Friday, June 27, 2014

Javagal Srinath- how quick was he? A real express bowler!

  It was often said that Indian cricket couldn't produce genuine fast bowlers- bowlers who were of genuine pace. For many decades, it was true. Indian cricket couldn't even produce fast bowlers of quality who would last long, leave alone tearway express bowlers. It all began to change with the arrival of a certain Kapil Dev in 1978-79. He was the first fast bowler from India who was very effective, and lasted a long time. He took a then-world record 434 Test wickets in 131 Tests and 253 one-day wickets in 225 games. But he was never seen as an express quick bowler, more of a bowler who relied on guile- swing and movement. 

  But then a certain Javagal Srinath entered the world stage in October 1991 and played till March 2003. He took 236 Test wickets in 67 Tests and 315 one-day wickets in 229 games. There has always been a controversy about how quick Srinath was. There were two points which often created biases in the minds of some people- one was that he was an Indian, and the second, above all, a vegetarian. Some people could not ever think that vegetarians could bowl genuinely fast (e.g. former Australian captain and now commentator Ian Chapell).

   In 2002, expert Eddie Smith, himself an Australian, wrote an article titled "Javagal Srinath: One in a Billion" on cricinfo . Eddie Smith was the most knowledgeable person on bowling speeds, as he had keenly tracked them. That article written in August 2002 can be read here.

   In that article, Eddie Smith states: 
"Srinath was a genuinely fast bowler and in the period between about 1995 and March 1997 Srinath's pace was at times frightening. He was right up there with the fastest men in the game. Perhaps at times Srinath was even No 1 in the pace stakes but just how fast he was at his peak we will never know. What we do know is that following South Africa's tour of India late in 1996, India travelled to South Africa where speed guns were in operation. Between December '96 and February '97 Srinath's speeds were timed in excess of 150kph and were comparable to those of both Allan Donald and South Africa's 'new' pace sensation Lance Klusener. Whilst Klusener's fastest ball came in at 154kph and he proved at the time to be faster than Donald, it has been brought to my attention on numerous occasions that Srinath pipped them both with one particular delivery measured at 156kph. This particular delivery was reported by a major Indian News service although the exact date and the match in question has not been confirmed. [Actually, it is known. Read below to know it]."

 Srinath's career can be classified in various stages. The first stage was until his rotator-cuff injury in March 1997, which kept him away from cricket till November 1997. Until that time, he was a real express bowler. This injury was very serious (caused due to overload of bowling) and Srinath at that time had 92 Test wickets from 27 Tests- only 46 in his first 18 Tests, but 46 in his last 9 games. It was wondered if Srinath would ever be able to bowl again, let alone be ranked among the fastest bowlers in the world. After he announced his retirement in Nov 2003, Srinath revealed that he feared his career was over when he was trying to recover from the rotator-cuff injury. (See para 14 of this article). http://www.telegraphindia.com/1031112/asp/sports/story_2562723.asp

The despration and seriousness of that injury can be seen from this article of September 1997 in weekly India Today.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/javagal-srinath-patiently-waits-to-play-again-as-he-slowly-recovers-from-his-shoulder-injury/1/277009.html 

  The below article dated 5 Sept 1997 also reveals that Srinath was a real express bowler before that injury. None other than Australia legendary quick Denis Lillee called him 'a genuine fast bowler'.
http://www.rediff.com/sports/sep/05c.htm

 The second was after his return, from November 1997 till the 1999 World Cup. In this time, he was still very quick, but some commentators who closely observed him (like Prem Panicker for rediff.com) said that in this time, he did not always go at full pace. He bowled within himself, concentrating on line and length, and bowled express fast on occasions. But what was his speed on the normal ball will not be known. The third was from 1999 till March 2001, when his pace certainly declined as compared to his pre-rotator cuff injury, but he was still quick. And the fourth was from 2001 till March 2003, when his pace declined, and he could only be called 'medium fast' bowler, but as deadly as ever due to his improved accuracy, bowling in the 130s km/hr and only occasionally crossing 140.
  
  In the 1999 World Cup, speed guns were installed before the first match of the Super Sixes between India and Australia on 4 June 1999. The speed guns were unveiled one day before, by Srinath and McGrath.

  And Srinath was recorded at 93 miles per hour (149.7 km/hr), while McGrath, although fastest of the rest, was way behind at 88 mph (141.6 km/hr). Srinath bowled 5 miles quicker than McGrath, more than 8 km quicker. From cricinfo commentary of this match also we can see that Srinath was bowling very quick. 
This was 2 years after his career-threatening rotator-cuff injury of March 1997, and yet he bowled at 93 miles per hour or 149.7 km/hr, which was the fastest any bowler bowled in the tournament apart from Shoaib Akhtar. The other bowlers in this World Cup were Alan Donald, Lance Klusener (though his pace had declined after his 1998 ankle injury), Geoff Allot, Wasim Akram and company. But Srinath was recorded faster than all of them, including Alan Donald. Though Donald was past his quickest at this stage, so was Srinath.

 Srinath was reported to have been recorded at 156 km/hr in South Africa in 1996-97. This doesn't come as a surprise. The batsmen who faced Srinath and Donald in both 1992-93 as well as 1996-97 from India as well as South Africa said they found Srinath quicker than Alan Donald- though Indians played Srinath and South Africans played Donald only in the nets. They were vindicated by the speed guns of 1999 which recorded Srinath faster than Donald.

   If Srinath could bowl at 93 mph i.e. 149.7 km/hr in 1999, 2 years past his rotator cuff injury of 1997, he definitely could have bowled at 156 km in 1996-97. But the precise date and match is available in South Africa in the 1996-97 tour where Srinath was recorded at 157 km/hr. This was on 27 January 1997 at Paarl, in the game between India and Zimbabwe, which turned out to be a thrilling tie- both sides scoring 236. The then Zimbabwe Captain Alistair Campbell said about this game: 

   "We then moved on to our second game against India, at Boland Bank Park. In all 236 was quite a decent score, as it wasn't the easiest of pitches to bat on, and Srinath I think bowled the quickest that any of our guys had ever seen. He bowled a really quick spell early on, even quicker than Allan Donald; he was timed at 157 km/h, a good 10 km/h faster than Donald was bowling throughout the tournament. Grant Flower was hit on the thigh pad, and when he came off he said he thought he had broken his leg". (See paragraph 7 of the article by clicking on the below link).

   There is video recording of proof of that fact that speed guns were in use in this match, as in every match in this series. This is a video of this game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrUTHqQvi74
  
   In this video, at time 00:46-00:47 there is shown a big screen, which shows the bowling speed of the last ball bowled by Eddo Brandes of Zimbabwe, delivery 43.5 of the Indian innings, which clean bowled Indian batsman Ajay Jadeja, whose speed was 130 km/hr. The name of the Speed Gun company was also shown as "Mennen Speed Stick".

Actually, I remember it being said at that time that some people doubted the reading of the speed gun showing the ball at 157 km/hr and wondered if it had malfunctioned on that ball, but Srinath bowled another ball at 156 km/hr. But Alistair Campbell's was another testimony from a person who also faced Lance Klusener and Alan Donald, along with Srinath and found Srinath to be quicker. Alistair Campbell and Grant Flower had also faced Waqar Younis at his peak, and Wasim Akram and the Pakistani pace battery before this. They had in fact played a full 3-Test series in January 1995, when they had won their first Test match, thrashing Pakistan by an innings and 64 runs and scoring 544/4 declared in their only innings. But even they said that they had never faced anyone as quick as Srinath.

  In this 1996-97 series, Lance Klusener bowled a ball at 154 km/hr. This was in a one-dayer vs India, and Robin Singh hit that ball for a huge six over square-leg/ mid-wicket. I remember watching it live, and the commentators said "And that ball was recorded at 154 km/hr, one reason why it went that far". It was in the abandoned first final on 12 Feb 1997 when India scored 191 in 50 overs. But this again proves that Srinath bowled at 156 km/hr. Because batsmen from both sides said they found him quicker than Donald and Klusener, and one ball of Klusener was recorded at 154 km/hr. After Srinath announced his retirement in Nov 2003, an Indian newspaper again reported that he had indeed been recorded at 156+ kph by South African speed guns.

 I wonder if speed guns were in operation in India's 1992-93 tour to South Africa. They certainly were in operation during the Pakistan West Indies South Africa tri-series in 1993. Srinath was very quick in that 1992-93 tour and a ball from him hit Meyrick Pringle on the eye badly, which was very quick. It will be interesting to see if Srinath's speeds of 1992-93 South Africa tour are available. Srinath became the first Indian fast bowler to send the opposing batsman to the hospital. 

  In his first series after his return from the rotator-cuff injury in November-December 1997, Srinath was still very quick. In the 3rd Test of his first series since comeback from injury, against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in December 1997, his bouncer hit Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Lanka D Silva on the face, and he later needed 10 stitches at the hospital. The ball actually broke the grill of the helmet. It did not sneak through, it was so quick that it actually broke the grill. 
   Lanka D Silva became the 2nd batsman to be sent to the hospital by Srinath. 

   In 1996, India toured England. Though speed guns were most likely not used, video recording of Srinath's express bowling is available. This video shows how quick he was before his 1997 rotator-cuff injury. All the English batsmen, including well-set ones, were being beaten for sheer pace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpUPtrGK5rg&list=PLQ6dhmRLWB-f48bfyS-6e1MohFGqizBn3

   In November-December 1996 India hosted South Africa for a 3 Test series. India won the first Test at Ahmedabad, defending 170 in the 4th innings, with Srinath taking 6/21. On a slow, spinning track, Srinath stunned everyone by express bowling, which broke the back of the powerful South African batting. It wasn't merely the wickets that Srinath took. All his 11.5 overs were very quick, as those who watched the game would remember. His 6 wickets can be seen here:

   In this video, Andrew Hudson may have been unlucky to be given out LBW as the ball may have missed the leg-stump, but the fact that he was beaten for pace cannot be denied. Jonty Rhodes was also beaten for pace by the in-swinging yorker, and was out LBW. Some reporters astonishingly called Jonty Rhodes' LBW as a wrong decision saying that the ball would have missed the leg-stump, but when a ball hits the batsman directly on the full, all it has to do is strike in line, and it is assumed to be going straight from the point of impact. It was surprising that the reporters did not know this. But while reporting, Prem Panicker of rediff.com said that : "And bravest of the lot would have been the man who suggested that on this "spinner's wicket", it would be the pace and fire of Javagal Srinath that would shatter the South African batting lineup with one of the most explosive spells of fast bowling in recent memory....Javagal Srinath, bowling faster than anyone has seen him in his career, blasted one into a tentative Hudson's back pad... Srinath was bowling as fiery a spell of fast bowling as you would want to see, getting enormous swing with the older ball and adding to the batsman's troubles by bowling the breakback, pitching on off stump and cutting the ball sharply towards leg."

   As we saw, that even after his rotator cuff injury, Srinath was recorded at 93 mph i.e. 149.7 km/hr in June 1999. He broke Lanka D Silva's helmet grill in December 1997. He was very quick even in March 1998 against Australia in the Tests. This video is an indication. Greg Blewett played across the line, but was also beaten for pace, the ball had already past when the bat came down.

 However, from the 1999 World Cup onwards Srinath's pace starting reducing. In 1999-2000 India toured Australia where speed guns were in operation. That was the first series in Srinath's career (when he was past 30) where every ball's speed was being shown on TV- by Channel 9 in Australia. In India ESPN-Star were showing Channel 9 commentary, but their own scorecard and did not show the speed. Srinath's average balls were 135-140 Km/hr and he was no longer the express bowler of pre-1997 days. But after Brett Lee, who made his debut in the 2nd Test between India and Australia and Shoaib Akhtar, he was the quickest, quicker than Waqar Younis (whose average speed was in the 130s only), and Damian Fleming and other bowlers. Bill Lawry on commentary said: "Srinath's not express but he is a quick bowler". In that tour, Srinath bowled the stop ball at 135-140, only sometimes crossing 90 miles per hour i.e. 144.9 km/hr. Until March 2001 this was the case. Then after June 2001, Srinath began bowling in the 130s, only occasionally crossing 140 km/hr.

   But even in his last tournament, the 2003 World Cup when Srinath was way past his quickest, he was recorded above 140 km/hr many times. In the game against England on 26 Feb 2003, he bowled at 143 km/hr with many balls being recorded above 140. If Srinath could bowl at that pace at that age, it shows that at his peak he was indeed a real express bowler.

   Therefore, we conclude that though Srinath's pace declined in his last 3-4 years in international cricket, he was indeed a genuine speedster and by no means a mere medium pacer. Whether he was an Indian or a vegetarian doesn't make any difference. He of course had many shortcomings as well- did not utilize his batting potential, and often indulged in ridiculous running in international cricket, getting run-out. But on the topic of speed, the above is what we conclude.
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