Thompson was faster the Holding 5/7 clicks. He was the fastest bowler of his era and that too by far. Watch the video below:
Thomo was clearly the fastest, even when past his prime, and I believe after shoulder injury.
I have seen this video several times - a very catchy one in 70s standard. It's a bluff, which Holding (or Khan) explained later - every bowler was bowling, Thompson bowled chest height full toss. As I said, it was very colorful in 70s - high speed camera, slow mo ................ now days they analyze these with super motion high speed 3D camera, with a slow mo capable enough to record the squeeze of a golf ball after being hit by the club for some micro second. Shohaib, Lee & probably Zahid (& WY) clocked 160+ in match situation. I believe in such jokes, any of them could have reached 170KM bowling beamers without caring for the front foot.
Here the discussion is about average speed - may be we can take the fastest couple of years pace for a bowler. A bowler can only bowl consistently 145km+ if he is extremely fit athlete, with rhythmic fast run-up & extremely smooth action. The fundamental of fast bowling is very similar to a javelin thrower or a triple jumper - you gain momentum from your fast run-up, you use your body as a spring coil to transfer that momentum through smooth bowling action & strong ligaments (that's why it's bowling, not throwing or pitching like baseball - you can't use force from your elbow) & use your front foot as a launching pad to release the momentum into a 5.5 oz leather piece & finally a perfect follow-through for a proper rehabilitation (otherwise you can't bowl fast more than 2/3 overs). I can tell that, if the NO Ball rule is changed to back-foot law like till 50s, every fast bowler of modern era 'll add 7 to 10 KM with their effort ball, just by landing front-foot randomly. Now, without that smooth run-up & rhythmic action, if you are to bowl FAST for longer spells, you have to have a Cyborg's shoulders. I picked Holding because his run-up & action was silky, he could bowl fast for hours together. Shohaib & Lee (& the other 2) I have SEEN in my own eyes & some of them at nets, from 20 yards.
In 70s with live telecast & increasing money, Cricket entered into professional era from those armature days & there is always a first movers hype - from those SUPER FAST days of Tyson & Hall, in 70s, first time world watched a bowler carrying the ball to WK, still on the rise - it's something like Juan Manuel Fangio - first time he drove a car at a speed closer to what I did in 2010 from Stuttgart to Munich on Autobann - drive around 200KM/hr. These footage are taken in practice session, still it's showing pace of ~140KM for most - that's Srinath's average pace during his fastest days - now one has to explain me that the footage must be taken by poor camera, you have to add 20km with that.
Cricket reached it Zenith in 80s & 90s, before that for 20 years, it was transforming from an elite English armature pass time to a Professional sports, after that dirty people stole the life of the game - you talk anything between late 70s to late 90s, I am with you; rest I 'll have some "Critical thinking to share".
Cricket is a very easy game, until you make it complex thinking critically. Do you think that, when I BOLDLY made that comment that "certainly not Thompson", I wasn't aware of this joke video?