Farooq Hamid Believes He Has Recorded Fastest Delivery Than Shoaib Akhtar in 1960s
Oct 1, 2020 at 11:20 AM
Former Pakistan cricketer, Farooq Hamid believes that the record for the fastest delivery bowled should be credited to his name. He bowled at a quick pace but retired prematurely after playing a solitary Test for Pakistan in 1964 against Australia where he bowled to the legendary batsman Sir Don Bradman.
The record for the fastest ball bowled by a cricketer is held by former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who fired in a ball bowled at 161.3 kph (100.2 mph) at England batsman Nick Knight during the 2003 World Cup, which is the quickest ball recorded till date in cricketing history.
However, if former Pakistan pacer Farooq Hamid is to be believed, the record for the fastest ball bowled should belong to him.
Farooq Hamid Claims He Is The First Bowler To Clock 100 Miles Per Hour
Farooq Hamid played only one Test for Pakistan, in 1964 against Australia, where he bowled to the great Don Bradman. In that Test, Farooq Hamid claimed he became the first bowler to clock 100-mile an hour, touching the 110-115 m/h mark and floored some of the best batsmen of that generation, including the great Rohan Kanhai.
A right-arm opening pace bowler, Farooq Hamid made his first-class debut in 1961-62 and toured England with the Pakistan Eaglets in 1963. He toured Australia and New Zealand with the Pakistan team in 1964-65 but was not considered for selection after playing his only Test against Australia in Melbourne. His only Test wicket was that of Ian Chappell, who was also playing his debut Test match.
“Many international cricket personalities such as great Sir Don Bradman besides or [our] own Imtiaz Ahmed, Zaheer Abbas and others considered me as the fastest bowler, even faster than Charlie Griffith of the West Indies,” Hamid said in an interview with Dawn.
“On that tour [playing for the Commonwealth XI in Pakistan], great batsman Rohan Kanhai was floored by my lethal bouncer. Later, the commentators said that I was much quicker than Griffith. I must have been bowling at around 110-115 miles per hour I think,” Farooq Hamid added.
Farooq Hamid has played 43 first-class matches where he picked up 111 wickets at a decent average of 25.21 with a best of 7/16. In the solitary test, he picked up 1 wicket but conceded 107 runs.
Farooq Hamid Was Forced To Contemplate Retirement At 25 After Being Ignored
Farooq Hamid went on to reveal that he desired to play a lot more Test cricket for Pakistan but was forced to retire from cricket at the age of 25 after not being selected.
“When I took seven wickets for 16 runs against Wellington in a match (on a New Zealand tour), they were dismissed for 53 runs in just ten overs,” he said.
“However, everyone was surprised to see that I was not in the Pakistan team for the Test match that was played at the same venue after a couple of days. And neither was I included for the other two Tests played against New Zealand in that series.”
“In 1963 when I was part of the Pakistan Eaglets team touring England, I had taken five wickets in three overs but my captain Wazir Mohammad did not give me the ball for further bowling against Lancashire at the old Trafford ground,” Farooq said. “Later, Secretary MCC Mr Howard told my manager that, ‘today Farooq bowled a yard quicker than Trueman at his best.’
“This and much more of the same treatment disheartened and demoralized me so much that I decided to quit cricket at the young age of just 25. Yes, the same politics is going on and harming our cricket.”
He continued playing first-class cricket in Pakistan until the 1969-70 season. He is currently aged more than 75 years.