How about some of the great All Rounders we have had the pleasure of seeing over the last 50 years? Benaud, Miller, Sobers, Botham, Akram, Imran, Kapil Dev, Hadlee.. just to name a few.. All Rounders bring something special to our great game..
As a kid I saw Thommo live at the MCG. What blows one's mind the most is how far from the end of the pitch the keeper and slips are. You don't get an idea of that from video.
@@evilstorm5954 that's a dumb comment - and an unnecessary put-down of all cricketers since then, Yes Thommo and Lillee were awesome, and I loved them - but I also appreciated Merv Hughes, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Mitch Johnston, Ryan Harris, etc etc along with all the great international bowlers and all the great batsmen that played with them and faced them.
From a book titled the Quicks by Robert Drane. Came out in 2022: It’s Thommo’s effect we’ll remember. His shattering, pillaging, trucking-well effectiveness. Who cares about statistics? Thommo doesn’t. His influence on a game - on the game - was enormous. Why? Because he was not only inhumanly fast; he made that rock do unprecedentedly vicious things, with steepling, blast-off bounce, from what was previously considered a good length. Good batsmen had their faces, ribcages and life-priorities rearranged. Opponents who’d just come off triumphant series were reduced to pallid, frail wraiths. He made batsmen who dined on good bowlers want to apologise for hitting him to the boundary. Not one worthy archrival stood when he was in the mood to prove batting was a hoax, its greatest practitioners overrated. Speed guns? Anyone who saw him, or faced him, especially pre-1977, would be amused at the ‘fastest man in history’ contest between Brett Lee and Shaoib Akhtar. Thomson was officially measured, long after the 1976 on-field collision that ruined his bowling shoulder. Two years before that, he’d already hurt it during a tennis match. The video assessment happened during season 1978-79, when he didn’t play, and had been sitting around drinking beer for months. In fact, he put down a beer to participate in the little exercise. Against Holding, Lillee, Roberts, Khan and LeRoux, he clocked the quickest, around 150, hardly extending himself. The Wild Man surprisingly also proved most accurate. He’d been unofficially clocked three years earlier, at over 160. Lillee, by the way, was timed at mid-150s then, after his comeback with reduced pace. Ian Chappell, never given to exaggeration, ignores ‘studies’, measurements, or historical judgements. He believed there was Thomson, then daylight, then the frightening Holding. ‘He had another gear’. Rod Marsh was in the front row, as Thommo’s wicketkeeper. I spent a week with him at the Cricket Academy in 1998. He was effusive then about a kid named Brett Lee. Later, he put the Lee-Akhtar ‘duel’ in perspective: ‘If they’re bowling 160, Thommo bowled 180.’ Clive Lloyd faced or played with them all. ‘There’s only one way to play him’, the fearless and ferocious Big Cat said once in his laconic way, ‘and that’s to get up the other end.’
FWIW, the speed measurement of Thompson (and the other quicks) in the Summer of '78-'79, @@mis-tur-tay-bur, was for a one-off TV event in Australia (on commercial station owned and run by the notorious Kerry Packer). Thomson wasn't at full match fitness, but won with 147.9km/h in hot but good conditions. Other bowlers invited were Mike Proctor, Garth Le Roux, Imran Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz (huh?), Hadlee, Pascoe, Lillee, Daniel, Croft, Holding and Roberts. Thomson's most famous stat was during a late '75 Test in Perth - 99.7mph (160.45km/h). Lillee, Roberts and Holding were all timed in that game too. Drane's quoted speed for Holding is correct, but he failed to mention that Roberts was measured at 159.49km/h in that game. The same Uni of W.A. researchers (using the same camera gear, and again in the TV show 4 yrs later) repeated the speed timing in '76 in controlled conditions, with these maxima: Jeff Thomson 160.6 km/h Andy Roberts 157.4 Dennis Lillee 154.8 Michael Holding 153.2 Wayne Daniel 150.8 Bob Willis 145.9 Impressive stuff!
When Thomson and Lillee were bowling Rod Marsh was taking a huge amount of deliveries into his gloves. His hands were taking such a pounding he put raw steak into the gloves as a liner for protection. Jeff said when the game was over he'd gladly have a beer with the opposition. Top, top sportsman.
Saw him in his prime before the shoulder injury in 1976 and his pace was absolutely frightening. Watching from square of the wicket the ball was often just a blur until it reached the keeper. After the shoulder injury he was still very quick but he had lost the extra zip which had made him so frightening. When he was timed back in the 70’s at 99.79mph this was as the ball reached the batsman’s end not out of the hand like they do today. Given that a ball slows down through the air and off the pitch, what speed must it have been travelling at as he released it? On average a ball slows down between 10%-15% through the air and off the pitch, obviously this will vary on different pitches etc. however if you use the lower 10% figure and apply it to the speed of the ball after it had reach the batsman’s end. This would give it an out of the hand speed of 109.76mph. Even if the ball slowed by as little as 5% this still gives a hand release speed of 104.77mph. Which ever way you look at it Thommo was quicker than the bowlers of today, including Acktar, Lee & Tait who have all been timed at 100mph out of the hand. The main thing about Thommo was that he didn’t just bowl the odd delivery at this speed, he was consistently bowling up there.
Terry, the first time I saw him bowl was at the SCG in Sheffield Shield. I came into the ground under the old Sheridan Stand and across the concrete concourse which was below pitch level. I had exactly the same experience of seeing the slips and keeper so far back and often losing sight of the ball. I didn't even see the blue that you did. Looking at the TH-cam videos of the 74/75 Ashes Tests I'm amazed at how green the pitches are, and Dad's Army was facing that pair with no helmets etc. Wow!
lol 109 no you can take footage of all his deliveries . the measure the time and pitch distance .they normally between 143 to 155 theres a few closer to 160 but yer find the fastests ball in footage you can and meausure it. he never ever ever ever bowled over 165 with any test or fottage let alone his claims of 180. and the tv out of hand is aq mesurement that doesnt exists the gun is 3/4ths down the track on both side. and caculate the speed to which it will reach batsman. you cant get out of hand speed as it would read the arm hand body batsman walking out of crease another thompson myth.
Ok? It's maths . The quickest delivery for example in this videos the almost black and white one . At 32 33 seconds . I've checked that one before it's between 155 to 160 at its fastest estimate. It's how fast the ball travels between frams after leaves hands and reaches batsmen crease. There no delivery here that's is over thst... please provide one. It's maths not opinions
I think it also shows just how good some of the batsmen were that had to play him. Amazing reactions by Dennis Amiss just being able to get out of the way.
0:44? I thought that was Alan Knott, but if it's Dennis Amiss then thanks! Either way, that short, which appeared several times, made the most impression on me. Ammis' (?) lightning reactions to get out of the way, then looking back down the pitch at Thomson with horror, as if "That's just too dangerous. Not fair!!". Batsmen instill in themselves a discipline to not show fear to fast bowlers, but that just shocked that of Ammis (?).
Hi - there were quite a few shown from the 74 - 75 tour and Alan Knott was amongst them. There is John Edrich getting bowled, Tony Greig getting bowled via a sand shoe crusher, Dennis Amiss getting his head out of the way, David Lloyd aka bumble getting hit in the bollocks, I think there is also a clip of Keith Fletcher and Derek Underwood and a few more - Brian Luckhirst may be one of them as well.@@stephenhosking7384
I feel so respectful and great towards the tail end batsman who faced him even without helmet. Today's batsman will take all the safe guards to face even a medium pacer.
I saw Thomson, live, on the spot. I watched him from behind bowler’s arm, side-on, and up close in the nets. Close up I couldn’t track the ball physically. It made this whizzing noise, though. Quickest I ever saw. I’ve seen a few. Rarely mentioned, Bob Willis was extremely quick when his blood was up, his quick ones made that fizzing noise through the air. I saw Thomson bowl a short one from side on, batter got out the way, the ball climbed over the keeper and didn’t come to ground til it hit the sight screen about half a second later.
There was a view that batsmen (particularly lower order batsmen) feared Thomson more than Lillee because he seemed to have less control. You just never knew where the ball was going to go.
No bowler has won a series like Thommo did against the Poms in 1974/5. And what he did to the Windies in 1975/6 caused Lloyd to unleash fury on the cricket world that lasted at least 15 years Thommo was cruelled by that shoulder injury. His two years before that were the fastest anyone has bowled.
He wasn't just the quickest. He was the most dangerous. The ball that got Lawrence Rowe in the Melbourne test in 75 was so typical. At the throat off a good length. There were some ordinary techniques from batsmen in these clips but they were facing him without a lot of the padding they wear now, no helmets, bats that were less powerful and boundaries that weren't roped in. Anyone with a test average of over 50 during this era was a genius. Speaking of which, how good was Rod Marsh keeping to any types of bowler. He didn't get to wear baseball type gloves like Healy and those after him.
@@garywarner9388His run up was not fast he trotted in and he bowled at 100mph What the hell are you talking about haven't you heard any Vivian Richards interviews ?
I started watching test cricket in the 1974/5 Ashes, and then the following summer in the WI tour. Most commentators reckon Thomson against the WI as even faster and more dangerous than against England. It's hard to imagine, but he did make Lillee (also at his peak) look like the bowler the batsmen would rather face. Some batsmen from those tours described the main problems with Thomson being that: 1, he would deliver a particularly fast ball with no sign in the run-up or action, and that, 2, they couldn't read the length, because of his slinging action. He delivered plenty of "rubbish", but it was the thunderbolts which caused the fear and havoc. I vividly recall one ball against Lawrence Rowe which I saw "live" and haven't seen in the TV vaults - a ball which went outside the outside edge to the wicket keeper, and Rowe was still playing his defensive shot after the ball had gone cannoned past. The fastest ball I've ever seen, and maybe one of those "180mph" deliveries which Rod Marsh described.
I saw him bowl at the SCG in 1977 v Pakistan. Rod Marsh stood closer to the boundary than the stumps. One could not see the ball thru the air from side on. That impressed a 10 year old cricketer.
I recall the late, great Richie Benaud - who saw plenty of Thommo - once saying he thought Frank Tyson (mid-1950s) was the fastest bowler he ever saw. Or maybe Tyson was the fastest Benaud ever faced...
Thommo owned a caravan park in Bundaberg Queensland and we lived over the road. My Dad was a professional pianist,and if he didn’t have a gig on the weekend,he would play in the afternoon, and some people would sit and listen. On the occasion that Jeff was there,(which mostly he wasn’t, he had a caravan park manager) he’d bring dad a six pack of beer,and request a few songs.
I watched him bowl in the nets at Lord's. I was standing behind the batsman and he was bowling at maybe 80 per cent of max pace. The speed of the ball was frightening.
Thomo played for Bankstown in Sydney Grade cricket. Their other fast bowler was Lenny Pascoe. What a combo for club cricket pretty sure nobody fancied playing them on suburban pitches.
He was the fastest by a long way. When they clocked him at 160kph it was at the batsmen wicket, not out of his hands like today. They say Australia success again the West Indies in 1975 is what made them use so successfully for 15 years after with there pace attack
Sorry, that is completely incorrect. The 160km/HR deliveries were taken at Perth in 75 and calculated OUT OF HAND.All explained in a chapter in Lillee's book "the art of cricket". Do not believe the bull crap mostly spread mostly by Thommo on TH-cam
@@craigrodgers9693 While that is correct, plenty of his team mates, Marsh, Ian Chappell, Walters all stated he bowled much faster on other occasions, with Ian Chappell & Marsh suggesting it was closer to 175. I saw Thommo in 2 tests against England & the WI before he had his shoulder injury & Marsh was standing back at least 30 metres, a good 6 to 7 metres further back than Derryck Murray stood against Holding & Roberts & where he stood to Lillee (against England as Lillee didn't play the Sydney test against the Windies). I would have loved to have seen what the speed gun would have shown for him at that time. It's all speculation but having seen him live, along with every other quick bowler who played in Sydney since that time, he stood out by far as being quickest than anyone else I've seen.
@@petepierre6458 no doubt Thomson was as quick as anyone. But you have to think about what you are saying. Someone 50 years ago was supposedly bowling 15km/HR faster than anyone else....in NO other sport EVER has that sort of regression been seen.
@@craigrodgers9693 I'm only saying what his fellow teammates said & I also saw, first hand, how much further back Marsh was standing compared to where he was with Lillee & Murray was with Holding & Roberts. His action was also unusual, almost a javelin thrower's actin. When Sergey Bubka was setting pole vault records all those years ago, his attempts were considerably more than 15% from his nearest competitors & he was holding back as his sponsors were giving him incentives every time he broke his own world record, so he would only attempt the new record 1 or 2 cm each time. Although I played grade cricket in Sydney after he moved to Qld, every team used to share how quick he was & how often he would hit the sight screens on the first bounce! Some grounds weren't too large but still, I have never seen anyone else even come close to doing that.
@@petepierre6458 Bubka was certainly better than his compatriots. But his records are not standing TODAY. That is the point. Athletic performance does not get worse.... I am afraid I take tales a little lightly as regards fast bowlers. Tall tales have been told ever since Spofforth supposedly bowled Grace with his first ball in the nets (despite being in a different state). I find it incredible, for instance, that Thompson half volleyed the sightscreen TWICE according to himself in a test match,yet no film exists. Again, I agree. Thomson was very quick. Certainly up there with Akhtar, Lee etc. But almost 10 mile an hour quicker?? Really? Watch Akhtar fast spell to Pointing on TH-cam and really tell me you think Thomson was quicker by the same amount that Lee was quicker than Stuart Broad....
I think that great batters averages should be viewed on the era they performed. Imagine walking out to face that with a thin plastic box, cane pads, 2 winter mittens and a thoroughly protective woolen cap. Oh, and no bouncer restrictions.
I am old enough to have seen him in his pomp. I believe as a teenager he was a State/National javelin thrower and if you look at his action and think of that 'sling shot' type release, maybe that gave him those extra few yards of pace.
Collis King told me that after Thommo bowled his first session in the West Indies, a bunch of officials, ground staff and players inspected the pitch because they thought something was wrong it, coz Jeff kept getting the ball to kick off not-so-short lengths. They thought his kicker balls were being caused by a fault with the pitch. There was nothing wrong with the pitch
Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and the very few others that could hit the the high 150's consistently had thousands of deliveries speed checked and with favourable breezes behind them to get those few magic 160 km/ 100 mile per hour deliveries for the record books. Jeff Thompson still hit over 160km with no more than a few dozen deliveries ever monitored. If JT had every delivery monitored under match conditions for 10 years I am in no doubt he would still be the undisputed fastest ever recorded.
What hurt Jeff's career was shoulder injuries to that legendary right shoulder. One was a collision with Allan Turner in a test against Pakistan and another when he was playing tennis on a day off. Maybe hit those level of speeds a handful of times post that mid seventies prime.
That's a myth,@@glennduarte. In that game where Thommo was measured at 99.7mph (160.45km/h) both he and Lillee were carted. Even on that notoriously pace-friendly WACA pitch, the Windies scored nearly 600 in the first innings. Roy Fredrick's slapped Lillee, Thomson, Gilmour and Walker all over the place - 169 from 145 balls - a rare almost unheard of, half a century ago! R.F. + Lloyd (149 in a single session), Richards, Kallicharan, Murray, et al were a formidable team - and the mighty Greenidge hadn't even joined the team yet!
Interesting that his unique bowling style hasnt been replicated at the highest level of the game. Makes him stand out even more as the prime opening paceman he was.
Some bowlers have used that type of action - Shaun Tait, Shoaib Akhtar and Malinga to a lesser extent but it has awful toll on the delivery shoulder/side
It wasn't just Thompson's speed that made him dangerous to face, it was the unpredictability of his bowling. With his 'sling shot' action and delivery from wide of the crease, he never had complete control over where the ball was going. Batsmen don't like that. It's hard to get comfortable or into a groove.
And yet he was only that scary fast in this Ashes series and the following summer against West Indies, have a look at him after his shoulder injury, he looks at least 15kmh slower against India in 1977-78, yet he was still very effective in 1977 and 1978 and got plenty of wickets. But without Lillee at the other end he didnt get much support. After 1978 his career was patchy, other than a couple of brief successful comebacks from 1981 to 1983 he struggled at the end of his career. England batsman destroyed him in the 1985 Ashes.
He should have played in the 1984tour against the west Indies both the tour and home tests..I had the opportunity to speak to him as a 16 year old at a cricket camp at the Uni of n.s.w. it was 1983 and he wasn't playing at home so he devoted his time as a guest coach for a day amongst other club,NSW,and former test players like Doug waters.he threw balls at us ,had us running around,and he bowled in the nets but at a reduced pace .he tolerated our questions .I was gobsmacked, for when the nets were cleared of us kids..he really wound up the ball a mere blue .it was sad to see his career end how it did in England being smashed around .there was a time when the English men would ward of balls that jumped at your throat like a viper,and speed that made the ball hit your bat.200 wickets don't do justice for his reputation that even now follows him
They had the technology back then to measure the distance between earth and the moon to within a few inches, any improvement in accuracy since then is only a few thousandths of a percent
Retiring hurt after getting hit by a Thommo delivery was effectively taking a wicket. Bowling against a county side in England, he literally sent three batsmen to hospital in the same innings.
02:26 - "...Lillie Must". Unlikely - because Dennis Lillie was a leg spinner who played for Queensland. Thomson was also a Queenslander, but they never actually played in the Australian team together. Dennis _Lillee_ however, _was_ a very successful partner to Thommo, in the test team. For 2 or 3 years, probably the fastest pair in world cricket - but Lillee didn't bowl express pace for long. Multiple injuries soon saw him reduce his speed, in peak form estimated to be around 145-150km/h, down to 130-135km/h. D.K. Lillee ended up being one of the very best _medium-fast swing bowlers_ for the second half of his career. Thommo just lurched from dangerous weapon, to injury, to wayward flinger, to more injury, to poor form, and then back again a few years later. He scraped through to just achieve 200 Test wickets 😄 D.J. Lillie? He never really came to much at all. Oh, well.
Dennis Lillie (video shows his name at 02:26 ) was, indeed, a leg-spinner, @ianb9028 - and he never played in any national side with Thomson. Dennis _Lillee_ - originally fast, but later an incredible medium/fast seamer and swing bowler - is the famous one. 🤓
The West Indies fast bowlers of late 70's and early 80's might be the fastest of all time. The results and impact, they had made against stronger teams, overcoming pitch conditions and climatic barriers were unmatched in cricket history. Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Sylvester clarke, collin Croft, Wayne Daniel and Malcolm Marshall, among others had proved it, even in the slow pitches of India and Pakistan., that too, without using reverse swing.Others, including Jeff Thomson had always struggled in slow pitches. Even in 1975, when he was at his fastest, Jeff Thomson failed miserably in England. He always failed against Pakistan., both at home and in Pakistan. Dennis Lilee and all other bowlers, except perhaps Richard Hadlee, generally struggled in Asia, while West indians thrived and conquered, everywhere.
Kim Hughes was saying it's likely that in his prime his peak deliveries would of been hitting around 170km/hr. Richie Benaud who saw Frank Tyson and Jeff Thomson said that Frank was the fastest through the air. Jeff was the fastest off the pitch.
Probably the only genuine, very stylish and truly fast bowler in cricket history. His hard-to-follow action alone had enough charm to impress the cricket lovers.
He bowled a beamer to a batman aimed at the neck however the batter managed to stop that with the bat. A slight mistake and he would have been dead i think the batsman was mohsin hassan khan of Pakistan
The fastest of them all, consistently. This was due to his unique action & his exceptional suppleness of limb, he was very athletic & naturally fit. Richie Benaud thought the only bowler who could match him for consistent pace was Frank Tyson.
Jeff thomson comes in bowls to Amiss a bouncer goes over the batsmens head, over rod marshes head keeps going and flying crashes into the site screen on the full, wow, that's what lm talking about Mind you before the big injury he had, only timmed twice and 160 kms both times Would have been going between 160 to 170 at times
I saw thomo back then, it's just unfortunate that he wasn't timed every ball I have no doubt he was approaching speeds of 160+ true fact People who are negative on these comments don't know, they were not around back in the day , They Just don't understand
@@kevingatebridge3656 I watched many tests when Thommo played. The keeper and slips moved up about 15 yards when Lillee bowled. And many times, Marsh was jumping high and reaching to try and get the ball. And that was of a ball just short of a length.
@@BatMan-oe2gh yes...but nothing ever went over rod and went crashing into the sidescreen on the full....show me a footage....otherwise it's pure bullshit
I am a great great fan of Aussie cricket player producing system .. one after another great players with amazing regularity . But my all time favorite is McGrath .. awesome accuracy and control
Today, batsmen can ramp the quickest bowlers... if they tried it against Thommo back then, they'd barely have moved by the time the ball slammed into them!
@@CricketStories007 ye sab nam ke great bowlers hai jo India tour ke waqt injured ho jate the ya nahi khelte the taki speen friendly pitches pe ye exposed na ho jaye. Jaise batsmen ka performance out of Asia performance pe anka jata hai waise hi in great bowlers ka performance Indian soil pe anka jana chahiye. Recent years me maine sirf McGrath and Stayen ko hi Bharat me achchha karte dekha hai. Muje yad hai late 90s ke WI ke India tour pe great Ambrose injured hoke nahi aye the sirf Walsh aye the captain banke. Jab Kapil ne Sir Richard Hadley ka record toda to English patrakar kahene lage ki Kapil itne jyada test khela aur 27 ki average se wicket liye jabki Kiwi allrounder jabardast the. Tab swayam Hadley ne kaha tha " But Keps has taken more than half of the wickets on Indian dead pitches" wo jante the there was nothing for fast bowlers on Indian dead pitches. Us hisab se Kapil aur bad me Srinath great hai jo apne daur me akele in pitches pe junzte rahe aur safal bhi rahe.
When some Australian players like Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger were young and charging in, he bowled around 130kmph., later when he looked burly and unfit., he clocked 150 kmph, how?. Is there any magic potion available in Australia.Shaun Tait and Mitchell Starc., generally bowls in the 140ട. How can someone bowls very fast for a single delivery. Few others., Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger., all Australian s, who were medium pacers, when they were young and raring to go, later on, when they become burly and aged, unexpectedly, started to bowl quick., magical isn't it
He wasnt quick in his first UK Ashes series.probably fast medium by modern standards. In the 1979 pace competition he averaged around 140km.. Probably touched 160 a few times in his earlier career prior to injury and was one of the scariest quicks prior to Sylvester Clarke.
Not in the 75/76 series. Only after he busted his shoulder and remember Thomson never played World Series cricket until they amalgamated. Thomson wax well passed his best by then
He was certainly very quick but how effective was he? Traditionally bowlers effectiveness is assessed by their averages. On this basis Thompson doesn’t even make into the top 100 of test bowlers.
He wasn’t as quick after he injured his shoulder in late 1976. His peak was 1974-78 when he took 139 wickets in 29 Tests at an average of 24. Wasn’t as good in the early 80s after World Series Cricket.
Hey Cricket Lovers, what topic should we cover next?
Chris Cairns
How about Rebel Tour's or early WSC.
How about some of the great All Rounders we have had the pleasure of seeing over the last 50 years? Benaud, Miller, Sobers, Botham, Akram, Imran, Kapil Dev, Hadlee.. just to name a few.. All Rounders bring something special to our great game..
Jacques Kallis, please. The runs, the wickets, the catches. Is he the best ever in the history of the game?
West Indian pace bowlers, 1983 World Cup, Greatest teams of all time.
As a kid I saw Thommo live at the MCG. What blows one's mind the most is how far from the end of the pitch the keeper and slips are. You don't get an idea of that from video.
I remember listening commentary of India vs Australia 1977-78 series. Along with Alan Hurst he was fearsome. Regards to Thommo
Right you are. I remember seeing high shots in black and white back in the day and noticing that.
I also saw Lillie and Thomo at the MCG as a kid, and Viv and Clive, what a game Cricket was back when Men played it.
@@evilstorm5954 that's a dumb comment - and an unnecessary put-down of all cricketers since then,
Yes Thommo and Lillee were awesome, and I loved them - but I also appreciated Merv Hughes, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Mitch Johnston, Ryan Harris, etc etc along with all the great international bowlers and all the great batsmen that played with them and faced them.
@@kaiberberich1 piss off softcock
Thommo was a one one on a million freak of nature. A combination of fast twitch and extreme flexibility. His action is impossible to replicate.
Yeah🔥
I'd say once a generational bowler
Yes an no, he was a javelin thrower when he was younger, his style is pure Javlin
Actually, his action _was_ possible to replicate, @@oliverr9841. Jeff was replicating his father's bowling action!
Thommo, as a Javelin thrower, was about 30 meters behind the elite in that sport.
From a book titled the Quicks by Robert Drane. Came out in 2022:
It’s Thommo’s effect we’ll remember. His shattering, pillaging, trucking-well effectiveness. Who cares about statistics? Thommo doesn’t. His influence on a game - on the game - was enormous. Why? Because he was not only inhumanly fast; he made that rock do unprecedentedly vicious things, with steepling, blast-off bounce, from what was previously considered a good length. Good batsmen had their faces, ribcages and life-priorities rearranged. Opponents who’d just come off triumphant series were reduced to pallid, frail wraiths. He made batsmen who dined on good bowlers want to apologise for hitting him to the boundary. Not one worthy archrival stood when he was in the mood to prove batting was a hoax, its greatest practitioners overrated.
Speed guns? Anyone who saw him, or faced him, especially pre-1977, would be amused at the ‘fastest man in history’ contest between Brett Lee and Shaoib Akhtar. Thomson was officially measured, long after the 1976 on-field collision that ruined his bowling shoulder. Two years before that, he’d already hurt it during a tennis match.
The video assessment happened during season 1978-79, when he didn’t play, and had been sitting around drinking beer for months. In fact, he put down a beer to participate in the little exercise. Against Holding, Lillee, Roberts, Khan and LeRoux, he clocked the quickest, around 150, hardly extending himself. The Wild Man surprisingly also proved most accurate. He’d been unofficially clocked three years earlier, at over 160. Lillee, by the way, was timed at mid-150s then, after his comeback with reduced pace.
Ian Chappell, never given to exaggeration, ignores ‘studies’, measurements, or historical judgements. He believed there was Thomson, then daylight, then the frightening Holding. ‘He had another gear’. Rod Marsh was in the front row, as Thommo’s wicketkeeper. I spent a week with him at the Cricket Academy in 1998. He was effusive then about a kid named Brett Lee. Later, he put the Lee-Akhtar ‘duel’ in perspective: ‘If they’re bowling 160, Thommo bowled 180.’ Clive Lloyd faced or played with them all. ‘There’s only one way to play him’, the fearless and ferocious Big Cat said once in his laconic way, ‘and that’s to get up the other end.’
Thanks for the read 👍
Exactly spot on!!
Wow! What a read! Thanks for sharing..Love Thommo. Born to be bowl fast.
FWIW, the speed measurement of Thompson (and the other quicks) in the Summer of '78-'79, @@mis-tur-tay-bur, was for a one-off TV event in Australia (on commercial station owned and run by the notorious Kerry Packer). Thomson wasn't at full match fitness, but won with 147.9km/h in hot but good conditions. Other bowlers invited were Mike Proctor, Garth Le Roux, Imran Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz (huh?), Hadlee, Pascoe, Lillee, Daniel, Croft, Holding and Roberts.
Thomson's most famous stat was during a late '75 Test in Perth - 99.7mph (160.45km/h). Lillee, Roberts and Holding were all timed in that game too. Drane's quoted speed for Holding is correct, but he failed to mention that Roberts was measured at 159.49km/h in that game.
The same Uni of W.A. researchers (using the same camera gear, and again in the TV show 4 yrs later) repeated the speed timing in '76 in controlled conditions, with these maxima:
Jeff Thomson 160.6 km/h
Andy Roberts 157.4
Dennis Lillee 154.8
Michael Holding 153.2
Wayne Daniel 150.8
Bob Willis 145.9
Impressive stuff!
Thommo was lethal. I saw most of his test matches and other games. What a bowler!
When Thomson and Lillee were bowling Rod Marsh was taking a huge amount of deliveries into his gloves.
His hands were taking such a pounding he put raw steak into the gloves as a liner for protection.
Jeff said when the game was over he'd gladly have a beer with the opposition. Top, top sportsman.
Learnt that from Les Ames the English keeper in the Bodyline series keeping to Larwood who did the same.
Saw him in his prime before the shoulder injury in 1976 and his pace was absolutely frightening. Watching from square of the wicket the ball was often just a blur until it reached the keeper. After the shoulder injury he was still very quick but he had lost the extra zip which had made him so frightening. When he was timed back in the 70’s at 99.79mph this was as the ball reached the batsman’s end not out of the hand like they do today. Given that a ball slows down through the air and off the pitch, what speed must it have been travelling at as he released it? On average a ball slows down between 10%-15% through the air and off the pitch, obviously this will vary on different pitches etc. however if you use the lower 10% figure and apply it to the speed of the ball after it had reach the batsman’s end. This would give it an out of the hand speed of 109.76mph. Even if the ball slowed by as little as 5% this still gives a hand release speed of 104.77mph. Which ever way you look at it Thommo was quicker than the bowlers of today, including Acktar, Lee & Tait who have all been timed at 100mph out of the hand. The main thing about Thommo was that he didn’t just bowl the odd delivery at this speed, he was consistently bowling up there.
Terry, the first time I saw him bowl was at the SCG in Sheffield Shield. I came into the ground under the old Sheridan Stand and across the concrete concourse which was below pitch level. I had exactly the same experience of seeing the slips and keeper so far back and often losing sight of the ball. I didn't even see the blue that you did.
Looking at the TH-cam videos of the 74/75 Ashes Tests I'm amazed at how green the pitches are, and Dad's Army was facing that pair with no helmets etc. Wow!
lol 109 no you can take footage of all his deliveries . the measure the time and pitch distance .they normally between 143 to 155 theres a few closer to 160 but yer find the fastests ball in footage you can and meausure it. he never ever ever ever bowled over 165 with any test or fottage let alone his claims of 180. and the tv out of hand is aq mesurement that doesnt exists the gun is 3/4ths down the track on both side. and caculate the speed to which it will reach batsman. you cant get out of hand speed as it would read the arm hand body batsman walking out of crease another thompson myth.
@@rhodawg666 opinions differ.
Ok? It's maths . The quickest delivery for example in this videos the almost black and white one . At 32 33 seconds . I've checked that one before it's between 155 to 160 at its fastest estimate. It's how fast the ball travels between frams after leaves hands and reaches batsmen crease. There no delivery here that's is over thst... please provide one. It's maths not opinions
@@rhodawg666 So are u talking about an average speed of 155-160?
I think it also shows just how good some of the batsmen were that had to play him. Amazing reactions by Dennis Amiss just being able to get out of the way.
That's because they had already planned to get out of the way...lol..
0:44?
I thought that was Alan Knott, but if it's Dennis Amiss then thanks!
Either way, that short, which appeared several times, made the most impression on me. Ammis' (?) lightning reactions to get out of the way, then looking back down the pitch at Thomson with horror, as if "That's just too dangerous. Not fair!!". Batsmen instill in themselves a discipline to not show fear to fast bowlers, but that just shocked that of Ammis (?).
Hi - there were quite a few shown from the 74 - 75 tour and Alan Knott was amongst them. There is John Edrich getting bowled, Tony Greig getting bowled via a sand shoe crusher, Dennis Amiss getting his head out of the way, David Lloyd aka bumble getting hit in the bollocks, I think there is also a clip of Keith Fletcher and Derek Underwood and a few more - Brian Luckhirst may be one of them as well.@@stephenhosking7384
And to think... many faced him without helmet with visor, and also, often without helmet at all...
That's a "yeah.. nah ... but thanks !!!" - for me
Jeff Thompson,the greatest bowler... a fantastic era of Australian cricket.....no sandpaper or snivelling 😅
I feel so respectful and great towards the tail end batsman who faced him even without helmet. Today's batsman will take all the safe guards to face even a medium pacer.
I don't agree that "respect" for people who wanted to play "head the Thommo bouncer" is the right word. Fool comes to mind :)
I saw Thomson, live, on the spot. I watched him from behind bowler’s arm, side-on, and up close in the nets. Close up I couldn’t track the ball physically. It made this whizzing noise, though. Quickest I ever saw. I’ve seen a few. Rarely mentioned, Bob Willis was extremely quick when his blood was up, his quick ones made that fizzing noise through the air. I saw Thomson bowl a short one from side on, batter got out the way, the ball climbed over the keeper and didn’t come to ground til it hit the sight screen about half a second later.
🔥
There was a view that batsmen (particularly lower order batsmen) feared Thomson more than Lillee because he seemed to have less control. You just never knew where the ball was going to go.
Botham famously said "Lillee was likely to get you out, but Thommo would knock you out."
His bowling action was the best & the smartest action that I have ever seen.
No bowler has won a series like Thommo did against the Poms in 1974/5. And what he did to the Windies in 1975/6 caused Lloyd to unleash fury on the cricket world that lasted at least 15 years
Thommo was cruelled by that shoulder injury. His two years before that were the fastest anyone has bowled.
He wasn't just the quickest. He was the most dangerous. The ball that got Lawrence Rowe in the Melbourne test in 75 was so typical. At the throat off a good length. There were some ordinary techniques from batsmen in these clips but they were facing him without a lot of the padding they wear now, no helmets, bats that were less powerful and boundaries that weren't roped in. Anyone with a test average of over 50 during this era was a genius. Speaking of which, how good was Rod Marsh keeping to any types of bowler. He didn't get to wear baseball type gloves like Healy and those after him.
He had two years at the top but never was the same after his injury in 76/77.
Funny thing about Thommo's bowling was... absolutely NOBODY had any clue where the next delivery was heading... including .. often .. Thommo !!!
Used to live on Melton Road in Nundah and watch him bowl on the cricket ground across the road from my front verandah.
Great compilation and some lovely quotes from some great cricketers well done my friend Absolutely terrifying to watch let alone face
Thanks man🔥
He is the quickest ever !!!
Yesss
His run fast but his ball delivery wasn't deadly like west indies quicks
@@garywarner9388His run up was not fast he trotted in and he bowled at 100mph What the hell are you talking about haven't you heard any Vivian Richards interviews ?
Slingshot action was hard to predict
HOLDING! WAS! QUICKER! BECAUSE! HE! HAD! A! BETTER! BOWLING! ACTION! THOMPSONS! BOWLING! ACTION! LIKE! THE! OTHER! BOWLERS! OF! HIS! TIME! WAS! SUSPICIOUS! A! THROWER! HA! HA! HA!
I started watching test cricket in the 1974/5 Ashes, and then the following summer in the WI tour. Most commentators reckon Thomson against the WI as even faster and more dangerous than against England.
It's hard to imagine, but he did make Lillee (also at his peak) look like the bowler the batsmen would rather face.
Some batsmen from those tours described the main problems with Thomson being that: 1, he would deliver a particularly fast ball with no sign in the run-up or action, and that, 2, they couldn't read the length, because of his slinging action. He delivered plenty of "rubbish", but it was the thunderbolts which caused the fear and havoc.
I vividly recall one ball against Lawrence Rowe which I saw "live" and haven't seen in the TV vaults - a ball which went outside the outside edge to the wicket keeper, and Rowe was still playing his defensive shot after the ball had gone cannoned past. The fastest ball I've ever seen, and maybe one of those "180mph" deliveries which Rod Marsh described.
I saw him bowl at the SCG in 1977 v Pakistan. Rod Marsh stood closer to the boundary than the stumps. One could not see the ball thru the air from side on. That impressed a 10 year old cricketer.
🔥
Great bowler great human
Yeah
I recall the late, great Richie Benaud - who saw plenty of Thommo - once saying he thought Frank Tyson (mid-1950s) was the fastest bowler he ever saw. Or maybe Tyson was the fastest Benaud ever faced...
Great vid mate! Just subbed & will now marathon all ya.
Take care from the Great Southern Land 🇦🇺
Thanks mate🏏😍
Thommo owned a caravan park in Bundaberg Queensland and we lived over the road. My Dad was a professional pianist,and if he didn’t have a gig on the weekend,he would play in the afternoon, and some people would sit and listen.
On the occasion that Jeff was there,(which mostly he wasn’t, he had a caravan park manager) he’d bring dad a six pack of beer,and request a few songs.
🔥🔥
I watched him bowl in the nets at Lord's. I was standing behind the batsman and he was bowling at maybe 80 per cent of max pace. The speed of the ball was frightening.
Geof thomsan what a marvelous and intimidating fast bowler and a great sight to watch
exactly
Jeff Thompson is the best bowler I have seen and I am 62 years old and 1974 series was the first cricket I watched
Great🔥
Thomson described as Thommo. And the sound " Thommo" was enough for a batsman.
Exactly
Thomo played for Bankstown in Sydney Grade cricket. Their other fast bowler was Lenny Pascoe. What a combo for club cricket pretty sure nobody fancied playing them on suburban pitches.
He was the fastest by a long way. When they clocked him at 160kph it was at the batsmen wicket, not out of his hands like today. They say Australia success again the West Indies in 1975 is what made them use so successfully for 15 years after with there pace attack
Sorry, that is completely incorrect.
The 160km/HR deliveries were taken at Perth in 75 and calculated OUT OF HAND.All explained in a chapter in Lillee's book "the art of cricket".
Do not believe the bull crap mostly spread mostly by Thommo on TH-cam
@@craigrodgers9693 While that is correct, plenty of his team mates, Marsh, Ian Chappell, Walters all stated he bowled much faster on other occasions, with Ian Chappell & Marsh suggesting it was closer to 175.
I saw Thommo in 2 tests against England & the WI before he had his shoulder injury & Marsh was standing back at least 30 metres, a good 6 to 7 metres further back than Derryck Murray stood against Holding & Roberts & where he stood to Lillee (against England as Lillee didn't play the Sydney test against the Windies).
I would have loved to have seen what the speed gun would have shown for him at that time.
It's all speculation but having seen him live, along with every other quick bowler who played in Sydney since that time, he stood out by far as being quickest than anyone else I've seen.
@@petepierre6458 no doubt Thomson was as quick as anyone.
But you have to think about what you are saying. Someone 50 years ago was supposedly bowling 15km/HR faster than anyone else....in NO other sport EVER has that sort of regression been seen.
@@craigrodgers9693 I'm only saying what his fellow teammates said & I also saw, first hand, how much further back Marsh was standing compared to where he was with Lillee & Murray was with Holding & Roberts.
His action was also unusual, almost a javelin thrower's actin.
When Sergey Bubka was setting pole vault records all those years ago, his attempts were considerably more than 15% from his nearest competitors & he was holding back as his sponsors were giving him incentives every time he broke his own world record, so he would only attempt the new record 1 or 2 cm each time.
Although I played grade cricket in Sydney after he moved to Qld, every team used to share how quick he was & how often he would hit the sight screens on the first bounce!
Some grounds weren't too large but still, I have never seen anyone else even come close to doing that.
@@petepierre6458 Bubka was certainly better than his compatriots. But his records are not standing TODAY. That is the point. Athletic performance does not get worse....
I am afraid I take tales a little lightly as regards fast bowlers. Tall tales have been told ever since Spofforth supposedly bowled Grace with his first ball in the nets (despite being in a different state).
I find it incredible, for instance, that Thompson half volleyed the sightscreen TWICE according to himself in a test match,yet no film exists.
Again, I agree. Thomson was very quick. Certainly up there with Akhtar, Lee etc. But almost 10 mile an hour quicker?? Really? Watch Akhtar fast spell to Pointing on TH-cam and really tell me you think Thomson was quicker by the same amount that Lee was quicker than Stuart Broad....
Thomo was my original hero when I was boy.
One of the greatest
He had/has a great outlook on life, too.
Marshal-Garner-Holding-Roberts-Croft, Wasim-Waqar-Shoaib-Razzak-Saqlain, Aasif-Amir-Gul, McGrath-Gilespie-Fleming-Warne, Azhar-Jonty-Ponting, Kaluvitharana-Gilchrist-Moin, Lara-Inzi-Sachin-Sanggakara, Saqlain-Muruli-Warn (Abdul Kadir-Mushtaq could be added), Sobers-Imran-Botham-Hadlee, Ganguly-Dravid-Sachin, Waugh brothers-Flower brothers-Akmol brothers, Afridi-Gayle.
I think that great batters averages should be viewed on the era they performed. Imagine walking out to face that with a thin plastic box, cane pads, 2 winter mittens and a thoroughly protective woolen cap. Oh, and no bouncer restrictions.
I am old enough to have seen him in his pomp.
I believe as a teenager he was a State/National javelin thrower and if you look at his action and think of that 'sling shot' type release, maybe that gave him those extra few yards of pace.
Yeah
An era of great cricketers, he and Lillee were just frightening at their peak.
Exactly
Can't believe those guys were facing him without a helmet; ridiculously dangerous!
Exactly
He was one of the reasons Tony Greg invented the helmet in about 1976.
Collis King told me that after Thommo bowled his first session in the West Indies, a bunch of officials, ground staff and players inspected the pitch because they thought something was wrong it, coz Jeff kept getting the ball to kick off not-so-short lengths. They thought his kicker balls were being caused by a fault with the pitch. There was nothing wrong with the pitch
Jeff thomson was something else 🔥
Nice compilation buddy. 👌
Thanks a lot bro😍
@CricketStories007 No worries mate! 👍
if you haven't seen Thommo bowl a 6 byes at the WACA you haven't lived. 😁 nice video mate
Thanks man, glad you liked it🏏
Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and the very few others that could hit the the high 150's consistently had thousands of deliveries speed checked and with favourable breezes behind them to get those few magic 160 km/ 100 mile per hour deliveries for the record books. Jeff Thompson still hit over 160km with no more than a few dozen deliveries ever monitored. If JT had every delivery monitored under match conditions for 10 years I am in no doubt he would still be the undisputed fastest ever recorded.
Fastest🔥
2:16 That was David Lloyd. His box shattered and he was pulling pieces of plastic out of himself in the dressing room.
What hurt Jeff's career was shoulder injuries to that legendary right shoulder. One was a collision with Allan Turner in a test against Pakistan and another when he was playing tennis on a day off. Maybe hit those level of speeds a handful of times post that mid seventies prime.
Those days bowlers had upper hand nowadays its the batsman
That's a myth,@@glennduarte. In that game where Thommo was measured at 99.7mph (160.45km/h) both he and Lillee were carted. Even on that notoriously pace-friendly WACA pitch, the Windies scored nearly 600 in the first innings. Roy Fredrick's slapped Lillee, Thomson, Gilmour and Walker all over the place - 169 from 145 balls - a rare almost unheard of, half a century ago! R.F. + Lloyd (149 in a single session), Richards, Kallicharan, Murray, et al were a formidable team - and the mighty Greenidge hadn't even joined the team yet!
Interesting that his unique bowling style hasnt been replicated at the highest level of the game. Makes him stand out even more as the prime opening paceman he was.
Yesss
Some bowlers have used that type of action - Shaun Tait, Shoaib Akhtar and Malinga to a lesser extent but it has awful toll on the delivery shoulder/side
@@saganspirit malinga surely, tait a little bit, but akhtar not all
It wasn't just Thompson's speed that made him dangerous to face, it was the unpredictability of his bowling. With his 'sling shot' action and delivery from wide of the crease, he never had complete control over where the ball was going. Batsmen don't like that. It's hard to get comfortable or into a groove.
Exactly 💯💯
Just like Bumrah. You can't read him off his hand.
0:41 was lethal, but quite a bit of help from a fast bouncy pitch.
And yet he was only that scary fast in this Ashes series and the following summer against West Indies, have a look at him after his shoulder injury, he looks at least 15kmh slower against India in 1977-78, yet he was still very effective in 1977 and 1978 and got plenty of wickets. But without Lillee at the other end he didnt get much support. After 1978 his career was patchy, other than a couple of brief successful comebacks from 1981 to 1983 he struggled at the end of his career. England batsman destroyed him in the 1985 Ashes.
He should have played in the 1984tour against the west Indies both the tour and home tests..I had the opportunity to speak to him as a 16 year old at a cricket camp at the Uni of n.s.w. it was 1983 and he wasn't playing at home so he devoted his time as a guest coach for a day amongst other club,NSW,and former test players like Doug waters.he threw balls at us ,had us running around,and he bowled in the nets but at a reduced pace .he tolerated our questions .I was gobsmacked, for when the nets were cleared of us kids..he really wound up the ball a mere blue .it was sad to see his career end how it did in England being smashed around .there was a time when the English men would ward of balls that jumped at your throat like a viper,and speed that made the ball hit your bat.200 wickets don't do justice for his reputation that even now follows him
Some cricketing experts that faced his say he was the fastest bowler of all time NZ Martin Crow said he was the scarcest bowler he ever faced
@@leongt1954 the fastest of his time
Jeff Thomson, the quintessential Aussie, was the reason Tony Grieg invented the helmet.
Thanks bro ❤❤
My pleasure🏏
In the minds of the batsmen of the 70s decade, Thommo and Lillie must like the lions of Tsavo.
THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS.
🔥🔥
The equipment used to clock Thommo was really primitive. His true top speed was over 170. That’s incredibly fast and super scary.
They had the technology back then to measure the distance between earth and the moon to within a few inches, any improvement in accuracy since then is only a few thousandths of a percent
@@fruitopia6798 umm, yeah but they weren’t using that. They were using a primitive speed gun which was subsequently found to be inaccurate.
@@mudgut69"they" were sports scientists from UWA and they used highly accurate high speed cine cameras to measure him in 1975 and 1979
Retiring hurt after getting hit by a Thommo delivery was effectively taking a wicket.
Bowling against a county side in England, he literally sent three batsmen to hospital in the same innings.
🔥🔥
Jeff Thompson :- do you want to break my record
shoaib akhtar :- yes honey
02:26 - "...Lillie Must". Unlikely - because Dennis Lillie was a leg spinner who played for Queensland. Thomson was also a Queenslander, but they never actually played in the Australian team together.
Dennis _Lillee_ however, _was_ a very successful partner to Thommo, in the test team. For 2 or 3 years, probably the fastest pair in world cricket - but Lillee didn't bowl express pace for long. Multiple injuries soon saw him reduce his speed, in peak form estimated to be around 145-150km/h, down to 130-135km/h. D.K. Lillee ended up being one of the very best _medium-fast swing bowlers_ for the second half of his career.
Thommo just lurched from dangerous weapon, to injury, to wayward flinger, to more injury, to poor form, and then back again a few years later. He scraped through to just achieve 200 Test wickets 😄
D.J. Lillie? He never really came to much at all. Oh, well.
Lillee a leg spinner? He would be the fastest leg spinner who ever spun a leg.
Dennis Lillie (video shows his name at 02:26 ) was, indeed, a leg-spinner, @ianb9028 - and he never played in any national side with Thomson.
Dennis _Lillee_ - originally fast, but later an incredible medium/fast seamer and swing bowler - is the famous one. 🤓
best bowling action ever imo
WRONG! THE! BEST! (BOWLING)! ACTION! IS! HOLDING! THE! ROLLS! ROYCE! OF! FAST! BOWLERS! THE! (QUICKEST)! BOWLER! AS! (WELL)! THOMMO! BOWLED! LIKE! A! TANK! WITH! A! SUSPICIOUS! BOWLING! ACTION! A! THROWER! HA! HA! HA!
@@mikespenceTHEGOATB Jeff Thompson's arm was straight through his action. What's suspicious about that? Get it right.
He remainds me of Shaun Tait.
Yeah , they had similar action
You mean Tait reminds you of Tommo!
The West Indies fast bowlers of late 70's and early 80's might be the fastest of all time. The results and impact, they had made against stronger teams, overcoming pitch conditions and climatic barriers were unmatched in cricket history. Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Sylvester clarke, collin Croft, Wayne Daniel and Malcolm Marshall, among others had proved it, even in the slow pitches of India and Pakistan., that too, without using reverse swing.Others, including Jeff Thomson had always struggled in slow pitches. Even in 1975, when he was at his fastest, Jeff Thomson failed miserably in England. He always failed against Pakistan., both at home and in Pakistan. Dennis Lilee and all other bowlers, except perhaps Richard Hadlee, generally struggled in Asia, while West indians thrived and conquered, everywhere.
He had a shoulder op early in his career too
yes
he was the fastest ever because back then they measured the speed of the when it got to the batsmen rather then out of the hand
Kim Hughes was saying it's likely that in his prime his peak deliveries would of been hitting around 170km/hr. Richie Benaud who saw Frank Tyson and Jeff Thomson said that Frank was the fastest through the air. Jeff was the fastest off the pitch.
Frank Tyson had a load up similar to that of Shane Bond, arching back like a coiled spring before letting it rip.
'if history ever looks back into the past' - um, kind of what history is...
Probably the only genuine, very stylish and truly fast bowler in cricket history. His hard-to-follow action alone had enough charm to impress the cricket lovers.
He bowled a beamer to a batman aimed at the neck however the batter managed to stop that with the bat. A slight mistake and he would have been dead i think the batsman was mohsin hassan khan of Pakistan
Saw him demolish England at the Gabba, no one faster
The fastest of them all, consistently. This was due to his unique action & his exceptional suppleness of limb, he was very athletic & naturally fit. Richie Benaud thought the only bowler who could match him for consistent pace was Frank Tyson.
Yup
Back then , no helmets , you better learn to duck real quick ! , no helmet against Thommo , no thanks.
Jeff thomson comes in bowls to Amiss a bouncer goes over the batsmens head, over rod marshes head keeps going and flying crashes into the site screen on the full, wow, that's what lm talking about
Mind you before the big injury he had, only timmed twice and 160 kms both times
Would have been going between 160 to 170 at times
Agreed
There's really no footage of that delivery...is just a myth
I saw thomo back then, it's just unfortunate that he wasn't timed every ball
I have no doubt he was approaching speeds of 160+ true fact
People who are negative on these comments don't know, they were not around back in the day ,
They Just don't understand
@@kevingatebridge3656 I watched many tests when Thommo played. The keeper and slips moved up about 15 yards when Lillee bowled. And many times, Marsh was jumping high and reaching to try and get the ball. And that was of a ball just short of a length.
@@BatMan-oe2gh yes...but nothing ever went over rod and went crashing into the sidescreen on the full....show me a footage....otherwise it's pure bullshit
Hey ALL YOU COUCH PROs...... all the PLAYERS say thommo was the quickest EVER!!! Just accept it FFS. He bowled 165ks plus in his prime 100% 180.... NO
Did he bowl to Tendulakar ? Would have been a great battle . No guesses who’d have won 😉
@@sidharthkumar5159 of course not silly, decade of time seperation
I am a great great fan of Aussie cricket player producing system .. one after another great players with amazing regularity . But my all time favorite is McGrath .. awesome accuracy and control
@@sidharthkumar5159 thanks mate, our domestic comp is a good reason why.
No,not everyone thought he was the quickest! And that's because he wasn't.
Love ya stuff, Aussie here, watched on telly
Do you know Australia's greatest female bowler
Devastated the poms
LillianThomson
Say no more hey
🔥😅
The fastest bowler of all time.
Today, batsmen can ramp the quickest bowlers... if they tried it against Thommo back then, they'd barely have moved by the time the ball slammed into them!
Exactly
Had he ever visited India for any test series??
i dont think so
@@CricketStories007 ye sab nam ke great bowlers hai jo India tour ke waqt injured ho jate the ya nahi khelte the taki speen friendly pitches pe ye exposed na ho jaye.
Jaise batsmen ka performance out of Asia performance pe anka jata hai waise hi in great bowlers ka performance Indian soil pe anka jana chahiye.
Recent years me maine sirf McGrath and Stayen ko hi Bharat me achchha karte dekha hai. Muje yad hai late 90s ke WI ke India tour pe great Ambrose injured hoke nahi aye the sirf Walsh aye the captain banke.
Jab Kapil ne Sir Richard Hadley ka record toda to English patrakar kahene lage ki Kapil itne jyada test khela aur 27 ki average se wicket liye jabki Kiwi allrounder jabardast the. Tab swayam Hadley ne kaha tha " But Keps has taken more than half of the wickets on Indian dead pitches" wo jante the there was nothing for fast bowlers on Indian dead pitches.
Us hisab se Kapil aur bad me Srinath great hai jo apne daur me akele in pitches pe junzte rahe aur safal bhi rahe.
It was "If Lillie don't get you, Thommo must"
Ok ,thanks for correcting
It was Lillee
He clocked 160 at the end of his career…
Unreal!!
Yess
It is worth mentioning that nobody was wearing helmets against this speedster (and others like him).
Yeah
Those bowler's in old times.. on bouncy pitches where dangerous because of batsmans that time have no proper protection gear's to bat freely.
I can’t think of anyone who would have been quicker then Thommo
When some Australian players like Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger were young and charging in, he bowled around 130kmph., later when he looked burly and unfit., he clocked 150 kmph, how?. Is there any magic potion available in Australia.Shaun Tait and Mitchell Starc., generally bowls in the 140ട. How can someone bowls very fast for a single delivery. Few others., Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger., all Australian s, who were medium pacers, when they were young and raring to go, later on, when they become burly and aged, unexpectedly, started to bowl quick., magical isn't it
That speed was recorded AFTER his shoulder operation
The ball at 0.43 is fast!
If jeff thompson were playing today batsmen will surely have tough time
Exactly 💯
He averaged 28 with the ball in an era of quicker pitches, poor tailend batting and poor protective equipment.
Christ, he was sharp though. Definitely the quickest ever. Total side on action. Only Shoaib has come close...
Only Shoaib has come close to what??
He wasnt quick in his first UK Ashes series.probably fast medium by modern standards. In the 1979 pace competition he averaged around 140km..
Probably touched 160 a few times in his earlier career prior to injury and was one of the scariest quicks prior to Sylvester Clarke.
Jeff Thomson is the fastest bowler in the history of Cricket!!
Don't forget, they didn't have helmets in those days either.
Yup
He was destroyed by Viv Richards.
Not in the 75/76 series. Only after he busted his shoulder and remember Thomson never played World Series cricket until they amalgamated. Thomson wax well passed his best by then
His bowl action look likes Shoaib Akhtar copied his action of slinging bowl.
is that throwing?
Nope, action similar to shaun tait
Watch Shoaib Akhtar bowl then you'll see throwing.
@@CricketStories007 Really ?
He was certainly very quick but how effective was he? Traditionally bowlers effectiveness is assessed by their averages. On this basis Thompson doesn’t even make into the top 100 of test bowlers.
He wasn’t as quick after he injured his shoulder in late 1976. His peak was 1974-78 when he took 139 wickets in 29 Tests at an average of 24. Wasn’t as good in the early 80s after World Series Cricket.
Tommo was actually just that bit slower than Typhoon Tyson...... Kalashnikov has not been bettered and neither has Shakespeare...
So many stories, yet i reckon he bowled 160kmh
In England he was called Tho
In Australia he was. Thommo
In India he was called. Thomesh
And the Rest he was Thom
I think jeff thomson was the quickest ever
One of if not the quickest
No helmets. No forearm guards. Ordinary gloves and pads.
Action reminds about our Jasprit Bumrah