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The
mystery of 100 mph deepens Do
all of you seriously believe that no one ever has thrown a ball in the air
at a speed of 99.9mph? i.e.100mph (Well forget about you at least I think
that way!). Actually with so much of hype and hoopla going around as to
who would touch that magical figure, many people wonder, whether it is
really difficult to bowl that fast. Infact, now a days we see that the
very objective of fast bowlers is to bowl fast to somehow touch that dream
come true figure. Taking wickets has become secondary as it comes as an
added gift. Take the example of our dear Ajit Agarkar who is a terrific
bowler; that he bowls fast is a fact (Poor guy almost flies off while
bowling) but where the ball lands is no guarantee. Can someone tell him
that ‘WICKETS’ is what we want and not his super speeded wides? I
am sorry for making Agarkar a guinea pig, well actually the real culprit
is Mr. Thompson. Ever since Jeff Thompson bowled the fastest measured ball
in the history of cricket, there has been a wide interest in this
particular aspect of the game. The fact that even Thompson could not reach
100 mph has added another touch to the saga and every tear away fast
bowler worth his salt would not only aspire to break Thommo’s record but
also reach that magical 100mph mark. The excitement has again been raised
by the pronouncements of Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee, both of whom intend
to break the dream mark someday. But who reaches their first remains to be
seen. Now
consider this: The former English fast bowler Frank Typhoon ‘Tyson’
says that 100 mph barrier has probably been broken already. In a chat
programme on an interactive site he commented that he and his partner
Brian Statham were measured at the NZ Aeronautical College in Wellington
way back in 1955. Both of them bowled with at least a couple of sweaters
on and still recorded a speed of 89.887 mph respectively and that too
without any warm up or a long run up! The
earlier speed measuring techniques were not that perfect and the
measurement was done by attaching a metal plate to the ball which was then
bowled through a sonic beam, which produced a whistle, which was measured
and speed was worked out according to the distance covered and the length
of the whistle. (Thank GOD! Today we have new scientific methods for
measuring the speed otherwise we would have gone mad listening to the
whistles from all directions, well thanks to the popularity of the game.) There
were attempts to measure the speed of most fearful bowler of all time who
was credited with the name 'Body Line' - Harold Tarwood. He has been
measured between 90 to 130 mph! With the help of high-speed photography
technique! Even ‘Tyson’ believes that he has reached 119mph! In
the end Tyson has some advise for the new breed fast bowlers. He wants
them to come out of the media generated hype and acknowledge that there
have been bowlers in the past who have bowled much-much faster. Are
you Listening? Shoaib and Brett Lee! Jonty
Rhodes says goodbye to tests When, Rhodes recently decided to retire from the longer version of the game, the game of cricket lost one of its greatest assets that made it such a popular sports on T.V.The last decade must have seen many changes in the game of cricket but none has been as pronounced as the ‘fielding’ aspect, which has changed dramatically, thanks largely to Rhodes , who redefined the whole aspect of fielding itself. The ‘point’ came to be associated with him so much that today one would be considered the best fielder only if one were standing at that point. It has become the number ‘10’ shirt of football in cricket. You are not your team’s best fielder unless you are at the ‘point’. And so, in the recent series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, whenever the ball went to the point region, one invariably searched for Jonty. But then realized that the great fielder has said adieu to the test matches. Now he would be only representing his side in one-day gamers. That’s really unfortunate for fans, for he was not only a great fielder, he was a great entertainer. His batting was no less electrifying and at many occasions, he steered South Africa out of trouble. Apart from his good one day batting record, he has a good enough record in Tests too (2412 runs from 50 tests at an average of 36). He was one of their best players of spin, the department in which most South Africans are considered deficient. Jonty has always been a team-man and it shows in his on-field actions where he always keeps goading his teammates all the time. But many people, who know him, say that his greatest quality is his elevation – to God, to his family and also to his team. A God fearing man, he is always involved in philanthropic activator and has especially contributed to ‘epileptic-research’ from his earnings, as he himself was once an epileptic patient. A multi-talented personality, who also played Hockey at the highest level, was unable to juggle his professional and private life for long and when his wife gave birth to their daughter Daniella, he decided to quit the larger form of the game, in order to devote more time to his family. But his devoted fans will miss him ever after and watching South Africa play a Test match won’t ever hold that great excitement for them ever again. Unlock the key of your success by http://www.jacketsvision.com/deal/motorcycle-clothing.html and http://www.jacketsvision.com/deal/suede-jacket.html .By using our latest http://www.leather4sure.com/leather-pants.html and http://www.leather4sure.com/brown-leather-vests.html study material; you can easily pass http://www.nowleather.co.uk/c/leather-coats.html.
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