Javagal Srinath: One in a billion

[express bowling]

Most of the players who actually played Srinath.... from whatever country ...have always appreciated his high pace. Nice examples would be Meryck Pringle and ......Lanka Silva of SRI LANKA, whose faces he smashed inspite of helmets and face protectors. :winky: Thank god for speed guns .... which show the truth about bowling speeds to counter the morons and trolls. Otherwise the morons would have called Aaron medium pace. :cantstop:

[rkt.india]

I did watch it - live at the time on tv. I have been in the UK since 1990. He had a faster ball - but he was a 135-140k bowler on the average. I watched Srinath bowl many times. He was not express. :two_thumbs_up:

Averaging 140k in a test match is a big thing. How many do that except Johnson, Morkel, Aaron did against England? Even Steyn doesn't bowl super fast all the time and average 85-86 mph most times in test cricket. It does not mean he isnt a genuine fast bowler because he has the ability to crank it up any time. Srinath was similar. He has bowled super spells on dead Indian pitches.

[sweetaskandy]

Let us be clear, 135-140k was his range on average. He'd have been closer to 135k on most occasions. Srinath was slower than prime Malinga - who was a 150k guy.

[Crookbond]

^ Malinga is a 150k bowler :blink:

[sweetaskandy]

Was. I clearly said was and prime. He is not prime anymore.

[riya]

He bowled the second fastest delivery' date=' after Akhtar, in the 1999 World Cup as well.[/quote'] And he did without chucking as well..

[riya]

Was. I clearly said was and prime. He is not prime anymore.

In prime Srinath was 140-150 bowler...1996-2000 time..

[sweetaskandy]

In prime Srinath was 140-150 bowler...1996-2000 time..

Ok. :two_thumbs_up:

[Ankur Upadhyay]

Ok. :two_thumbs_up:

And Malinga was never a 150 kph bowler... prime or not...

[express bowling]

In prime Srinath was 140-150 bowler...1996-2000 time..

You are right .... but he bowled around that speed of 140 to 150 k between 1992 to 1997 ... and his fastest years being 1995/96. After his rotator cuff operation , he became a 135 to 142 k pacer from 1998.

[singhprakash72]

Do not let facts ruin their fun. :giggle: Serious question for my Indian friends, if Srinath was so quick in that time - why did the whole world regard him as being a fast medium bowler? I am in my mid 40s - I watched much cricket in the period he played, and frankly, he never looked truly fast like Donald or Younis or Bishop for example. :two_thumbs_up:

Neither were Donald or Younis or Bishop were super fast for whole of their career ....Younis & Bishop specially were in 130s for most part except first 2-3 yrs of their career. Srinath was just like them ..pretty nippy till 1996 but after that he was typical fast medium pacer. The only consistent super fast bowlers for most part of career were Akhtar, Lee and to some extent Bond (he declined drastically in last few years of his career too). Frankly I don't give 2 hoots ...pace is good to discuss for this forum but in reality McGrath was better bowler than most Lees or Akhtars or Bonds in 90s/00s...it is like comparing Thompson with Lillee just on Pace basis.

[Yantra]

Guys believe me Srinath was out and out fast bowler during 92-97 probably fastest in the world, as for his average and wickets he would have taken more wickets if he had bowled touch fuller during those time, he was more of a bang the ball hard kind of bowler also there are other factors like slip fielding and corrupt captain at that time also play bigger role in selecting support bowlers for Srinath in those times, in those days Azhar and Co would select players from South, we used to get really frustrated for not selecting Salil Ankola, Atul Wasan, Prashant Vaidya etc... these were not top class but was much better then Doda Ganesh, Abey Kuruvila, V Prasad. Salil Ankola was equally quicker.

[sweetaskandy]

And Malinga was never a 150 kph bowler... prime or not...

The problem you have is that the evidence exists for Lasith. He clocked 150+ loads of times in tests and ODIs with a highest of 155k. He was not Lee/Akhtar in that he did not bowl 150 every ball - but he was in the next set - he bowled 150 with frequency. Plz check the speed in the top right. Its 152k - this is a test.

He was quicker in ODIs as all bowlers tend to be.

[sweetaskandy]

Neither were Donald or Younis or Bishop were super fast for whole of their career ....Younis & Bishop specially were in 130s for most part except first 2-3 yrs of their career. Srinath was just like them

God, no. Both the former had massive back injuries - that shaved a yard or more of their pace. Bishop and Waqar were incredibly fast before back injuries - visibly quicker then anyone else at the time. Do not pretend Srinath was ever in that bracket - for your own credibility.

[express bowling]

Ishant Sharma has clocked 150 k and more multiple times. Fastest of 152 k. We don't claim him to be a 150 k pacer because that is not his not his normal pace. That is the difference. Similarly, Shami has clocked 149 k, 148 k etc. but that is not his normal pace. His normal pace is 135 to 145 k. Similarly, Malinga in his prime, was not a 150 k pacer by any stretch of imagination. May have clocked it a few times like many others have. That was not his normal speed.

[sweetaskandy]

Not his ave speed, I agree. But he hit 150k with regularity in a way Sharma does/did not.

[express bowling]

Even Srinath was not a 150 k pacer in his prime. [ that is bowled 150 k deliveries at a high frequency ]. Neither do I find any evidence that Waqar or Bishop were so.... visually or factually. All these guys looked about 140 to 150 k in their prime --- distinctly slower that Shoaib, Lee and Thompson. Bishop , in fact, bowled quick for just 11 tests and massively slowed down after that. It is not fair to include him here because of the shortness of time.

[sweetaskandy]

As stated, Bishop and Waqar had massive stress fractures. The time he bowled that quick doesnt undo the fact. He was blisteringly fast. Waqar too. No one said 150k each ball - but regular high 140's and frequent forays into the 150s.

[express bowling]

Speed guns were very rare when Waqar and Bishop were in their prime. I find no evidence of such specific speed claims. They were quick .... no doubt about that .... but did not look to be as quick as Lee, Akhtar or Thommo.

[sweetaskandy]

That I can agree with. But on the thread issue, both looked MUCH quicker than Srinath.