Speed thrills: It’s fast, but is this bowling?

Indeed, today’s figures seemed to back up the optimism: the winner of the ‘speed hunt’ clocked a mean 134 kmph, three others clocked over 120. That’s sheer, raw pace.

The contestants came by bus, by car, on two-wheelers, many from Delhi but some as far afield as Bhopal. They weren’t drawn by the shot at the limelight; most appeared to be cricket fans genuinely wishing to chance their arm — the three balls every bowler was permitted — at their favourite sport.

Anoop Kumar from Hissar has played most of his cricket with a tennis ball and opens the bowling in Sunday matches at his school ground. ‘‘I have watched Brett Lee on television and just wanted to bowl like him,’’ was the simple explanation for his presence here.

Amar Thakur from Bhopal didn’t even bother taking off his black leather boots before his turn (he clocked 98 kmph). ‘‘I heard it on the radio. I am the fastest in my mohalla so my friends forced me to take the train to Delhi.’’

Given the level of enthusiasm, and the speeds recorded, why isn’t there the sound of champagne corks popping, crackers bursting? If only rearing a fast bowler were that simple. What today’s exercise proved was that there is, in smalltown India, raw material that can be tapped. Professionally, with proper coaching and guidance, the successors to Zaheer and Nehra can be found.

Speed was the only factor that counted at today’s show. All eyes were focused on the speedgun while run-up and delivery went unnoticed. It was almost an clerical assessment of a bowler’s calibre done in the absence of trained coaches or experts.

But how important is speed? ‘‘It’s one of the factors’’, says Delhi-based coach Tarak Sinha, whose discoveries include Ashish Nehra. ‘‘If someone bowls in the range of 120 and is to be groomed beyond that, one should be sure that he has the right run-up and of course the action.’’

Time to bring in Munaf Patel, of whom Dennis Lillee is supposed to have spoken highly. But the 20-year-old is yet to play a first-class match and it’s uncertain how he will perform under pressure. Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer faced him at the nets in the recent pre-season camp in Bangalore. ‘‘Munaf is sharp and he hits the bat hard.’’ Is he the desi Brett Lee? ‘‘No, he has a long way to go.’’

Munaf’s coach and National selector Kiran More is equally candid. ‘‘He’s good but is just too raw. We have to work on him on a lot.’’

The trick, says Sinha, is to catch them young. Anyone over 20 — and most were today — will find it hard to change, fine-tune and modify action. Leave alone start from scratch.

Today’s search could have been more productive, say experts, had the contestants been divided according to age. The best age to find talent is 16-18 but their speed wouldn’t have registered against those of the older boys. Teenagers with lively pace and perfect style got overshadowed by grown ups with rudimentary flaws in technique but faster because of their developed physique.