ACCURACY, yes; speed, no.
Nineteen Wanganui secondary school cricketers tried, but none made the cut in the nationwide National Bank search to find the country's fastest bowler.
The Fast Bowling Challenge aims to bring together the six fastest timed during the promotion for a bowl-off in Auckland next week to determine the
quickest.
On the final day of the search, National Bank challenge co-ordinators Jake Phillips and Stephen Dill put 19 through their paces at Collegiate School yesterday with the quickest timed at 123kph.
"That was not quite quick enough to make the final six and get to Auckland for the final," Phillips said.
"The quickest of the 220 tested during the challenge was 138kph timed in Christchurch and the slowest of the fastest six was 129km/hr, so 123kph was just off the pace."
The 19 hopefuls were mainly Collegiate School cricketers, although a couple from Wanganui High School and Cullinane College joined in.
The quickest in Wanganui was Collegiate first XI bowler Sebastian Logan (17) who recorded 121, 122 and 123kph during his three allocated attempts, while the slowest was teammate Tom Bruce at just 74kph. Batting and off-spin, however, is his forte.
Dill, who was at the wicket end timing the bowls with a radar gun, was perfectly positioned to view the action and he rated the Wanganui challengers the most accurate in the contest.
"They were awesome bowlers, hitting the stumps regularly ? easily the most accurate during this challenge," Dill said.
The secondary school contestants have a wee way to go to reach the 150kph speeds of Black Caps' pace bowler Shane Bond, although with age on their side the task is not beyond them.
