Uniform speed gun would add to the excitement - NZ captain

Lynn McConnell

December 18, 2002

End the debate once and for all - who really is the fastest bowler in the game?

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said today that there should be some uniform way of measuring the speed of fast bowlers around the world.

It would be good for the bowlers, good for their team-mates and good for the public, he said.

Fleming said from his perspective at first slip that there was no way that Shane Bond was bowling 10km/h slower in New Zealand than he was in Australia last summer.

Yet that is what the television radar shows.

There was a difference between the radars in different countries that measure the bowlers and whichever measurement system was right or wrong, Fleming was all for winding up the competition between the bowlers.

"Let's get it right," he said.

"I think it creates interest for the players. Shane has commented that he looks at the radar after ball. Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey were sparring with each other about who was bowling quicker. Even Scott Styris has a chip about it.

"It is important to the players so it would be nice if there was one [radar system] throughout but cost is a factor.

However, it was something that needed to be addressed if there was going to be competition to see who was the fastest bowler.

With that in mind, Fleming acknowledged that Bond's emergence as a genuine fast bowler had given an added dimension to the New Zealand side that it hadn't enjoyed for some time. But it had also had the effect of lifting the players around him.

"We know if we get in a situation where we need something special, we've got a player with that ability. From a captaincy point of view it has added a new dimension to what we can do and how we can execute and put pressure on the opposition," he said.

"He's added a massive amount to this side and the other guys have grown with him," he said.

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