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Jeffrey Robert Thomson (born 16 August 1950) is a former Australian
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er. Known as "Thommo", he is one of the fastest bowlers in the history of cricket; he bowled a delivery with a speed of 160.6 km/h against the West Indies in Perth in 1975, which was the fastest recorded delivery at the time, and the fourth-fastest recorded delivery of all time. He was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler
Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is Australian retired cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".
; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history. Commenting on their bowling during the 1974–75 season, ''Wisden'' wrote: "... it was easy to believe they were the fastest pair ever to have coincided in a cricket team". He was inducted into the
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is a part of the Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum in the Australian Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This hall of fame commemorates the greatest Australian cricketers of all time, ...
in 2016.


Speed and technique

Thomson had an unusual but highly effective slinging delivery action that he learned from his father. In December 1975, after the second Test match against the West Indies at the WACA, he was timed with a release speed of 160.45 km/h using accurate, high-speed photo-sonic cameras. The study was carried out by Tom Penrose and Brian Blanksby of the University of Western Australia, and
Daryl Foster Daryl Hugh Foster OAM (born 9 December 1938) is an Australian cricket coach. Cricket Playing career Foster played in Victorian grade cricket between 1955 and 1971 for Essendon, University and Northcote. He played two second XI matches for Vic ...
of the Secondary Teachers' College in Perth. Measurements were also made of three other fast bowlers,
Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is Australian retired cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".
, Andy Roberts and
Michael Holding Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954) is a Jamaican former cricketer and commentator who played for the West Indies cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in cricket history, he was nicknamed "Whispering Dea ...
. Thomson's fastest delivery was the quickest, with Roberts second with a delivery measured at 150.67 km/h. In 1979, Thomson won a fastest-bowling competition held by the Australian television station Channel 9, in a year in which he was banned from playing professional cricket due to striking a soccer umpire. His maximum speed was measured at 147.9 km/h using the same method as employed during the 1975 study at the WACA. (Incidentally, a follow-up study in 1976 put him at 160.6 km/h—he was the fastest of those tested in both studies.) He also won the accuracy prize in the competition. Four decades on, Thomson mentioned in an episode of '' Cricket Legends'' that he had intentionally bowled full tosses for the competition in order to improve his score. There was a $5,000 cash prize for the fastest bowler, and there was an additional $5,000 for the most accurate bowler (three points for the middle stump, and one point for either leg stump or off stump); Thomson scooped the entire $10,000 prize pool (approximately $50,000 in 2022 terms). Thomson recalled:
If you bowl a
bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...
, it's gonna come off slower anyway. So I'm thinking this is gonna be takin', you know, candy from a baby. And I've put my beer down, I come out, and I bowled a few balls—and I was bowling full tosses and that, because I knew they'd be quick. So I won the 5 grand, I hit the stumps three times out of six or whatever
n fact, the bowlers had 8 deliveries in total N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
and I've cleaned up. And I've come back out, and Kerry said: "How did you go?". I said, "I won, boss"; he said, "good".
Many critics who saw Thomson bowl rate him as one of the fastest they had seen, including Richie Benaud, who considered him the fastest since
Frank Tyson Frank Holmes Tyson (6 June 1930 – 27 September 2015) was an England international cricketer of the 1950s, who also worked as a schoolmaster, journalist, cricket coach and cricket commentator after emigrating to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed " ...
. Australian wicket-keeper Rod Marsh kept wicket to Thomson for most of his Test career and has claimed that Thomson bowled upwards of 180 km/h, an opinion also held by fellow Australians Ian Chappell and
Ashley Mallett Ashley Alexander Mallett (13 July 1945 – 29 October 2021) was an Australian cricketer who played in 38 Tests and 9 One Day Internationals between 1968 and 1980. Until Nathan Lyon, he was Australia's most successful off spin bowler since World ...
. However, the fastest measured delivery as of 2022 was
Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar (; ; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he was the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, a feat he achieved twice in his career. Ak ...
's delivery in of 161.3 km/h at the 2003 World Cup, making such a claim extremely unlikely (if not impossible) to have actually occurred. Many of the players of the 1970s and 1980s generation also rate Thomson as the fastest they faced, including West Indian Viv Richards and Sunil Gavaskar. Former West Indies captain
Clive Lloyd Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd (born 31 August 1944) is a Guyanese-British former cricketer who played for the West Indies cricket team. As a boy he went to Chatham High School in Georgetown. At the age of 14 he was captain of his school cricket tea ...
regards Thomson as the fastest bowler he has ever seen, as does
Michael Holding Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954) is a Jamaican former cricketer and commentator who played for the West Indies cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in cricket history, he was nicknamed "Whispering Dea ...
, himself an extremely fast bowler in his prime. Geoffrey Boycott rates Thomson joint-fastest with Holding, whilst
Martin Crowe Martin David Crowe (22 September 1962 – 3 March 2016) was a New Zealand cricketer, Test and ODI captain as well as a commentator. He played for the New Zealand national cricket team between 1982 and 1995, and is regarded as one of the count ...
rated Thomson and Holding as the hardest bowlers to face, commenting: "Thomson was just a freak – a very unique action. You never really saw it." Incidents were reported of Thomson delivering byes which hit the
sight screen In cricket, a sight screen is an apparatus, often comprising wooden or poly-carbonate slats, or cloth sheeting, on a large frame made of wood or another material, that is positioned alongside the cricket field to provide the batsmen a clear view ...
behind the facing batsman after just one bounce on the pitch. These reports were mostly from the time when he was at his very fastest—the period between 1972 and 1976—though several instances are cited when this happened even after his injury, including up until the early 1980s. Thomson has said that one of his fastest spells was one against the West Indies in Barbados during World Series Cricket. After several West Indian bowlers had hit Australian batsman, he has been quoted as saying he "wanted to return the favour". He also rates a spell against Victoria whilst playing for Queensland at the Gabba in Brisbane. In the 1990s, Thomson was the bowling coach for Queensland. In 1992, after a practice session bowling in the nets to several of the Queensland batsmen, including
Allan Border Allan Robert Border (born 27 July 1955) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test ma ...
, Thomson was encouraged to play for the team, as, even at the age of 42, he was still faster than any of the Queensland bowlers. Only the youth policy of the team prevented him from rejoining the side to play competitively.


Career

Thomson enjoyed a rapid rise in the 1972–73 season. He made his first-class debut for New South Wales (NSW) in October 1972 against Western Australia, replacing
David Colley David John Colley (born 15 March 1947) is a former Australian cricketer who played in three Test matches and one One Day International in 1972. Colley was a medium-fast bowler who played for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield between 19 ...
, who was injured. He also took 5–97 for NSW Colts against Queensland Colts. After playing five first-class games and taking 17 wickets, Thomson was a surprise selection in for the second Test against Pakistan. He replaced
Bob Massie Robert Arnold Lockyer Massie (born 14 April 1947) is a former Australian cricketer who played in six Test matches and three One Day Internationals (ODIs) in 1972 and 1973. A swing bowler, he had a relatively short international career but i ...
, who was picked in the first Test side. It was felt Thomson's selection was an experimental one with a view to the West Indies tour at the end of the summer. "I will try my guts out," said Thomson. "I was just hoping that I might pick up some more wickets in the forthcoming matches against
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...
so that they might think of me for the West Indies." Against Pakistan at the
MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...
, Thomson returned match figures of 0/110. Later, he was diagnosed as having played with a broken bone in his foot, the pain from which he kept concealed from selectors and teammates. He bowled waywardly and was not picked to tour the West Indies. Following this, he disappeared from first-class cricket until the final match of the 1973–74 season against Queensland. (However, he did bowl for NSW Colts over the summer.) Thomson took nine wickets in the game, helping to prevent Queensland from winning the Shield. Queensland captain
Greg Chappell Gregory Stephen Chappell (born 7 August 1948) is a former cricketer who represented Australia at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). The second of three brothers to play Test cricket, Chappell was the pre-eminen ...
convinced Thomson to move to Queensland for the following season, which he did, playing for
Toombul District Cricket Club Toombul District Cricket Club is an Australian cricket club based in Nundah, Queensland, in the city of Brisbane. Overview The Toombul District Cricket Club (Toombul DCC or simply TDCC) is a Queensland Cricket Association cricket club which c ...
in the local
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the Sou ...
competition. When Thomson was selected for the first Test of the 1974–75 Ashes series, the English players had seen him in action only once, during a tour match against Queensland when Thomson bowled well within himself on the instruction of his captain Greg Chappell. He created controversy during a television interview before the Test when he said, "I enjoy hitting a batsman more than getting him out. I like to see blood on the pitch". In the second innings of the match, he bowled Australia to victory with a spell of 6/46. At
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, he injured several batsmen and finished off the game with 5/93 in the second innings as Australia recorded another victory. During the 1974–75 Ashes series, Sydney newspaper '' The Sunday Telegraph'' ran a photo of Lillee and Thomson with a cartoon caption underneath that read: Taking a relatively short run-up to the crease, Thomson generated his pace with a slinging-style bowling action, clearly influenced by his former competitive javelin throwing, that began to accelerate the ball from a lower position than is typical. He did not put a lot of work on the ball with his fingers, so he did not seam or swing the ball much, and he adopted an uncomplicated approach to his work. He once described his bowling as, "I just roll up and go whang". Although he regularly bowled the bouncer, it was his ability to make the ball rise sharply from a length that earned him many wickets. The hard Australian pitches suited his style as he relied on bounce rather than movement to take wickets.
John Benaud John Benaud (born 11 May 1944) is a former Australian cricketer. Benaud is the son of Louis and Irene Benaud. His only sibling was fellow cricketer Richie Benaud, who was older by 13 years. John is married to Lindsay Benaud with two children. ...
describes facing Thomson in a Sydney grade match:
So Thommo begins – the high stepping gait of a thoroughbred, bowling hand bobbing at waist level and the ball visible. It is conventional and comforting because facing a strange bowler for the first time invariably generates edginess. Then, in the split second before delivery, at gather, Thommo drags one leg behind the other in a sort of Swan Lake crossover, sways back and hides the ball behind his right knee – unconventional and very unsettling.
Forming an intimidating bowling partnership with
Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is Australian retired cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".
, Thomson captured 33 wickets in the series and looked to set to beat
Arthur Mailey Alfred Arthur Mailey (3 January 188631 December 1967) was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches between 1920 and 1926. Mailey used leg-breaks and googly bowling, taking 99 Test wickets, including 36 in the 1920–21 Ashes ser ...
's record of 36 Test wickets in an Australian Test season. However, he injured his shoulder playing a social tennis match during the rest day of the Fifth Test at Adelaide and missed the rest of the summer. Australia's eventual winning margin was 4–1. He was less at home on the slower wickets of England on the tour that followed and took only four wickets in five matches during the inaugural World Cup. In the subsequent four-Test series, he snared 16 wickets at 28.56. In the first Test at Edgbaston, he hit 49 from 67 balls and bagged 5/38 in England's second innings as Australia claimed the only decisive result of the series, which enabled them to retain the Ashes. At this time, Thomson hired a manager, David Lord, who negotiated a contract with the Brisbane radio station 4IP, reputedly worth A$63,000 per year for ten years . In the 1975–76 series against the West Indies, he took 29 wickets in the six Tests. He conceded a lot of runs but often induced the West Indies batsmen to play injudicious shots. ''Wisden'' thought his bowling had improved from the previous Australian season. A severe injury resulted from an on-field collision with teammate Alan Turner as they both attempted a catch in the First Test match against Pakistan at
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
on
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipatio ...
, 1976. A dislocation of his right collarbone forced him to miss the remainder of the season. Although he returned to Test cricket during the
1977 Ashes series The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1977 season to play five Test matches for the 1977 Ashes series against England. The Australians also played three one day internationals and 19 other tour matches. The Australian side had been ...
in England, he was never as consistently fast again. Lillee missed the tour because of back problems, and Thomson responded as the spearhead of the attack by taking 23 wickets at 25.34 average. Australia's performance was said to suffer by the revelation that most of the team had signed to play World Series Cricket (WSC) in opposition to official cricket, although skipper
Greg Chappell Gregory Stephen Chappell (born 7 August 1948) is a former cricketer who represented Australia at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). The second of three brothers to play Test cricket, Chappell was the pre-eminen ...
concedes his side would have been beaten anyway. Thomson's relationship with WSC was complex. He did not hesitate to sign on, but his manager pointed out that his contract with 4IP required him to be available for Queensland. Lord extricated him from the WSC contract (along with the West Indian
Alvin Kallicharan Alvin Isaac Kallicharran (born 21 March 1949) is a former Indo-Guyanese cricketer of Tamil origin who played Test cricket for the West Indies between 1972 and 1981 as a left-handed batsman and right-arm off spinner. Kallicharran was born i ...
), prompting Kerry Packer to obtain an injunction preventing Lord (or any other third party) from inducing players to break their WSC agreements. In the rebuilt Australian Test team of 1977–78, Thomson was the senior player after the recalled veteran, captain Bob Simpson. In the First Test against India at
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the Sou ...
, Thomson contributed seven wickets and 41 not out towards an Australian victory. During the second Test at
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, he claimed six wickets and finished the series with 22 wickets at an average of 23.45. Australia had a narrow 3–2 win that helped the ACB maintain its optimism that it could win the war with WSC. Thomson, meanwhile, had success at domestic level, taking 6/18 in his only Gillette Cup appearance, against South Australia in Brisbane, which was enough to be voted man-of-the-series, winning him a prize of two return tickets to Fiji. Simpson lobbied for Thomson's appointment as vice-captain of the team to tour the West Indies. Thomson produced his fastest spell since his comeback in the second Test at
Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...
,
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
, when he knocked off Viv Richards' cap and finished with 6/77. However, his bowling fell away in the later Tests. During the winter, Thomson expressed a desire to join his teammates playing WSC, which paid for a court challenge to his contract. The ACB had a rare victory over WSC when the judge ruled against the proposed move, and criticised Thomson's business acumen. Thomson played a single limited-overs match for Queensland, taking 6/18, and then in September "retired" from Test cricket from 30 September onwards. He said he would remain available for Sheffield Shield. As part of the negotiations for the peace treaty between the two organisations, the ACB agreed to let Thomson play in WSC's tour of the Caribbean in the spring of 1979. Reunited with Lillee, he returned 16 wickets in five "Supertests", including 5/78 at Trinidad. The reunion of the partnership for Test cricket was less successful. A number of fast bowlers had enjoyed success for Australia during Thomson's absence from the team, yet the selectors were keen to see Lillee and Thomson attempt to reprise their success of the mid-1970s. However, Thomson managed only two Tests in 1979–80 when he was dropped. He played four ODIs in the first
World Series Cup The Australian Tri-Series was an annual one day international (ODI) cricket tournament held in Australia, and contested by Australia and two touring teams. The series was the primary format for international one-day cricket throughout most of ...
, but bowled erratically in two-day/night matches against England at the SCG that confirmed his unsuitability to limited-overs cricket. Thereafter, injuries contributed to his absence from the team. Overlooked for the 1981 Ashes tour of England, he decided to spend the season with Middlesex in the hope that he might be needed as a late replacement in the Australian team, but he got injured. Thomson reclaimed his place in 1981–82 when he played eight of the nine Tests against Pakistan and the West Indies (in Australia) and in New Zealand. His figures were pedestrian: 20 wickets at 36.4, with a best of 4/51. However, he found a regular place in the ODI team and took 19 wickets (at 27.42 average) in 13 matches during the World Series Cup. On the tour of Pakistan later in the year, he took just three wickets in three Tests. Dropped for the first Test at home against England, Thomson owed his recall to a knee injury suffered by Lillee. In the remaining four Tests, he enjoyed success in taking 22 wickets at 18.68. At times, he reached top pace, claiming 5/73 at Brisbane, and 5/50 at Sydney in the fifth Test, his last in Australia. His performance in the World Series Cup, 19 wickets in 13 matches with an RPO of 4.01, was his best in an ODI tournament. Continuing with Queensland as captain, Thomson was chosen for the 1985 tour of England. The rebel tours to South Africa had stripped the Australian team of pace bowlers. In the first Test, his match figures were 2/174, and he was omitted until the Fifth Test, when he scored 28 not out in the first innings, his highest Test score since 1977. His only wicket was
Graham Gooch Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, ...
, giving him 200 Test wickets. Thomson never represented Australia again; he did, however, help Queensland reach the Sheffield Shield final in his last season of first-class cricket in 1985–86, but they missed out to NSW.


Personal life

Prior to his marriage, Thomson's dashing good looks, skill, and strong physique made him "very much a cynosure of ladies’ eyes". His reputation as a ladies' man came to a head during the
1979 Cricket World Cup The 1979 Cricket World Cup (officially called the Prudential Cup '79) was the second edition of the Cricket World Cup. Organised by the International Cricket Conference, it was held in England from 9 to 23 June 1979. The tournament was once aga ...
when he was greeted by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, who Thomson claimed remarked: "So you're the chap who has been giving our girls a hard time." He added in 2015 that the "
lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom s ...
saw me two years ago in Canberra and she told me those exact words, 'word for word'." Thomson married model Cheryl Wilson after they caught each other's eyes during a cricket game; they have been a couple for more than 40 years. The wedding flowers were supplied by the legendary fast bowler and florist Ray Lindwall. Thomson bought a Ford Falcon Phase III GTHO for $23,000 in the late 1980s, which in modern times is in incredibly high demand with collectors and investors. Thomson sold his Phase III for A$1,030,000 in 2018; it still bears its original seat belts, carpets, spare tyre and log books. This demand is, in part, due to a small production run—only 300 were ever made, and it's believed that fewer than a third of these vehicles remain.Joshua Dowling, ''The Sun-Herald'', 3 June 2007, p. 13 In 2015, Thomson joined Ian Chappell,
Len Pascoe Leonard Stephen Pascoe (born Leonard Stephen Durtanovich, 13 February 1950) is a former Australian Test and One Day International cricketer. Born at Bridgetown, Western Australia, Pascoe was educated at Punchbowl Boys' High School in New Sout ...
, and
Doug Walters Kevin Douglas Walters (born 21 December 1945) is a former Australian cricketer. He was known as an attacking batsman, a useful part-time bowler, and also as a typical ocker. In 2011, he was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame by the CA. ...
in a charity luncheon to raise money to fight depression.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Jeff 1950 births Living people Australia One Day International cricketers Australia Test cricketers Australian cricket commentators Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup World Series Cricket players Middlesex cricketers New South Wales cricketers Queensland cricketers Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Australian cricketers Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Queensland cricket captains