Technical glitch shows Josh Hazlewood clocking 164kph

Australia declared at an overnight score of 179 at the start of day four setting West Indies a mammoth target of 459 to win the 2nd Test. In the second over of the day, Josh Hazlewood delivered a ball to Windies opener Rajendra Chandrika which clocked 164.2 on the speedometer.

It was a very surprising sight as Hazlewood usually bowls around the 135 kph mark. Therefore, a delivery in the 160s looked unreal. Cricket Australia immediately speculated a technical glitch in the speedometer.

https://twitter.com/CricketAus/status/681624485078937600/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Later, the broadcasters Wide World Of Sports clarified with a tweet that the 164.2km/h delivery was a result of a glitch with the speedometer technology.

Hazlewood's 164.2 km/h ball was a glitch. ? #AUSvWI #WWOS

— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) December 29, 2015

West Indies couldn’t survive very long even as Denesh Ramdin and Jason Holder tried hard to fight back and were eventually bundled out for 282, losing the match by 177 runs.

Earlier this month, there was a similar scenario during the Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Left-arm pacer Neil Wagner bowled a ball to Dinesh Chandimal that Sky Sports showed as being hurled down at 160kmph. Within no time the accuracy of what was being displayed on television was debated, considering the 29-year-old Wagner has never bowled any delivery nearly as quick as that in his 17-Test career.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc also breached the mark just a few weeks ago against New Zealand at Perth. With such technical glitches, it won’t be surprising if Mitchell Starc’s 160.4 kph ball to Ross Taylor (the fastest delivery in Tests) in the second Test at the WACA, Perth comes under scrutiny.

Also check: Top 5 Fastest balls delivered by Indians in Cricket