How come Shahid Afridi didn't use his super fast delivery very often as a bowler?

[Savak]

He had an amazing fast delivery, probably the quickest ever by a spinner. The most beautiful thing was that he was able to do it without a run up, without any jerk in his action.

I am just surprised he stopped using it later on in his career, he should have used it more often.

 

[Savak]

 

[zacattakk]

Yeah, I remember him using it alot in that 96/97 series, but not as much after that. Not sure why though, or if doubts were raised about his action while delivering it. One of his big wickets in that series that I still remember was him dismissing Brian Lara caught and bowled (not off a quicker delivery though)

 

[badsha001]

:lala chuking

 

[silent ischemia]

Not legal

 

[Savak]

Lala does not jerk at all when he bowls that faster delivery. It is perfectly legal

 

[Greenstorm]

He should have been a fast bowler.

 

[WengerOut]

Not quick as his batting stint in the middle.

 

[Faisalsq092]

I remember seeing him using it to good effect against Kenya in CT 2004. The end result, he got figures of 11/5

 

[volcyz]

Ricky Ponting said it was the fastest chuck he faced from a spinner while recently commentating in the bbl

 

[OmaIR1]

I wondered the same thing, it could have been an effective surprise weapon. He didn't even use it once per match. As Holding would say, his arm is straight as an arrow when he bowls that quick one.

 

[Savak]

I wondered the same thing, it could have been an effective surprise weapon. He didn't even use it once per match. As Holding would say, his arm is straight as an arrow when he bowls that quick one.

He needed 2 more wickets to complete 400 ODI wickets, surely 2 surprise super fast deliveries could have done the trick.

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

I don't see any chucking in the admittedly limited amount of video I saw. Looked clean.

 

[Savak]

Must use it more often

 

[Saj]

He tended to use it when he was angry after being hit for a four or six on the previous ball.

 

[Savak]

He tended to use it when he was angry after being hit for a four or six on the previous ball.

I have mostly seen him do it when there was a tailender or a brand new batsman on the wicket during the early part of his career but he stopped doing it altogether during the middle to the end of his career. Not sure why, i have heard from people close to him that at the end of his playing days he had a very bad back problem and has even fused 1-2 of his discs so perhaps that might have played a part.

 

[Savak]

Watch at 3:25 at how he outfoxes Steve Waugh on his debut

 

[silentkiller187]

No control over the delivery, and it was definately a chuck, was the only way to keep it a surprise and bowl it with his original action

 

[Savak]

No control over the delivery, and it was definately a chuck, was the only way to keep it a surprise and bowl it with his original action

Not a chuck at all, his arm and elbow are straight when he bowls it.

 

[silentkiller187]

Not a chuck at all, his arm and elbow are straight when he bowls it.

His run up and action were very different back in 96/97. Try and find some newer videos and you will see a slight bend prior to releasing the ball.

 

[silentkiller187]

Don't forget his action was called in around 2001 i believe, he was cleared however from then on i think he decided against bowling certain variations

 

[Abdullah719]

Just bowled one in PSL right now - 126kph according to the commentators... almost yorked Tahir!

 

[PakPhenom]

I remember him bowling a couple of seam up overs from a long run in a test match, in Sri Lanka maybe.

 

[HuzaifaE]

Good vs tailenders, but any batsman worth his salt can read it from the quicker action

 

[ExpressPacer]

Because his stock delivery, the googly was good enough to decipher the batsman. And anyway, Shahid Afridi was fast for a spinner, but as a fast bowler, he would've been a trundler and therefore, he stuck to his initial creed; the art of legspin.

And anyway, as someone else has pointed out, any half decent batsman would have been able to tell the difference between a seam up delivery. Afridi played the majority of his cricket post 2000, a time when batsman picked spinners from the hand and not after the ball had pitched because of the many variations spinners had brought about their game.

 

[IAJ]

I remember him bowling some real quick deliveris (128-131 kph range) to Kenya in 2004. The poor guys didn't know what hit them.

Also he bowled some off-breaks in that match, don't know why he didn't bowl more of those deliveries (especially to taileners/weaker batsmen).

 

[Faisalsq092]

I remember him bowling a couple of seam up overs from a long run in a test match, in Sri Lanka maybe.

Against India, Faisalabad 2006, the match was meandering towards a draw. Younis khan and Afridi opened the bowling.