Fastest Bowlers in the History of the Game

[Grunge101]

Instead of derailing the ''Thompson thinks OD1 bowling performances are useless.'' thread,its prolly better to make a new one.

So Interesting facts

3 out of the top 4 fastest bowlers ever recorded are Aussies.

Lee,Tait,Thompson

Brett lee is the only bowler in the Top 5 who bowls with a Straight/Classical action.

The remaining 4 of the top 5 were Gunslingers or Catapults(Thompson,Shoaib,Tait and Roberts)

In the Top 10,Pakistan and WI's both represent twice.

Akhtar and Sami for the prior and Roberts,Fidel Edwards for the latter.

Almost all Express Bowlers in top 15 are from Aus,Pak or WI.

Malinga and Steyn spoil the party.

 

[Kianig89]

Instead of derailing the ''Thompson thinks OD1 bowling performances are useless.'' thread,its prolly better to make a new one.

So Interesting facts

3 out of the top 4 fastest bowlers ever recorded are Aussies.

Lee,Tait,Thompson

Brett lee is the only bowler in the Top 5 who bowls with a Straight/Classical action.The remaining 4 of the top 5 were Gunslingers or Catapults(Thompson,Shoaib,Tait and Roberts)

In the Top 10,Pakistan and WI's both represent twice.

Akhtar and Sami for the prior and Roberts,Fidel Edwards for the latter.

Almost all Express Bowlers in top 15 are from Aus,Pak or WI.

What about Holding......wasn't he faster as well ......90MPH

 

[liaqat]

Wonder how fast wasim was in his prime?

akhtar was obviously quick and so was sami. waqar was quick but i don't think his pace was measured much in his early days.
and the likes of zahid also,

 

[Stewie]

I think Waqar is hugely underestimated..

I am serious as a heart attack when I say I have no doubt he touched 100 mph a few times when he was at his peak.. The kind of deliveries he bowled at times beating top class batsmen with sheer pace, you cannot do that unless you are that quick.

 

[endymion248]

It's obviously not ''fastest bowler in the history of the game'' but ''fastest bowler ever recorded'' and, just like Aussies claim Thommy to be faster than Lee, many in Pak make the same claim for Zahid and Waqar towards Akhtar.

 

[liaqat]

What about me !!

 

[Justcrazy]

Zahid is fastest.

 

[liaqat]

And me

 

[akheR]

Where could guys like Waqar, Wasim, Marshall, Imran, Allan Donald (in the early 90s, I think he was said to be 2nd fastest bowler after Waqar), ... at their peak stand in such top 10/15 ?

Quite sad from a Pak perspective that sooper phast guys like Atiq-ur-Rehman or Nadeem Iqbal didn't even get an intl. game. :l

 

[Avenger]

The fastest Waqar was ever officially clocked was 153 in 1992-93. I have seen a screenshot of him being recorded at 150 km/hr but i doubt whether he ever touched 100 mph. Zahid appears to have the fastest ball of all time in 1996 clocked at 105 mph.

 

[Mobashir]

Instead of derailing the ''Thompson thinks OD1 bowling performances are useless.'' thread,its prolly better to make a new one.

So Interesting facts

3 out of the top 4 fastest bowlers ever recorded are Aussies.

Lee,Tait,Thompson

Brett lee is the only bowler in the Top 5 who bowls with a Straight/Classical action.

The remaining 4 of the top 5 were Gunslingers or Catapults(Thompson,Shoaib,Tait and Roberts)

In the Top 10,Pakistan and WI's both represent twice.

Akhtar and Sami for the prior and Roberts,Fidel Edwards for the latter.

Almost all Express Bowlers in top 15 are from Aus,Pak or WI.

Malinga and Steyn spoil the party.

I wonder who told you Malinga was int he top 15 fastest bowlers ever...
He will strugle to be in the top 15 even today an you are talking about an all time list...

 

[Hussey_fan]

Ehsan Adil

 

[leatherface58]

Ehsan Adil

Yes fastest in terms of getting injured after making his debut...

 

[LegCutter]

Ehsan Adil

You're not a very high quality poster.

On topic, its amazing 3 of the top 4 fastest bowlers were Aussies! And its also quite sad that Sami and Edwards were able to crack that list :/

 

[PWalsall]

steve finn and stuart broad. i can remember both of them touch 93mph in some matchs

 

[LegCutter]

steve finn and stuart broad. i can remember both of them touch 93mph in some matchs

We're talking about the fastest. 95mph+
Dont know about Finn, but Broad sure as hell wont crack that line :cheema

 

[PWalsall]

We're talking about the fastest. 95mph+
Dont know about Finn, but Broad sure as hell wont crack that line :cheema

Read this article on Steve Finn wanting to bowl 100 mph

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ll-speed-england-to-test-victory-8520073.html

 

[Grunge101]

Where could guys like Waqar, Wasim, Marshall, Imran, Allan Donald (in the early 90s, I think he was said to be 2nd fastest bowler after Waqar), ... at their peak stand in such top 10/15 ?

Quite sad from a Pak perspective that sooper phast guys like Atiq-ur-Rehman or Nadeem Iqbal didn't even get an intl. game. :l

Nobody knows really.Mike Selvey,English Test cricketer and now Pundit writes quite a lot on this subject in his personal blog and for The Guardian.He's very closely witnessed the likes of Thompson,Lilee,Roberts,Holding,Waqar,Donald bowling at their peaks..He once wrote in one of his articles that One of Waqar's spells when he rolled over the English team in a Test series was one of very fastest he has seen.

Again,this guy is a big Thompson fan but this is what he writes when hes asked about the fastest ball he's ever seen.

In fact, I was there at Newlands, in 2003, when Shoaib sent down what was the first officially recorded 100mph delivery. Now I know not whether Shoaib is the fastest ever (and this is not a forum for that chestnut) although I reckon that when on the rampage, before he let the ball go, he would have overtaken in his run-up anything bowled by Paul Collingwood, and know that the fastest single delivery I ever saw castled the New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming in the semi-final of the 1999 World Cup.


Allan Donald and Waqar Younis were more or less equal on average pace as per most people's opinions.

The fastest ball bowled by White Lightning was 152.9 km/hr which is 95 Miles/hour.

The fastest ball bowled by the Burewala Express is 153 km/hr or 95.1 Miles/hour

Wasim at his peak was measured at 92 Miles/Hour.

Dennis Lillee in the 1976 test was measured at 96.2 MPH and Holding at 95.2 MPH

 

[Grunge101]

I wonder who told you Malinga was int he top 15 fastest bowlers ever...
He will strugle to be in the top 15 even today an you are talking about an all time list...

Dont get your knickers in a twist..i do not control speeds guns and nor did i make the top 10 list.The list is based on the fastest balls ''recorded''.

Malinga was once clocked at 96.7 mph.Though he would never make my top 30 fastest bowlers list,let alone Top 15.

 

[endymion248]

Dont get your knickers in a twist..i do not control speeds guns and nor did i make the top 10 list.

Malinga was once clocked at 96.7 mph.Though he would never make my top 30 fastest bowlers list,let alone Top 15.

The problem is bowlers speed are recorded in all conditions nowadays: test/lois, winter or summer, evening or morning, wind on the back or on the face,...

While Waqar's 153 kph or Donald's 152 kph were a one off and it's almost certain the bowled faster than that in their career, probably at least 95 mph.

 

[RehanG]

Waqar in his prime had be one of THE fastest around

 

[amax]

I think Waqar is best in the category of EXPRESS FAST by some margin both in terms of longevity and quality

EXPRESS FAST: Bowlers who can bowl out and out fast spells in test matches


My Rankings

Waqar
Shoib/(Bond??)
Thommo
Lee

dont know if Akram , Steyn, Donald, Bishop et al qualify

 

[Grunge101]

More Interesting facts

Debunking Thompson's claim

''my 100 mph delivery was measured at the batsman's end.Today's bowlers are measured as the ball leaves their hand.''

Thompson has brought this up many times..What he's trying to say is that because his ball speed was measured at the batsman's end,therefore it had lost speed over the course of the pitch..Going by his statements,if you calculate the hypothetical speed lost,Thompson wouldve been measured at over 180 km/hr..Thats ridiculous,Right?..Thompson doesnt think so.

This ofcourse has been debunked.We now know that his recorded speed of 160.5 km/hr during Perth speed tests in December.1975 was actually ''Right out of his hand'' and not when it reached the batsman's end.Eddie Smith of Wisden/ESPN CricInfo fame is the most devoted Bowling speed readings collector on the planet.He's also on Twitter by the name of ''Bowling speeds''.He stated that he had talked with the people in Perth that had conducted the tests and they confirmed the speed was actual ''Release speed'' out of his hand and not the horizontal velocity at the batsman''s end.

Unofficial recordings

There are claims about both Zahid and Tait being measured around the 102 Miles/Hour mark in domestic/club games..The speed guns were unofficial and ICC has declined to accept those results.

Actions Reported

Akhtar and Lee..Both eventually cleared.....Tait also came under some opposition scrutiny but never officially reported.

Subjective Opinions

Opinions of former cricketers who've faced these pace men are very dispersed when it comes to ''the fastest ive faced/seen''.
the names that come up the most are Akhtar and Thompson...Lee,Waqar,Zahid,Holding,Roberts,Garner also get mentions

 

[akheR]

Yes peoples tend to forget Shane Bond... man was a gun and if injuries spared him Steyn wouldn't have been the only genuine fast bowler nowadays.

Just look at that.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FAITp3TbwPA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

What about ? In terms of pace he was really sharp I heard, it's only later on that he 'sacrificed' pace for his well known accuracy.

Also, hate hate but will never forget his opening spell in Australia 2010, when it comes to sheer pace

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YKYLvmlnYnE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[khan1992]

sami ridiculous

 

[endymion248]

I think it's fair to say:

Express post 2000

Tait, Akhtar and Lee

Alleged Express

Waqar, Zahid, Thompson and Holding

Honorable mentions

Bond, Donald, Garner and Lilee

Express post 2010

Ishant Sharma and Atul Sharma

 

[Grunge101]

Yes peoples tend to forget Shane Bond... man was a gun and if injuries spared him Steyn wouldn't have been the only genuine fast bowler nowadays.

Just look at that.

What about ? In terms of pace he was really sharp I heard, it's only later on that he 'sacrificed' pace for his well known accuracy.

Also, hate hate but will never forget his opening spell in Australia 2010, when it comes to sheer pace

Bond was genuinely quick in his hayday.Bowling between 145 to 150 consistently with the effort ball tipping ealy 150's..
The Fastest ball that he's recorded was during WC 2003 at 156.4 km/hr

On Hadlee,i cant seem to find any speed readings on him..and as far as ive heard/read,RH was quick but not in the Express category.He was more Wasim than Waqar.

Sami,well im not a fan either but the fact is that hes been measured at 156.7 km/hr and during a brief period in his Blighted career,he was consistently bowling in the 148-154 km/hr range

 

[wrongun]

What about Holding......wasn't he faster as well ......90MPH

There was no speed gun but Holding has been said by many who were there to have bowled the fastest over ever to Geoff Boycott.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loYyJllsj68

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

In the speed shootout in Perth all those years ago didn't it go

1. Thompson
2. Holding
3. Imran

 

[Saqs]

What about Bond and Zahid?

 

[Kwremb]

I think officially it's Lee, Akhtar & Tait. Others are all speculation, honourable mention to Zahid, Sami & Bond

 

[majiz]

seriously though, who's been the slowest 'fast' (as in not a spinner) bowler to play in fairly recent years? and to play in a side at least as a bowling all-rounder. i remember bangladesh had this left-armer who was just painfully slow.

 

[awaz]

The fastest Waqar was ever officially clocked was 153 in 1992-93. I have seen a screenshot of him being recorded at 150 km/hr but i doubt whether he ever touched 100 mph. Zahid appears to have the fastest ball of all time in 1996 clocked at 105 mph.

 

[dinakar]

In terms of speed alone, Donald may not be the fastest saffer, Hayward generally used to be faster than him. I think I have seen him clocking nearly 155kmph. Klusener in his early days was also very fast, could bowl at 150kmph. Having said that I can't tell how fast was the young Donald, in 91-92 season.

I have heard the claims that in South Africa generally everyone record higher speed due to the geography location- high altitude or thin air or something in that line. Any substance in that? One thing is obvious, EVEN the Indian pacers Zak, Nehra, Sreesanth etc. who used to be bowling at 130s in India and other places can be seen bowling in 140kms in SA pitches. Not sure whether it is this geographical phenomenon or they put extra effort as it is worth there.

 

[dinakar]

I also tend to believe that the fastest Pakistani is none other than Shoaib.

 

[Black Zero]

very interesting but incorrect information...

 

[HamzaSaeen]

Mohammad Irfan and Dale Steyn

Correction, 135kph is not express by any means

 

[vandokkum]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CGBS-HwG55s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Wazeeri]

It seems that we have started this thread without an actual list of fastest recorded deliveries.

Jeff Thompson was recorded at 160 twice, once in 1975 and once in 1976
Andy Roberts bowled at 159 in 1975 and 157 in 1976
Dennis Lillee 154
Holding 150 in 1975 and 153 1976
In 1979 however just 3 years later no one crossed 90mph other than Jeff Thompson who achieved 91mph.

 

[imshally81]

The highest electronically measured speed for a ball bowled by any bowler is 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) by Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan) against England on 22 February 2003 in a World Cup match at Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa.

Quote from World Cup communications director: "ICC has always said there is not enough uniformity in the various speed guns around the world for any one performance to be designated official". However many believe this to have been the fastest ball bowled.

Source : http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-10000/fastest-bowl-of-a-cricket-ball/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_bowling

 

[Junaids]

Many of the quickest bowlers were never measured.

My guess is:

1. Jeff Thomson (74-76)
2. Harold Larwood
3. Charlie Griffith and Roy Gilchrist
4. Malcolm Marshall (83-85)
5. Michael Holding (75-81)
6. Shoaib Akhtar
7. Shaun Tait
8. Waqar Younis (89-92)
9. Neil Adcock
10. Brett Lee

The two I'd most physically fear would be Charlie Griffith and Roy Gilchrist: those two West Indians loved to maim batsmen.

Both Garry Sobers and Hanif Mohammed say that Gilchrist was the fastest bowler ever. Any guy who brands his wife with a red-hot iron is no pussycat.

 

[Wazeeri]

Malcolm Marshal to me did not look express. He was Steyn speed bowler.

 

[Junaids]

Malcolm Marshal to me did not look express. He was Steyn speed bowler.

From 1983 to 1985 Marshall specialised in express spells round the wicket into thebatsman's ribs. Only Mohinder Amarnath developed a response.

Then, from 1985, he learned to move the ball away from the right handed as well as his stock inswinger, and to extend his career reduced his pace from 155K to 135K. Patrick Patterson became the bruiser in the attack, and then Ian Bishop from around 1989.

 

[KA$H]

Both Garry Sobers and Hanif Mohammed say that Gilchrist was the fastest bowler ever. Any guy who brands his wife with a red-hot iron is no pussycat.

any man who does that is an animal

 

[wrongun]

From 1983 to 1985 Marshall specialised in express spells round the wicket into thebatsman's ribs. Only Mohinder Amarnath developed a response.

Then, from 1985, he learned to move the ball away from the right handed as well as his stock inswinger, and to extend his career reduced his pace from 155K to 135K. .

This tallies with what David Boon says about his test debut at the bouncy Gabba in 1984.

Marshall eventually claimed his wicket in both innings, but the second innings Boon got to 20 or 30 (of an eventual 51) before Marshall said to him after he played and missed a few from over the wicket
"Now David, are you going to edge one and get out? Or am I going to have to come around the wicket and kill you?".

 

[Justcrazy]

Some bowlers were genuine quicks , but got injured and it was over.

zahid , patterson are two name that comes to mind.

Bowling fast does not mean you will be successful .

 

[Bewal Express]

The highest electronically measured speed for a ball bowled by any bowler is 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) by Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan) against England on 22 February 2003 in a World Cup match at Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa.

Quote from World Cup communications director: "ICC has always said there is not enough uniformity in the various speed guns around the world for any one performance to be designated official". However many believe this to have been the fastest ball bowled.

Source : http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-10000/fastest-bowl-of-a-cricket-ball/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_bowling

Didn`t look particularly quick.

 

[pakistanalltheway]

Many of the quickest bowlers were never measured.

My guess is:

1. Jeff Thomson (74-76)
2. Harold Larwood
3. Charlie Griffith and Roy Gilchrist
4. Malcolm Marshall (83-85)
5. Michael Holding (75-81)
6. Shoaib Akhtar
7. Shaun Tait
8. Waqar Younis (89-92)
9. Neil Adcock
10. Brett Lee

The two I'd most physically fear would be Charlie Griffith and Roy Gilchrist: those two West Indians loved to maim batsmen.
Both Garry Sobers and Hanif Mohammed say that Gilchrist was the fastest bowler ever. Any guy who brands his wife with a red-hot iron is no pussycat.

? afridi bowls faster than that

 

[Fateh]

Umesh bowled 154 kmph in Australia .

 

[amax]

Umesh bowled 154 kmph in Australia .

We are talking about average speeds in long spells of bowling in tests not one or two odd balls in t20's , Waqar/Donald used to bowl whole day of out and out fast bowling.

 

[Junaids]

? afridi bowls faster than that

Those were the years in which they sustained the highest consistent pace, not speeds!

I'd guesstimate their average speeds during those years as follows, based on what I saw myself (Thomson, Marshall, Holding, Shoaib, Tait, Waqar and Lee) and accounts from players and journalists at the time (Larwood, Griffith, Gilchrist and Adcock).

1. Jeff Thomson (1974-76) - 160-175K
2. Harold Larwood (1932-33) - 165K
3. Charlie Griffith and Roy Gilchrist - 160K
4. Malcolm Marshall (1983-85) - 160K
5. Michael Holding (1975-81) - 155-160K
6. Shoaib Akhtar (1998-2003) - 150-155K
7. Shaun Tait (but only in short spells) - 150-155K
8. Waqar Younis (89-92) - (150K)
9. Neil Adcock (150K)
10. Brett Lee (150K)

 

[wrongun]

We are talking about average speeds in long spells of bowling in tests not one or two odd balls in t20's , Waqar/Donald used to bowl whole day of out and out fast bowling.

Yadav was regularly in the 150's at least one test I remember.

Waqar & Donald would be 150+ all day, that's exagerating history. They'd go from 140's to 150's in different spells.

 

[LethalSami]

Those were the years in which they sustained the highest consistent pace, not speeds!

I'd guesstimate their average speeds during those years as follows, based on what I saw myself (Thomson, Marshall, Holding, Shoaib, Tait, Waqar and Lee) and accounts from players and journalists at the time (Larwood, Griffith, Gilchrist and Adcock).

1. Jeff Thomson (1974-76) - 160-175K
2. Harold Larwood (1932-33) - 165K
3. Charlie Griffith and Roy Gilchrist - 160K
4. Malcolm Marshall (1983-85) - 160K
5. Michael Holding (1975-81) - 155-160K
6. Shoaib Akhtar (1998-2003) - 150-155K
7. Shaun Tait (but only in short spells) - 150-155K
8. Waqar Younis (89-92) - (150K)
9. Neil Adcock (150K)
10. Brett Lee (150K)

talk about over exaggerating history

averaging 155k in a session is SOOOOOO rare.......and unheard of over a day....and IMPOSSIBLE over a Test match...

get a grip man

 

[truefan]

I have seen enough of waqar from 89 series and can surely say in his peak he was not more than 142 average,Sami was way quicker than Waqar... Waqar was a legend but not out n out quick except small spells that too PRE-1996

 

[Junaids]

talk about over exaggerating history

averaging 155k in a session is SOOOOOO rare.......and unheard of over a day....and IMPOSSIBLE over a Test match...

get a grip man

Of course it's rare - that's why this is a list of the fastest bowlers EVER.

I never saw Larwood, but Aussies still speak of him with awe and respect - not hatred - 80 years later.

But I did see Thommo. And until he got his shoulder injury on Christmas Eve in 1976 he was bowling his quickest deliveries at much closer to 180K than 160K, and given that he didn't have a "slower ball" I'd say that his warm-up deliveries in a spell and has slower balls as he tired would have been around 160-165K.

Dennis Lillee was genuine fast, as was Michael Holding and even Bob Willis.

Everyone would agree that in the 74-75 series Lillee and Willis were bowling sustained spells of around 145K, and twelve months later Michael Holding was sustaining spells around 155K.

And all of us would agree that Thommo was at least 20K quicker than Lillee and Willis and 10K faster than Holding. At the very least. If you want evidence, David Lloyd's scrotum still bears the scars from when Thommo smashed his box so hard that it scarred him for life.

Lillee was a better all-round bowler. But nothing will ever convince me that from 1974 to Christmas Eve 1976 Thommo was bowling at an average speed of less than 170K, with his quickest balls probably around 178-180K.

He was at the very least 20K quicker than Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. And he bowled spells of 5-8 eight-ball overs - equivalent to 7-10 six-ball overs and sustained his speed throughout.

 

[amax]

I have seen enough of waqar from 89 series and can surely say in his peak he was not more than 142 average,Sami was way quicker than Waqar... Waqar was a legend but not out n out quick except small spells that too PRE-1996

mugs like crowe, lara, waugh,alec stewart think differently

 

[soso_killer]

Where is Nantie Hayward? He bowled 150 click for fun. Another guy who was unlucky was Mfuneko Ngam he could have been better than Ntini. Before his injury he also bowled and a 150K

 

[soso_killer]

Morkel is probably the fastest bowler playing Test cricket today. If he was accurate he could bowl at 150K unfortunately because of his height it becomes almost impossible for him to bowl full without overpitching. He is definately quicker than Steyn. Thats why i get disappointed watching this guy, i think to myself if he can bowl the Pollock/McGrath length with his pace he would be the greatest bowler of all time. Also he is physicaly stronger than them so he bowls a heavy ball. What a disappointment.

 

[amax]

Morkel is probably the fastest bowler playing Test cricket today. If he was accurate he could bowl at 150K unfortunately because of his height it becomes almost impossible for him to bowl full without overpitching. He is definately quicker than Steyn. Thats why i get disappointed watching this guy, i think to myself if he can bowl the Pollock/McGrath length with his pace he would be the greatest bowler of all time. Also he is physicaly stronger than them so he bowls a heavy ball. What a disappointment.

Morkel's height is his biggest disadvantage, express bowlers are usually short, it helps them
in skidding the ball. I think he should transform himself into a medium pacer in Mcgrath mould.

 

[soso_killer]

Morkel's height is his biggest disadvantage, express bowlers are usually short, it helps them
in skidding the ball. I think he should transform himself into a medium pacer in Mcgrath mould.

exactly its what i've been saying for a while now. He bowls at 144 on average and can crank it up to 147 in certain spells. If he cuts that down by 6KPH he still bowls at 138. McGrath and Pollock used to bowl 128-132.

 

[Bilbo]

Instead of derailing the ''Thompson thinks OD1 bowling performances are useless.'' thread,its prolly better to make a new one.

So Interesting facts

3 out of the top 4 fastest bowlers ever recorded are Aussies.

Lee,Tait,Thompson

Brett lee is the only bowler in the Top 5 who bowls with a Straight/Classical action.

The remaining 4 of the top 5 were Gunslingers or Catapults(Thompson,Shoaib,Tait and Roberts)

In the Top 10,Pakistan and WI's both represent twice.

Akhtar and Sami for the prior and Roberts,Fidel Edwards for the latter.

Almost all Express Bowlers in top 15 are from Aus,Pak or WI.

Malinga and Steyn spoil the party.

Wakar all the way!!!, for pure pace shoaib and the dad of shoaib Zahid. Shoaib admitted that Zahid was yard faster

 

[Convict]

Of course it's rare - that's why this is a list of the fastest bowlers EVER.

I never saw Larwood, but Aussies still speak of him with awe and respect - not hatred - 80 years later.

But I did see Thommo. And until he got his shoulder injury on Christmas Eve in 1976 he was bowling his quickest deliveries at much closer to 180K than 160K, and given that he didn't have a "slower ball" I'd say that his warm-up deliveries in a spell and has slower balls as he tired would have been around 160-165K.

Dennis Lillee was genuine fast, as was Michael Holding and even Bob Willis.

Everyone would agree that in the 74-75 series Lillee and Willis were bowling sustained spells of around 145K, and twelve months later Michael Holding was sustaining spells around 155K.

And all of us would agree that Thommo was at least 20K quicker than Lillee and Willis and 10K faster than Holding. At the very least. If you want evidence, David Lloyd's scrotum still bears the scars from when Thommo smashed his box so hard that it scarred him for life.

Lillee was a better all-round bowler. But nothing will ever convince me that from 1974 to Christmas Eve 1976 Thommo was bowling at an average speed of less than 170K, with his quickest balls probably around 178-180K.

He was at the very least 20K quicker than Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. And he bowled spells of 5-8 eight-ball overs - equivalent to 7-10 six-ball overs and sustained his speed throughout.

It's interesting how everyone who saw Thommo before his injury and has seen Lee rates Thommo as the faster bowler.

 

[Bilbo]

Some bowlers were genuine quicks , but got injured and it was over.

zahid , patterson are two name that comes to mind.

Bowling fast does not mean you will be successful .

Post is about fastest, not successful , anyone can get injured, it is pure luck. A slip here a fall there, and ur back gone!

 

[Bilbo]

Well I have witnessed a non test playing bowler as a brute of them all, his name wasim chaati, from gujranwala. With A couple of steps he would bowl at 95 mph. Imran told him to go back and correct his runup in early 90s. It was rumored that Imran felt a threat from him. Although I don't believe that. In 87, he was bowling in a friendly match and got pissed. We saw him bowling a Beamer to scare the batsman. The Beamer went for six byes!!

 

[Fateh]

We are talking about average speeds in long spells of bowling in tests not one or two odd balls in t20's , Waqar/Donald used to bowl whole day of out and out fast bowling.

saw him bowl a over in which the slowest delivery was 149kmph & rest all above 151.

 

[Fateh]

btw, people who followed Waqar say his pace was around 145 & his best effort of the day would prolly be 150 & this was when he was at his peak[ first 30 tests or so] .

 

[liaqat]

Again people can say what they like but officially the fastest bowler to date is one and only
Shoaib Akhtar,


the rest are all talk and rumors.

 

[Avenger]

btw, people who followed Waqar say his pace was around 145 & his best effort of the day would prolly be 150 & this was when he was at his peak[ first 30 tests or so] .

Waqar express claims are over exaggerated. I believe he was normally operating at 140-145 km/hr with his effort deliveries with the old ball i.e. the inswinging yorker touching 150-152 km/hr maximum but he wasnt a Shoaib operating at 148-155 km/hr in his spells at his peak.

 

[Junaids]

Waqar express claims are over exaggerated. I believe he was normally operating at 140-145 km/hr with his effort deliveries with the old ball i.e. the inswinging yorker touching 150-152 km/hr maximum but he wasnt a Shoaib operating at 148-155 km/hr in his spells at his peak.

No, I don't agree at all.

I think you're right about the period 1992-1996, covering the two tours of England.

But he had lost considerable pace after he got the stress fractures in his back in late 1991. Before that he was the fastest bowler in the world - faster than Donald, faster than Bishop and faster than Sylvester Clarke and Patrick Patterson.

I was studying at university in London, and I used to go and watch him at The Oval for Surrey. I remember one county match against Hampshire in 1991, which I went to because I wanted to compare Waqar and Aaqib Javed, with one eye on the following summer's tour of England.

It was late summer - around the start of September - so the pitch was hard, dry and quick.

Hampshire bowled first, and Aaqib was quicker than I expected but took only one wicket in the first innings. Waqar then simply murdered Hampshire.

He took 6-45 in the first innings, including the former England opener Paul Terry, followed by 6-47 in the second innings, when he also forced Mark Nicholas off retired hurt. He was by far the quickest bowler in England that summer - and that summer was a West Indies tour summer.

Seriously, until 1992 he was bowling at well over 150K. But he saw Ian Bishop's career ruined by back stress fractures - Bishop was the other outstanding pace prospect in world cricket in the period 1988-1992 - and he made a conscious decision to drop his average pace to extend his career.

 

[bin_pendi_ka_lota]

talk about over exaggerating history

averaging 155k in a session is SOOOOOO rare.......and unheard of over a day....and IMPOSSIBLE over a Test match...

get a grip man

+1. I dont think any of them pensioners were anywhere around 150K. 140K would have been best for them.


In last 20-30 years atleast 10K+ has been added bowling speed purely because of medical science.
And 5K+ is probably down to training regime and professionalism.

I have watched quite few but I dont think that apart from Akhtar, Lee, Tait any one else would have touched 100M barrier....

And Akhtar seemed fastest of the lot.

 

[alexjohn_tcr]

Brett Schultz the SA bowler was rated by many as the fastest in the world along with Donald

 

[Fateh]

No, I don't agree at all.

I think you're right about the period 1992-1996, covering the two tours of England.

But he had lost considerable pace after he got the stress fractures in his back in late 1991. Before that he was the fastest bowler in the world - faster than Donald, faster than Bishop and faster than Sylvester Clarke and Patrick Patterson.

I was studying at university in London, and I used to go and watch him at The Oval for Surrey. I remember one county match against Hampshire in 1991, which I went to because I wanted to compare Waqar and Aaqib Javed, with one eye on the following summer's tour of England.

It was late summer - around the start of September - so the pitch was hard, dry and quick.

Hampshire bowled first, and Aaqib was quicker than I expected but took only one wicket in the first innings. Waqar then simply murdered Hampshire.

He took 6-45 in the first innings, including the former England opener Paul Terry, followed by 6-47 in the second innings, when he also forced Mark Nicholas off retired hurt. He was by far the quickest bowler in England that summer - and that summer was a West Indies tour summer.

Seriously, until 1992 he was bowling at well over 150K. But he saw Ian Bishop's career ruined by back stress fractures - Bishop was the other outstanding pace prospect in world cricket in the period 1988-1992 - and he made a conscious decision to drop his average pace to extend his career.

nice post dost but i have seen the tapes of sharjah matches & the test series in which Srikanth was skipper, waqar did not look any where near 150 .

 

[ahmed778]

No, I don't agree at all.

I think you're right about the period 1992-1996, covering the two tours of England.

But he had lost considerable pace after he got the stress fractures in his back in late 1991. Before that he was the fastest bowler in the world - faster than Donald, faster than Bishop and faster than Sylvester Clarke and Patrick Patterson.

I was studying at university in London, and I used to go and watch him at The Oval for Surrey. I remember one county match against Hampshire in 1991, which I went to because I wanted to compare Waqar and Aaqib Javed, with one eye on the following summer's tour of England.

It was late summer - around the start of September - so the pitch was hard, dry and quick.

Hampshire bowled first, and Aaqib was quicker than I expected but took only one wicket in the first innings. Waqar then simply murdered Hampshire.

He took 6-45 in the first innings, including the former England opener Paul Terry, followed by 6-47 in the second innings, when he also forced Mark Nicholas off retired hurt. He was by far the quickest bowler in England that summer - and that summer was a West Indies tour summer.

Seriously, until 1992 he was bowling at well over 150K. But he saw Ian Bishop's career ruined by back stress fractures - Bishop was the other outstanding pace prospect in world cricket in the period 1988-1992 - and he made a conscious decision to drop his average pace to extend his career.

How can someone take you seriously?
I mean you said that Thompson's slower balls or warm up balls were above 160 kph.
If that isn't the most ridiculous claim than i don't know what is.

 

[Junaids]

How can someone take you seriously?
I mean you said that Thompson's slower balls or warm up balls were above 160 kph.
If that isn't the most ridiculous claim than i don't know what is.

Just watch Thommo's spells on old ABC coverage. He had an action like a javelin thrower, and seriously, in 74-76 his first and last few deliveries of a spell might have been around 160K until his shoulders were nice and loose.

But the 30-40 balls in the middle of the spell would have been 175, 175, 177, 178, 180, 175, 175 or something along the lines of it.

He was MILES faster than the likes of Lee and Tait.

Incidentally, the comments about science are stupid. Everyone knows that bulked up "artificial" physiques reduce pace, like Craig McDermott. Lots of fast bowling in long spells worked better, like with Trueman and the West Indians. Today's fast bowlers are markedly slower than their 1970s predecessors.

The only thing which makes recent cricketers appear fast is the improved measuring devices.

 

[Junaids]

Incidentally, if you watch Thommo on YouTube you will see that he is the only bowler in world history to have a delivery go for six byes in a Test.

Twice, at Perth and Sydney, his bouncers went past the nose of the batsman, over Rodney Marsh's head, and hit the sight screen without bouncing.

 

[amlafan79]

honestly lee and akthar were the quickest ever
tait was quick in short bursts

 

[bin_pendi_ka_lota]

Incidentally, if you watch Thommo on YouTube you will see that he is the only bowler in world history to have a delivery go for six byes in a Test.

Twice, at Perth and Sydney, his bouncers went past the nose of the batsman, over Rodney Marsh's head, and hit the sight screen without bouncing.

Their have been other... I saw patterson and Akhtar going for six and allmost six byes...

 

[ahmed778]

Incidentally, if you watch Thommo on YouTube you will see that he is the only bowler in world history to have a delivery go for six byes in a Test.

Twice, at Perth and Sydney, his bouncers went past the nose of the batsman, over Rodney Marsh's head, and hit the sight screen without bouncing.

How is that possible i don't think it is possible to get Six Byes, it can only be 5 wides if it does go over the boundary without bouncing.

 

[Bilbo]

How is that possible i don't think it is possible to get Six Byes, it can only be 5 wides if it does go over the boundary without bouncing.

He meant to say the ball went over the boundary without hitting the ground, whatever it gets you was awarded?

 

[pakistanalltheway]

Those were the years in which they sustained the highest consistent pace, not speeds!

I'd guesstimate their average speeds during those years as follows, based on what I saw myself (Thomson, Marshall, Holding, Shoaib, Tait, Waqar and Lee) and accounts from players and journalists at the time (Larwood, Griffith, Gilchrist and Adcock).

1. Jeff Thomson (1974-76) - 160-175K
2. Harold Larwood (1932-33) - 165K
3. Charlie Griffith and Roy Gilchrist - 160K
4. Malcolm Marshall (1983-85) - 160K
5. Michael Holding (1975-81) - 155-160K
6. Shoaib Akhtar (1998-2003) - 150-155K
7. Shaun Tait (but only in short spells) - 150-155K
8. Waqar Younis (89-92) - (150K)
9. Neil Adcock (150K)
10. Brett Lee (150K)

Ok when you wrote Thompson 74 I thought you meant his pace lol i was way off .