In terms of pure speed who was the fastest ever bowler from West Indies?

[Harsh Thakor]

This is my list of the fastest ever West Indian pace bowlers ranked in order of speed.


1.Sylvetser Clarke
2.Patrick Paterson
3.Michael Holding
4.Roy Gilchrist
5.Andy Roberts
6.Malcolm Marshall
7.Wes Hall
8.Charlie Griffith
9.Courtney Walsh
10.Curtly Ambrose
11.Ian Bishop
12.Joel Garner


For consistent speed through the air Holding was the quickest with Roberts almost his equal at his fastest.However at their best I find it difficult visualizing anyone surpassing speed of Sylvester Clarke and Patrick Paterson.Never forget how hostile Clarke wa sin 11 tests on the sub-continent,surpassing speed of Roberts,Holding or Marshal.No one bowled better on the flat decks of Pakistan than Clarke who averaged around 18 there.Indian batsmen found Paterson more fiery than any other paceman they ever faced in 1988.Roy Gilchrist was simply a demon and more ferocious than Lindwall or Trueman.

 

[AFM]

From what I've read, I would agree Clarke was the fastest.

Not sure I would have Gilchrist so high up. He was a demon, sure, but that had more to do with his personality and his eagerness to hurt batsmen. He would bowl beamers deliberately.

 

[Amirforpresident]

Jeffrey Dujon said Patrick Patterson was the quickest he kept to.

 

[Junaids]

This is my list of the fastest ever West Indian pace bowlers ranked in order of speed.


1.Sylvetser Clarke
2.Patrick Paterson
3.Michael Holding
4.Roy Gilchrist
5.Andy Roberts
6.Malcolm Marshall
7.Wes Hall
8.Charlie Griffith
9.Courtney Walsh
10.Curtly Ambrose
11.Ian Bishop
12.Joel Garner


For consistent speed through the air Holding was the quickest with Roberts almost his equal at his fastest.However at their best I find it difficult visualizing anyone surpassing speed of Sylvester Clarke and Patrick Paterson.Never forget how hostile Clarke wa sin 11 tests on the sub-continent,surpassing speed of Roberts,Holding or Marshal.No one bowled better on the flat decks of Pakistan than Clarke who averaged around 18 there.Indian batsmen found Paterson more fiery than any other paceman they ever faced in 1988.Roy Gilchrist was simply a demon and more ferocious than Lindwall or Trueman.

Great list, but I'd put Ian Bishop at his peak between Roberts and Marshall.

I would add that we have some validated contemporaneous records using scientifically-verified cameras to measure what speed some of them bowled at.

Using the verified recordings of speed, we see:

1.Sylvester Clarke spell of 98-101 mph 1984, Johannesburg (157.72 - 162.54 Km/h)
FASTEST SPELL EVER RECORDED IN A CRICKET MATCH
2.Patrick Patterson
3.Michael Holding 95.2 mph (153.2 Km/h) 1976
4.Roy Gilchrist
5.Andy Roberts 99.10 mph (159.49 Km/h) 1975-76, Perth
6.Malcolm Marshall
7.Wes Hall
8.Charlie Griffith
9.Courtney Walsh
10.Curtly Ambrose
11.Ian Bishop
12.Joel Garner

 

[IndianWillow]

Sylvester Clarke was once warned by the umpire for intimidatory bowling and he replied -"This is no ladies game, man!!". He was a big man with massive arms and shoulders and used that to terrorize batsmen.

He would send down a viciously fast bouncer directed at the batsman's head and follow it up with a deadly yorker at his dazed victim in no mood to defend after the scary bouncer. One bowler who had batsmen really worried for their physical safety was Clarke. He played mostly after helmets became popular in 1979, yet he was considered very scary.

 

[Firebreaker]

Anderson Cummins

 

[ExpressPacer]

Fidel Edwards was pretty quick. Consistently in the mid 150's which is Express.

 

[wrongun]

Hard question- for example, where would Aus rate a guy like Johnson? Was lightning at his peak, but 140-145 for months/years too. All fast bowlers to a certain extent have the same issue.

What I read most consistently from ex players is that Clarke, Patterson & Holding could be terrifying.- but a handful of batsmen who faced them on occasion don't rate them top 2 quick (world).

I think everyone on that list has had spells or seasons where they were brutal pace. I suspect he has the top 3 correct except perhaps for Mako.

Remember that longevity will affect this. Guys like Patterson & Clarke had shorter careers. They faded as soon as their pace did so they are remembered more for their sheer speed years.

Marshall may have actually had even longer periods at high pace but because he played longer & had other skills & played long after he needed to consistently hit top gear then he isn't remembered that way.

mcGrath was not 130k at the beginning of his career. Guys like Roberts, Walsh etc also were seriously quick for a period but were good enough to play beyond merely their peak pace years.

Anecdotal experience & memory will this favour in some respects guys with a shorter, more fierce career.

 

[moghul]

You mean after Holding ?, Holding has been the fastest from WI, there is no dispute about it among the experts.

 

[PakLFC]

I thought it would have been Michael Holding.

 

[jnaveen1980]

You missed Patterson. Wes Hall was intimidating in his days. But Charlie Griffith was more threatening as he followed no rules. By all accounts he was chucking. It was pretty dangerous to face him those days. Sylvester clarke, Winston Davis were quick too. Just because current Windies team is poor doesn't mean they are any slower. Edwards, Roach are very quick. Probably would have been handy in the 80s.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Clarke didn't have the action nor the run-up to generate maximum airspeed. He generated plenty of bounce which people mistake for airspeed.

Patterson however did. I've seen highlights of him bowling rapid spells and I can totally see him catching the right rhythm on his day to out-pace Holding, Marshall, Roberts because he's longer.

 

[Robert]

Peter Wiley reckons that, if quick bowlers are at 90 mph, Patterson was at 100 mph in the second Blackwash series.

 

[Black Zero]

From what I saw, it would be between Patrick Paterson (Speed + Heavy ball) or Ian Bishop.

 

[Stallion__]

Patterson, Clarke, Holding, Roberts in that order. Have heard that Daniels was pretty quick too but don't know how he compares with these four.

 

[troodon]

I was trying to see some videos of WI great pacers on Youtube and found this video of Patrick Patterson.

Sad to see him this way. He does not seem to remember anything of his past or deliberately trying to forget his cricketing past.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DpT5TPUmeCQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Markhor]

Clarke didn't have the action nor the run-up to generate maximum airspeed. He generated plenty of bounce which people mistake for airspeed.

Patterson however did. I've seen highlights of him bowling rapid spells and I can totally see him catching the right rhythm on his day to out-pace Holding, Marshall, Roberts because he's longer.

Dujon has said on several occasions that Patterson was the quickest he kept to.

Patterson's best spell was the MCG Test in 88 - its on YouTube and he looked rapid.

The story, which has been verified by the Aussies who saw it so its not one oldie's urban legend, was that Patterson when batting got sledged by Aussie fielders who chirped that he couldn't handle short pitched bowling.

Patterson was normally mild mannered but had lost his temper. When the innings ended, he charged into the Australian dressing room with Dujon following him to see the commotion. Patterson pointed to the four Aussie fielders who sledged him and said:

"You, you, you and you - I'm going to kill you."

And he did, 4-fer in the 1st innings followed up by a 5-39 in the 2nd innings.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Patterson, Clarke, Holding, Roberts in that order. Have heard that Daniels was pretty quick too but don't know how he compares with these four.

No way Clarke was faster than Holding, Marshall, Roberts. You can say he generated more vicious bounce which he did.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Clarke didn't have the action nor the run-up to generate maximum airspeed. He generated plenty of bounce which people mistake for airspeed.

Patterson however did. I've seen highlights of him bowling rapid spells and I can totally see him catching the right rhythm on his day to out-pace Holding, Marshall, Roberts because he's longer.

Its not only about action.Still to me he was the quickest at his best.Gray Sobers even felt so if you read his biography with Brian Scovell.Similar to Roy Gilchrist .

 

[IndianWillow]

There are these views abt Clarke - that he was damn fast. And that his speed is somewhat hyped (like some people opined here, he is more about bounce) Seen both viewpoints discussed abt Clarke.

 

[gasgemba]

Some awful picks in this list. Ambrose and walsh? Even the current leftie seamer playing for WI is quicker than those two.

 

[Rightarmfast]

Courtney walsh faster than Ian Bishop? Since when?

 

[anoop]

Patrick patterson

 

[IndianWillow]

Ambrose was more bounce, york and accuracy. He was mostly <140kph. Late into his career only 135 range. Speed wasn't Walsh forte as well, he was abt the same as Ambrose though Ambrose was more lethal due to his imposing appearance which he used most skillfully to extract vicious bounce and hurl unplayable yorkers. Under old ODI rules Ambrose would have been near unplayable in ODIs.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Its not only about action.Still to me he was the quickest at his best.Gray Sobers even felt so if you read his biography with Brian Scovell.Similar to Roy Gilchrist .

It is in fact about the action. It's humanly impossible to generate 150k+ with hardly any load up and gather, short arm path and no momentum generated from a lethargic run-up. There's hardly any extension of the front leg to brace and catapult forward which is absolute key to generating pace.

What Clarke did have was a quick arm giving the batsman no time to pick it up and maintained his height in delivery so the ball pinged off the surface. Being awkwardly front-on helped as well.

 

[bujhee kom]

Pattrick Patterson.