling at top pace, using words like 'crash' and 'shock' and 'judder' felt right through the frame and up into the skull. The Shoaib action has little of this crudely powerful imagery but like many long hitters of a golf ball, the muzzle velocity comes from timing more than anything else.

It remains to be seen whether be has the constitution to enjoy a long career, obviously the prerequisite before he can be compared with the best of this or previous generations. For me, Malcolm Marshall remains top dog with Michael Holding the man I would least like to have faced. Shoaib has a mountain to climb but he certainly has the very best of equipment.

Peter Van der Merwe has been appointed referee for England's Test series against New Zealand.

Van der Merwe, South Africa's captain when they toured England in 1965, will take charge of all four Tests, beginning with the opener at Edgbaston on July 1.

It brings him into contact with England for the first time since the controversial Carlton and United Series one-day match with Sri Lanka in Adelaide at the start of the year, when Muttiah Muralitharan was called for throwing by umpire Ross Emerson and Arjuna Ranatunga threatened to lead his side from the field in protest.

Hampshire have approached former South African batsman Barry Richards to replace Malcolm Marshall as first team coach while the ex-West Indies pace bowler recovers from cancer.

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph