Jeff Thomson

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Jeffrey Robert Thomson (Thommo) (born August 16 1950 in Greenacre Sydney, New South Wales) is a former Australian cricketer. He was reputed to be the fastest bowler ever to play Test cricket by many of his peers, and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee for some time in the 1970s; their partnership was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history.

In a fast bowling contest in 1978 that included some of the top bowlers in the world, Thomson came out on top with a delivery clocked at 99.7 mph (Michael Holding was 2nd and Imran Khan came 3rd at 89 miles an hour). He routinely bowled over 90 mph and terrorised batsmen with his blistering speed. Clive Lloyd, who has seen his share of speed merchants from his playing days and current stint as an umpire, said that he still regards Thomson as the fastest bowler he has ever seen. The English tourists in 1974 were rolled to the ground by the fearsome duo of Lillee-Thomson (Thomson taking 33 wickets). The West Indians also got a taste of their own medicine in 1975 when Thompson took 29 wickets in that five-Test series.

Unfortunately for Thomson and world cricket, just when he was enjoying his prime years, a freakish injury resulting from an on-field collison in a Test match against the Pakistanis in 1977 dislocated his right shoulder. Although he came back afterwards, he was never quite as effective even though he occasionally came out with some fast spells.

Not a very tall man at an even 6 foot, he achieved his pace from a relatively short run that culminated in a very powerful javelin-thrower style of bowling action. With that type of action, he did not seam or swing the ball much and relied on sheer pace to really shake up batsmen. In that regard, he was not quite as effective as Michael Holding. But he was lethal with his nasty bouncers and the dangerous lift. An outspoken man, he once said that he enjoyed hitting the batsmen and watch their blood spill more than taking their wickets.

He retired in 1985, taking 200 wickets from 51 Tests.

Jeff Thomson

Source: [1], 3 January 2006

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