Speed cameras test cricket fans' belief

By ALAN PERROTT

When Chris Cairns lets one rip against opposition batsmen there are at least three ways the speed of the cricket ball can be measured, depending on where he's playing.

The speedball figure has become a part of television coverage, almost as analysed as the RPO (runs per over to the uninitiated) or batsmen's strike rates.

But there were mutterings over talkback radio and backyard barbecues this week when it seemed the recorded speeds varied from country to country.

When Cairns bowls to Nasser Hussain in the England-New Zealand one-dayer today, he is being measured by one radar gun - something like the police's Hawk radar.

But Brett Lee bowling in Australia is measured by three speed devices, while England's Darren Gough bowling at Lords is tracked by a series of high-speed cameras.

Warren Brennan, general manager of Melbourne-based IDS, said: "Bowlers definitely bowl faster in the one-dayers. During the tests Glenn McGrath averaged 128 to 132 km/h, but in the one-dayers he'd regularly hit 140 to 143.

"But I can guarantee we don't play with this information at all. This is our business and if it's not accurate no one will want to use it."

Former New Zealand fast bowler Danny Morrison, now a cricket commentator, joined talkback callers this week in voicing his doubts about some of the discrepancies that could arise between the speeds of bowlers in one-dayers and tests.

"We've just noticed a big difference in the speeds in both forms of the game," he said. "I just think they bump them up a little bit for the one-dayers. There are plenty of theories around, but there is definitely a discrepancy and until they put a microchip in the ball I think it'll be open to doubt."

Morrison added the white ball used in one-day games is faster than the traditional red ball and ground and atmospheric conditions can also affect performance.

A technician at Sky Television said he had noticed players seem to clock different speeds here than across the Tasman.

He said Pakistani paceman Shoaib Akhtar's fastest delivery in New Zealand last year was measured at 151 km/h, but soon after he put one through at 154.8 km/h in Australia.

"Someone's getting it wrong and if it's us, well we're using the same radar as the police, so maybe we're all getting speeding tickets that we shouldn't."