Who are Fast Bowlers in Cricket and Cricket Fastest Bowlers ?

Hey guys , today I will be giving you detailed information about the fast bowlers in cricket . This blog is purely dedicated to all those professional players and cricket lovers who want to know more about the basics of fast bowling or improve their fast bowling . All the topics related to fast bowlers and fast bowling will be covered in this blog which are :

• WHAT IS FAST BOWLING AND WHO ARE FAST BOWLERS IN CRICKET ?
• DIFFERENT SPEEDS AND NAMES OF FAST BOWLERS IN CRICKET .
• VARIATIONS AND TECHNIQUES USED BY FAST BOWLERS IN CRICKET .
• HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL FAST BOWLER ?
  • HOW TO IMPROVE FAST BOWLING ?
• CRICKET FASTEST BOWLERS IN THE WORLD HISTORY .

WHAT IS FAST BOWLING AND WHO ARE FAST BOWLERS IN CRICKET ?

Cricket is a sport played majorly on the pitch where two wickets are on the opposite ends . Bowlers are the one who need to deliver the cricket ball from one end of the wicket towards the batter who then has to score runs or defend the ball accordingly from the opposite end . It can be said that without them , this game cannot begin .

Bowlers can throw the ball towards the batter in many ways as per their comfort and strengths (i.e. legal under the laws of cricket) :

• One of those ways is fast bowling . In this , a bowler generates the momentum from his long run-up and transfer it to the ball when he reaches the popping crease . This allows him to bowl faster balls to the batter . Whenever a player bowls fast (around 120 -160 kmph) to a batter, it is called fast/pace bowling and he/she is referred as a fast/pace bowler .
• Generally , speed of medium pacers varies between 120 – 140 kmph . And here comes our FAST bowlers who ranges from 140 – 160 kmph (believe it or not ) .
• Fast bowling is a major chunk of cricket . It has been playing an enormous role in making the sport so popular in the world .
• Fast bowlers have been the biggest threats for batters since ages. They not only break wickets with their pace but also batter’s body parts . Their presence always create pressure and fear in the minds of batters , especially with the new ball .
• They are aggressive and ruthless . And batsmen having these qualities can only survive and score runs against them . Cricket would have been incomplete without the unforgettable clashes between the legendary fast bowlers and batsmen .

Different Speeds and Names Of Fast Bowlers In Cricket

There are two major types of bowlers in cricket i.e. Pace/Seam/Fast and Spin . Pace bowlers depend usually on their speed for dismissing batters, whereas spin bowlers rely on the rotation and turn of the ball. Further these two categories can be split into numerous and unique kinds . But we will talk about only different types of fast bowlers here :

• Pace/Fast bowlers and their names can be categorized into different groups as per their speed :

Variations and Techniques used by Fast Bowlers in Cricket ?

1. SWING : Swing is a major component of fast bowling and itself needs a separate mastery to control it. There are some bowlers who specialise in out-swing , reverse swing or in-swing only . Only few bowlers have the ability of swinging the ball in all the different ways .

2. BOUNCER : Bouncer is the most helpful and biggest weapon for any fast bowler in the world . No matter how great the batter is , a well directed bouncer always has the potential to hurt the batter mentally as well as physically . From many years it has possessed several challenges and is one of the most difficult deliveries to tackle for the batters .

• Bouncer is a delivery often used by fast bowlers in cricket to surprise the batters and avoid bowling predictable lengths . Bouncer is a short ball delivery which bounces at least upto the height of the batter’s shoulders. Precisely, an ideal bouncer must be aimed to hit the batter’s helmet . Usually a bouncer is pitched at least 8 meters away from the batter so that it can attain the required height .

Bouncers are usually bowled to :

• push the batter on back-foot who is playing well on front foot and having no trouble at all with full length deliveries .
• take wickets when the bowler has good pace and ability to surprise the batter . Usually, bouncers of bowlers who have slightly less pace do not trouble the batters . Rather it becomes an run scoring opportunity . Hence , bouncer becomes a good wicket-taking option for any fast bowler with serious pace .

But there are certain limits on the use of bouncers by fast bowlers in cricket so that they don’t overuse it and start dominating batters :

• A bowler can bowl only 2 bouncers in Test and ODI cricket and only 1 bouncer in T20I cricket. Therefore , 3rd bouncer in Test and ODI cricket or 2nd bouncer in T20I cricket is signalled NO-BALL by the umpire .

• If the bouncer passes over the head of the batter , it is signalled WIDE as well as bouncer by the umpire .

It requires a lot of strength , skill and training to bowl a perfect bouncer . Your diet and fitness again plays a very important role here so that you don’t get injured while regularly bowling bouncers .

3. HIT-THE-DECK BOWLING : It refers to a specific type of bowling where you do not depend on the swing but seam of the ball and behaviour of the pitch . It is usually suitable for the fast bowler who at least clocks above 135 km/hr . The ball has to be pitched back-of-length starting from at least 4-5 meters away from the batter .

4. YORKER : Very few people in the history of cricket have been able to master this skill . It can be used as an attacking as well as defensive ball . It’s ideal length is within the 2 meters from the batter .

• Yorker is the most effective ball for the fast bowlers in cricket to stop runs in the death overs or any phase of the match . It is because there is little or no room for the batter to swing the bat and score boundaries . The only option left with the batter is to either play innovative shots like Dilscoop ( Paddle Scoop ) or guide the ball for just singles .
• This is also one of the best wicket taking options when used as a surprise element at a good pace . It gets even tougher for the batter when a yorker is bowled with reverse-swing .

5. SLOWER BALL VARIATIONS :

Whenever a fast bowler starts running from his run-up and gains momentum , any batter expects the ball to come fast to his bat and very less time to react . But as the game evolved rapidly from Test to T20I cricket , Bowlers evolved too to survive in this batsmen’s dominated game .

With the rising quality of bats, increased number of limited over matches and reducing size of cricket grounds , it was important for pacers to find some variations in their bowling and not be overly dependent on their pace only. So they started deceiving the batters by bowling slower deliveries after such a long bowling run-up .

Nowadays , these slower balls are not just a way to stop the flow of runs but a very effective way to take wickets especially in ODI and T20I cricket . It becomes very difficult for the batters to pick the slower ball with the same run-up .

Following are the different variations of slower balls used by the fast bowlers nowadays :

• KNUCKLE BALL : As the name suggests , you have to release the ball with the knuckles of your index and middle finger . This helps in reducing the speed on the ball and deceiving the batter .

• OFF AND LEG-CUTTER : These are simply bowling off-spin and leg-spin but with a fast bowler’s run-up . The only difference is that unlike spin bowlers , you don’t need to rotate wrists and grip the ball tightly . Just release the ball with the off / leg spin grip on your fingers .
• BACK OF THE HAND : The name itself suggests how this ball is bowled . It is similar to bowling a googly, usually with the conventional seam-up grip and the full run-up .
• SLOWER BOUNCER : It simply means bowling bouncer of a slower speed (Yes it is possible) . Here just the length of the ball is short with any of the above three grips . Not much force is tranferred onto the ball .

How To Become a Professional Fast Bowler ?

When we start playing cricket in our streets and playgrounds as kids , we all just love holding the bat and hitting the ball hard . But as we grow , we get influenced and fascinated by watching seniors around us or international cricket on television or any other platform . These experiences give us a 360 degree view of cricket and a wider perception that cricket is beyond just batting .

And slowly we start enjoying cricket the sport as a whole and not just for the sake of batting . Some start enjoying spin bowling , some fast bowling , some wicket-keeping and so on . And the the things we really love doing becomes an effortless activity for us and we do not mind doing it for hours , months or years .

• Therefore , the first step towards becoming a professional fast bowler is to ask yourself the question “Do I enjoy doing fast bowling”. If the answer is Yes , then you can achieve massive success in fast bowling and grow in it everyday .
• Joining any cricket academy is a must to become a professional fast bowler . If you are confused about when and how to chose a cricket academy , I’ve already discussed it in this article .

NEVER

• start fast bowling just because you see other fast bowlers around you or in international cricket getting success . There’s nothing like guaranteed success if you start fast bowling too. Success comes with hours of great determination and hard work . You also need to see and match the efforts and time put behind every wicket they take .
• imitate any other fast bowler’s action , run-up , jump or anything . Keep it original. You need to become effective not attractive .
• listen to so-called cricket experts near you who give free advice to everyone . They will always try to impose their ideology on you but you have to be aware of such dangerous people and do what’s best for you .

HOW TO IMPROVE FAST BOWLING ?

1. FITNESS

• How many times have you seen an overweight fast bowler ? Hope you understood . It’s not only about looking fit but being fit . If you are a natural athlete , then it might not be the problem for you . But a player with average fitness cannot survive in fast bowling for a long period .

• You need to have very disciplined diet and fitness regime to maintain your energy levels throughout all your spells . Lay extra emphasis on building your leg-muscles by running ,sprinting , squats etc. as you have to run a lot in fast bowling . You have to dedicate a minimum of 15-20 minutes to your fitness every single day .

2. FOCUSED PRACTICE

• In your early days of professional cricket , it is important that you bowl for hours in net practice . It develops your stamina and body strength required for fast bowling . It develops your fitness to a certain level where you can bowl even when you are tired under difficult conditions .

• But there would be a time when you will start feeling comfortable in bowling long spells. At this stage of your career , your practice aim should change from quantity to quality .

• You will have to figure out the skills and areas which are most important for you to excel . And start dedicating majority of your time to master these .

• Pareto principle ( 80/20 principle ) is universally proven technique which you can apply in any field . Therefore , I will strongly recommend you to follow this principle which I had already explained in my previous blog on batting tips for batters .

• Like batters , you too have to first identify your those 20 % efforts which are giving you or have potential to give you 80 % results and place them on your first priority .

• For example , if you usually bowl with a new ball , your majority success will come by swinging the ball and you need to focus more on practice of swinging a new ball . Similarly , a death over specialist would practice his variations with lengths and speeds and a middle over specialist bowler would focus more on tight lengths and how to build pressure on the batters .

Cricket Fastest Bowlers In The World History

Below is the detailed list of TOP 10 Cricket Fastest Bowlers in the international cricket history and fastest balls bowled by them ever :

World’s Fastest Bowler in Cricket History

• Since , Shoaib Akhtar has the highest average speed in world cricket and also bowled the fastest ball in cricket history , therefore Shoaib Akhtar is the World’s fastest bowler in cricket history .
• Frankly , there is no such official announcement or award given to any particular fast bowler in the world for his speed . But Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan) has always been considered the world’s fastest bowler in cricket history because of consistency in his ruthless speed across all formats for so many years .
• His average speed always clocked above 145 km/hr throughout his career from 1997 – 2011. He was also known as Rawalpindi Express due to his express speed . He was also the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour and did so twice in his career.
• Shoaib Akhtar also bowled the fastest ball ever recorded officially in cricket . He bowled a delivery at 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph), in an ODI against England . As of January 2022 , there has not been any other bowler who has broken his record in international cricket .