On This Day: April 27, 2002 - Shoaib Akhtar becomes the first man to break the 100mph barrier

[Saj]

27 April 2002

Shoaib Akhtar became the first man to break the 100mph barrier when he was clocked bowling to Craig McMillan at 100.04 mph (161kph) during a one-day international against New Zealand in Lahore. The record remained unofficial - the ICC refused to sanction it as it did not have a standard measuring tool. The previous fastest recorded speed was 99.8mph by Australia's Jeff Thomson in 1975, although that did not take place during a match.

 

[MenInG]

Added video for another 100mph delivery by Akhtar - wonder if the batsman even knew what he had just played!

[utube]55hJb-M89PY[/utube]​

 

[HamzaSaeen]

the match was played in Lahore,Pakistan......so the question mark on the speed Measuring instrument always remains

:shoaib crossed the 100mph barrier in South Africa as well, which was the fastest ball ever bowled- would they have faulty speed guns as well? I don't think so.

 

[jeezymalik]

Aahhhh Man still remember the delivery, there wont be another Shoaib akhtar foo shoo..

 

[s28]

I am sure if PCB had Captained, Coached and Managed him properly he could have bowled at 105 mph.

He had the combination of physique, desire, mental attitude and physical abnormality that gave him that capacity. We will never see the like again.

People used to lambast him for his supposed lack of games. What we should have marvelled at is that he played for so long at such a high level as the examples of Tait, Zahid, Irshad show that it is physically impossible to bowl at such extreme pace for any length of time because of the demand it places on your body.

 

[ahmed778]

:shoaib crossed the 100mph barrier in South Africa as well, which was the fastest ball ever bowled- would they have faulty speed guns as well? I don't think so.

That too in a WC, measured by official ICC Speed Guns.

 

[Mamoon]

Added video for another 100mph delivery by Akhtar - wonder if the batsman even knew what he had just played!

[utube]55hJb-M89PY[/utube]​

I remember this one. The speed of the delivery has been overshadowed by how well Nick Knight played it. I think that is more remarkable.

 

[The Dark Corner]

A remarkable moment in cricketing history from an excitingly fiery bowler.

He needed to be managed and treated a certain way to get the best out of him. Yet another unfortunate career which could have been much better. Still, he was great to watch at his peak.

 

[Gigii]

I remember this one. The speed of the delivery has been overshadowed by how well Nick Knight played it. I think that is more remarkable.

Really? Seemed like a pretty stock length ball tucking the batsman up for room.

 

[Mamoon]

27 April 2002....Shoaib Akhtar Bowls over 100mph

Really? Seemed like a pretty stock length ball tucking the batsman up for room.

Still, it is the fastest recorded delivery in history and it didn't beat the batsman. He played it convincingly.

 

[Citizen4]

On This Day 15 Years ago, Shoaib Akhtar became the first bowler to break the 100 mph barrier

Salute to our Icon.


Oh, what we would give to have a bowler like him right now.

 

[pakistani pride]

Dayyuuumm 15 years already.

 

[super hitter]

SO What? Brett lee was always the better bowler.

 

[Citizen4]

SO What? Brett lee was always the better bowler.

Why are you bringing Lee in this thread where Shoaib Akhtar made a world record about pace.
Learn to appreciate our Icons.

 

[JaDed]

Wow feeling old,remember when Shoaib was the biggest thing in Asian cricket hated and loved across.

 

[Zak_Fan]

Why are you bringing Lee in this thread where Shoaib Akhtar made a world record about pace.
Learn to appreciate our Icons.

Stop mocking SharmaJi for no reason. Thanks.

 

[waleed88]

Bad memories associated with the time that delivery was bowled... it was a forgettable match and World Cup for Pakistan... Wish this milestone happened somewhere else but during this time

 

[Hawkeye]

Wish we can have one more Shoaib Akhtar in our lifetime.

Poetry in motion.

 

[Ramez]

Mohd. Zahid would have bowled many balls more faster than dis but no speedmeters were available when he was at his peak. M. Sami also bowled 164kph delivery vs NZ in 2004-05 series but ICC refused its authenticity. But honestly Shoaib was certainly the fastest and many times caused collapses from nowhere
on his own

 

[Speedster777]

Wish we get to see another Shoaib Akhtar in green shirt soon. I watch cricket for the thrill of fast bowling.

 

[Abdullah719]

Who will be the next one?

 

[CadPakFan]

Who will be the next one?

Mitchell Starc, he's already done it in Ashes Cricket, only a matter of time when he does it in real life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF_yf5G1D3Q

[utube]xF_yf5G1D3Q[/utube]

 

[Asch Ali]

Wahab Riaz has bowled 156 kmph. If Wahab Riaz ran in from the boundary and chucked it about 60 degrees, he would’ve hit 160 kmph consistently.

 

[Junaids]

27 April 2002

Shoaib Akhtar became the first man to break the 100mph barrier when he was clocked bowling to Craig McMillan at 100.04 mph (161kph) during a one-day international against New Zealand in Lahore. The record remained unofficial - the ICC refused to sanction it as it did not have a standard measuring tool. The previous fastest recorded speed was 99.8mph by Australia's Jeff Thomson in 1975, although that did not take place during a match.

I don’t want to be an apologist for Apartheid, but the Transvaal Police radar gun was used to measure a match spell by Sylvester Clarke in which his slowest ball was 157.5K and his fastest was 162.5K which is 101 mph.

I watched Clarke, and believe his faster balls were chucked.

So I don’t think that Shoaib can claim to be the first bowler measured to break the 100 mph barrier.

I do accept that Jeff Thomson was only ever measured in-match once, in the 1975-76 Perth Test, and his fastest delivery was 160.6K (99.8 mph), albeit using Photo-Sonics 500 Frame Per Second analogue cameras which were 20 times more accurate than the 25 Frame Per Second analogue cameras which captured Shoaib’s delivery.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I personally think the speed guns in the World Cup were a little dodgy as every other delivery was clocking high on it. The fastest spells from Shoaib were, and I maintain this, the spells to New Zealand in 2002, early 1999 Pepsi triangular , 2002 bilateral ODIs against Australia etc. Forget the speed gun. He was rushing the batsmen for sheer pace and was consistently a physical threat. Also the 99 World Cup. BThat 100.2 mph delivery was played much more easily than it should have been.

 

[MenInG]

Another anniversary to remember what Akhtar could do - if only we could get more bowling like that for Pakistan today.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Phenomenal achievement but few of those record breaking fast deliveries lost their excitement as batsmen played them with ease. That's still the lasting impression of these deliveries.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On this day, I was at one of my favorite grounds in the world i.e Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.<br>Temperature was soaring high, Adrenalin was higher! Haha<br>What an amazing memory. Something that got me the tag of 'fastest bowler on the planet'. <br>Allah ka bahut bahut Shukar itni izzat di. <a href="https://t.co/b8Wvv2ozi7">pic.twitter.com/b8Wvv2ozi7</a></p>— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) <a href="https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1122028989378383872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

Phenomenal achievement but few of those record breaking fast deliveries lost their excitement as batsmen played them with ease. That's still the lasting impression of these deliveries.

More a compliment to 'those' batsmen - doesnt take away his achievement

 

[KyoOne]

Once in a lifetime bowler

 

[big_gamer007]

Shoaib was the most exciting bowler to watch .. He had an aura and fear factor about him. His deliveries to tendulkar and David were just truly amazing.

We lack characters like Shoaib sometimes I wish ICC makes ball tampering legal so we can see high quality bowling.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

These days 145k is the new 161k, medium fast are known as fast and fast bowlers are known as express fast bowlers.

 

[Chokli]

These days 145k is the new 161k, medium fast are known as fast and fast bowlers are known as express fast bowlers.

Seriously, people over-hyping Hasnain because he can occasionally hit 150.

 

[Hasan123]

What an entertainer Akthar was. Enjoyed watching him bowl.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 2002. Shoaib Akhtar became the first man to break the 100mph barrier when he was clocked bowling to Craig McMillan at 100.04mph (161kph) during a one-day international against New Zealand in Lahore <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/jZIoOe79v6">pic.twitter.com/jZIoOe79v6</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1254676197243588610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[sweep_shot]

That was a great milestone. It was probably unthinkable at that time.

 

[BouncerGuy]

The first guy who broke the 100mph barrier in world Cricket, our very own " The Rawalpindi Express", Shoaib Akhtar. He made history on this day some 22 years ago.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1784112197464916455

 

[Timewaster]

What was his fastest ever recorded in a Test match? vs NZ in NZ i remember him bowling 158kph in a Test

 

[ElRaja]

What was his fastest ever recorded in a Test match? vs NZ in NZ i remember him bowling 158kph in a Test

i will go to the grave arguing this is the fastest ball he ever bowled, lol

literally zero ballistic trajectory.

we wont ever see another one of his type, no one is gonna risk their body bowling 95+ test spells in the t20 era.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

i will go to the grave arguing this is the fastest ball he ever bowled, lol

literally zero ballistic trajectory.

we wont ever see another one of his type, no one is gonna risk their body bowling 95+ test spells in the t20 era.

This was when his action was more like Waqars. Fearsome bowling.

You are right we won't see these long fast intense spells again.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

i will go to the grave arguing this is the fastest ball he ever bowled, lol

literally zero ballistic trajectory.

we wont ever see another one of his type, no one is gonna risk their body bowling 95+ test spells in the t20 era.

That was as much reverse as much as pace that rushed Boucher.

For me, it's the ball to Watto in 2002


A little straighter and fuller and it would've 100 % killed Watto.

 

[ElRaja]

This was when his action was more like Waqars. Fearsome bowling.

You are right we won't see these long fast intense spells again.

he was an athletic dream in his earlier years, lithe, strong, flexible. post injuries he put on weight and muscle to compensate for the loss of whip in his action, could still bowl freaky fast but not the same as that era.