Jeff Thomson vs Shoaib Akhtar vs Brett Lee

The trio were a treat to watch

The romantics that follow the game of cricket talk endlessly of surreal moments that make the game a truly great spectacle. More often than not, it’s the batsmen that fuel the imagination and fantasy of both fans and connoisseurs alike.

An elegant straight drive past the bowler; a flowing cover drive; a booming pull-shot; these are just some of the stroke filled moments that draw endless praise while elevating the status of the batsman to almost herculean levels.

And in this day and age where the game is packaged to entertain the masses, the batsman is but the sole hero while the bowler stands relegated to the ranks of the “also ran”.

But every now and then when the bails fly and the stumps cartwheel, we gasp and cheer. The thrill of the rare moment provides us with just as much joy as watching the ball sail into the stands. And we’re hooked instantly and clamor for more.

So sold we are on the efficacy of fast-bowling that it becomes an irresistibly thrilling visual. The run-up, the giant leap, and the intimidating grunt before a release adds to the cricketing theater.

Waqar Younis, Imran Khan, and Wasim Akram relied on a combination of speed and swing to scalp their kills while Dennis Lillee added a fair blend of physical intimidation to the craft.

If Glenn McGrath could hit a coin placed at good-length all day long, Malcolm Marshall could perhaps put a dent in it. And whilst the names of such legendary speedsters are aplenty, those that could clock 160kms/h can practically be counted on one’s fingers.

That realm though, belongs to a select few - those that chose speed over all else.

The legend of 1974

In October 1974, a hitherto unknown bowler strapped up for Australia in the opening Ashes Test at Brisbane. What ensued was series-altering. His 6 for 46 in the second innings gave him a match haul of 9 for 105. So captivated was Keith Miller that he wrote, “He frightened me, and I was sitting 200 yards away”. Jeff Thomson had well and truly arrived.

While putting to rest his forgettable debut against Pakistan a couple of years ago, he took to Ashes cricket like a fish to water. His unusual action meant that as he squared up to deliver, the ball was hidden behind the body for a fraction for a second before being hurled at the batsman in a sling-shot manner.

The batsman only got to see the ball just before the release and the reaction time accorded was harrowingly negligible.

England’s only win in the series came in the final Test when Lillee bowled just four overs and Thomson was out injured. Such was the impact of the duo and Thomson in particular that Mike Denness, the English skipper later recalled, “That was difficult for me to take. They (his team) had spent three months fearing for their livelihoods and wondering if they were going to get hit on the head”.

When asked about his pace, Thomson said he thought he was about 161 km/h. He was indeed clocked at 160.45 km/h and 160.58 km/h on two separate instances in 1975 and 1976. And Barry Richards would vouch for the fact - “Just a terrifying fast bowler. I think Thommo was the probably the quickest of everybody”.

“I follow my instinct always”

There was never any doubt that Shoaib Akhtar was going to be quick. But the question. however, was pertaining to his sustained effectiveness. Flair and flamboyance very seldom gel well together and in Akhtar’s case, both these elements were oozing in abundance.

Every time he turned up at the end of his mark, you just didn’t know for sure what to expect. The only assurance one had, however, was that of speed.

Two balls were all it took for Akhtar to stamp his class. And by sending back Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar of successive balls in 1997, he made sure that his name would prop up in fast-bowling conversations for posterity.

As a shell-shocked Eden Gardens watched in astonishment, the Akhtar brand of fast-bowling began to mushroom. Outspoken and brash, yet menacingly quick, the Pakistani had no two ways about his bowling. He was either going to run in and bowl quick or not bowl at all.

For Akhtar, it was all about getting the wicket off pace

Despite being criticized for his lengthy run-up and often accused of holding up the over rate, Akhtar held his own by retorting that a run-up prior to delivery was akin to that of a plane taxying on the runway prior to take-off.

And he did take off for sure. His 161.3 km/h delivery against England in the 2003 World Cup has been hailed as the fastest ball ever bowled.

Lee and his natural pace

“It’s very challenging”

Brett Lee never held back his inhibitions when quizzed over the occupational hazards of fast-bowling. Despite admitting the challenges of the genre, he excelled at it while wearing a constant and ever - lasting smile.

Sheer aggression embodied his style of bowling and the Aussie breathed fire at all times. With Lee lining up to bowl, it didn’t matter if you were on the placid sub-continental pitches or the lively tracks of Perth.

While constantly deploying “chin music” alongside a combination of cutters and yorkers, Lee never let a batsman at the crease relax even for a fleeting moment.

From the aggressive lot in the form of Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle and Sachin Tendulkar to those stubborn in the mould of Rahul Dravid and Andrew Strauss - Lee accounted for batsmen of all variety while unsettling very one of them. As Akash Chopra recalled, “He made my life miserable in Sydney '04, by swinging the ball prodigiously at high speeds”.

With Akhtar, the Australian kept the fast-bowling genre alive in the 2000s. Lee recorded his fastest ball at 160.8 km/h against New Zealand in 2005.

How they compare

Lining up a Thomson against Akhtar or Lee and attempting to call out a winner would seem ludicrous as the Aussie operated in a seemingly bygone era. That said, statistics give us the leverage to compare and draw analogies. And as much as the romanticism surrounding fast-bowling begs for the comparison to be eluded, one can’t but resist the temptation.

So just how do they match up over five rounds of statistical head-to-head comparison across the tenets of speed, wickets, average, strike-rate and longevity?

Speed: If Thomson clocked 160.58 km/h in 1976, Akhtar and Lee were timed at 161.3 km/h and 160.8 km/h in 2003 and 2005 respectively. Bowling with a gargantuan run-up and powered by massive arms and shoulders, the “Rawalpindi Express” emerges the winner in this segment - albeit by a whisker.

Wickets: Lee had a stellar international career and with 310 Test wickets, leads the trio by a comfortable margin. Thomson and Akhtar trail with 200 and 178 Test wickets respectively. Lee had an even better ODI career (380 wickets) while finishing considerably ahead of Akhtar (247 wickets). Thomson, who played just 50 ODIs, finished with 55 wickets. So Lee is surely the undisputed leader of the pack as far as wickets bagged is concerned.

Tests	Mat	Inns	Balls	Wkts	Ave	SR	Econ	5W	10W
Akhtar	46	82	8143	178	25.69	45.7	3.37	12	2
Thomson	51	90	10535	200	28	52.6	3.18	8	0
Lee	76	150	16531	310	30.81	53.3	3.46	10	0
ODIs	Mat	Inns	Balls	Wkts	Ave	Econ	SR	5W	10W
Lee	221	217	11185	380	23.36	4.76	29.4	9	0
Akhtar	163	162	7764	247	24.97	4.76	31.4	4	0
Thomson	50	50	2696	55	35.3	4.32	49	0	0

Average: Despite his legendary pace, Thomson’s Test career average of 28 ranks marginally lower than that of Akhtar’s (25.69). Interestingly, Lee trails in this department (30.81). While one could argue that Lee played thirty Tests more than the Pakistani and therefore, endured a higher average, Akhtar would probably not have any of it and stake his claim for this category while throwing his weight behind his Test match economy rate (which was a shade better than that of Lee).

In the ODIs however, Lee nudges ahead of Akhtar with a superior average of 23.4. Remarkably, both the speedsters shared identical economy rates of 4.76. With Akhtar averaging better in Test cricket and Lee in ODIs, it would be fair to say that the honors are even in this segment.

Strike rate: The number of balls per wicket is perhaps an ideal yardstick of just how lethal a bowler really is. In Test cricket, Akhtar picked up 12 five-fors and 2 ten-fors, while Lee and Thomson had 10 and 8 five-fors respectively.

Interestingly, neither of the Aussies had a ten-wicket match haul in Test cricket. Akhtar further asserts his supremacy in this segment with a superior Test match strike rate of 45.7 while leaving both the Aussies trailing by a significant margin.

However, as was the case with the averages, Lee’s superlative ODI career enables him to trump Akhtar with a better strike rate (29.4) and more five-wicket hauls (9) in limited overs cricket.

Longevity: Injuries and fast-bowling go hand-in-glove. That each of our three protagonists had careers that lasted over a decade is commendable indeed. Through his 13-year long international career, Akhtar claims to have played with constant pain in his knees.

In several interviews, he spoke candidly of innumerable trips to the doctors who had to draw out the water from his knees with a syringe - a painful procedure that he endured through his career.

Similarly, Lee was no stranger to injuries himself. An unyielding work ethic and commitment to bowl fast no matter what the circumstance meant that he was always susceptible to injuries. An elbow injury kept him from making the historic India tour in 2001.

And if an ankle worry caused him to miss Australia’s triumphant 2007 World Cup campaign, a side strain kept him out of the 2009 Ashes series. Despite these worries, Lee managed a formidable 12-year international career and continued to play T20 cricket for another three years.

If Thomson’s bowling action - akin to that of a javelin thrower - was a spectacle, it placed a significant stress on his shoulder. And after an on-field collision at Adelaide in 1976, he had to resort to seam, swing and cutters.

Despite the perils, “Thommo” managed to play top-flight international cricket for 12 years - a longevity remarkably similar to those of Akhtar and Lee.

A treat to watch

The statistics might hail Lee’s international wicket haul and the superlative number of Tests and ODIs that he played amidst the trio. But there’s no denying the flamboyance that oozed out of every Akhtar delivery, making each performance of his a true exhibition.

Likewise, Thomson was a rare breed that drew attention to a unique brand of fast-bowling - one that witnessed him amble up to the crease and yet deliver at a frightening pace.

All three excelled in a rare art form while indulging in what can only be termed as unadulterated pace-bowling. You could see it in their eyes and feel it in every grunt they let out. Simply put, they loved doing what they did and were cricket’s equivalent of battle-thirsty mercenaries.

How else could you explain Lee pronouncing his intent - "If you're a fast bowler, you are there to bowl fast and knock the stumps over and hit the batsmen”. Or for that matter Thomson, who said, "I enjoy hitting a batsman more than getting him out. I like to see blood on the pitch".

While the “Thommo” brand of sheer fast-bowling was deployed to intimidate and instill fear in the name of gamesmanship, it was but another tool to take wickets. As Akhtar professed, “I never ever enjoyed hitting people. Not for one second of my life. I was more interested in getting people out”.

Love them or loathe them, the practitioners of the art form enthrall when in full song to make the sport a great spectacle. And Thomson, Akhtar, and Lee played their part to perfection - the three unforgettable gems that lit up the game with their firebrand exploits.