Since Shoaib Akhtar lives not too far away

I live in Islamabad, Pakistan, and I used to go to a cricket academy nearby. Since Shoaib Akhtar lives not too far away, he would occasionally come there and bowl a few deliveries.

I only saw him once, back in 2015. He was visiting the academy and I was thrilled to meet him. I remember him putting on his bowling shoes and asking everyone who wanted to be the batsman to face him.

No-one wanted to be in that unfortunate position, so nobody took up his offer. That is, until our coach decided to step up.

Now remember, this was a 40-year-old Shoaib who had just jogged for a couple of minutes as part of his warm-up routine. Everyone was waiting with anticipation to see what he could do.

The first ball was a rapid bouncer and Coach just barely managed to duck under it.

 

The next ball was pitched on a good length, but was steeply rising, and Coach tried to play a pull shot, but missed.

The next few balls were the same, with Coach failing to put bat to ball on a single delivery.

Finally, on the last ball, which was pitched on a fuller length, Coach played a defensive shot. To our amazement, he came and showed us his bat, which was slightly cracked at that point where it had come into contact with the ball.

Now imagine a young, charged-up Akhtar at his peak, bowling at 150+ km/h.

Would a common person be able to face his bowling?

I don't think so.

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