Former world’s fastest bowler Shoaib Akhtar says BODYLINE should return to Test cricket

He has the fastest recorded legal delivery in Test cricket and openly admits he tried to chop Ricky Ponting’s head off.

Now former Pakistani express pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar has called for the return of Bodyline and unlimited bouncers to revive the game.

Bodyline, or fast leg theory bowling, was a tactic adopted by the English cricket team during the 1932–33 Ashes series. 

It involved hurling the cricket ball at the batsman’s body so they are forced to either hit straight to a fielder on the leg side or get struck. The tactics were quickly outlawed.

But now, with benign pitches being served up in Pakistan, the West Indies and even Australia, Akhtar has called for a return to the blood and thunder days of Bodyline to give Test cricket ‘character’. 

‘Nowadays, they [modern cricket players] are very soft. I don’t think the aggression is as much there now. I don’t know why. I’m old school, like Ian Chappell. I want unlimited bouncers. Bodyline bowling should be allowed. Why not? I want some character,’ Akhtar told journalists in Pakistan this week.

Test bowlers have been restricted to two bouncers per over since 1994.

While Bodyline has been outlawed for almost 90 years, it didn’t stop Akhtar from employing tactics designed to hurt rather than take wickets during his playing career. 

He recalled the infamous Test series in Australia in 2004/05 when he had a running battle with Australian openers Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer along with No.3 and Aussie legend Ricky Ponting.  

‘I gave it to them. In the 2005 series, me and [Justin] Langer got into a fight. Me and [Matt] Hayden got into a fight. It’s verbal, not physical. I wanted to display my talent [and show] that I am better than you,’ Akhtar said.

‘During the Test match, I thought [if nothing is happening] let’s hurt somebody.

‘That’s why I bowled the fastest spell. I wanted to see if Ricky can match my pace and I was purposely bowling bouncers [to] see if I could beat him but before that I had never beaten him with my sheer pace.

‘Had it not been Ricky Ponting … I would have chopped his [the batsman’s] head off because it was furiously fast.’

Australian opener Justin Langer wears a bouncer from Akhtar in the spiteful Test series between Pakistan and Australia in 2004/05

Akhtar’s comments come during the historic Test series between Australia and Pakistan that has so far served up two draws. 

While the second Test was competitive to the end, the first was a snoozefest on a pitch that resembled a highway. 

Former captain Steven Smith described the pitch in Rawalpindi for the first Test as ‘dead and benign’.

Chappell wrote a column for the ESPNcricinfo website where he said: ‘The last thing the five-day game needs is benign pitches, large first-innings scores, or distinctly uneven matches.

‘Test cricket is a severely challenged format and for the game to prosper it requires serious consultation.’

West Indies quick Kemar Roach echoed Akhtar’s sentiments, calling the pitches in the Caribbean unfriendly to pace bowlers, stating there’s only ‘dead tracks now’.

‘The pitches in the Caribbean are a bit of a concern. There’s no enjoyment for fast bowling anymore,’ he told BBC Sport.

‘There’s no pitch you can identify that you will want to perform there as a fast bowler. It’s all dead tracks now.

‘It’s a bit concerning for me as a fast bowler, we’ve got a good group of fast bowlers coming through in the future as well.

‘You need to have a discussion about it, and what we can go for, improve the pitches, and bring back cricket back to life again in the Caribbean.’ 

Akhtar holds the fastest delivery recorded in all three formats of international cricket of 161.3 km/h and he sincerely wants to see that record broken. 

 ‘I genuinely want to believe that somebody should be out there who is ready to break my record,’ Akhtar said. ‘I’ll be the first person to hug them.’