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Top 10 Fastest Bowlers In Cricket History

  • Post category:Cricket
  • Reading time:13 mins read
  • Post last modified:February 3, 2023

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In this post, we will check out the top 10 fastest bowlers in Cricket history.

Cricket is a sport that requires speed, accuracy, and strength. Among all the skills that a cricketer needs to master, fast bowling is one of the most critical and challenging.

The ability to bowl quick deliveries and baffle the batsman can make or break a bowler’s career. Over the years, many fast bowlers have graced the cricketing world and left their mark.

From Australian speedsters like Jeff Thomson, and Brett Lee, to Pakistani fast sensation Shoaib Akhtar, fast bowlers have been an integral part of cricket’s rich history.

It is a demanding job, so without further delay, let’s go ahead and check out the top 10 fastest bowlers in Cricket history.

Top 10 Fastest Bowlers In Cricket History

10 Shane Bond

Image Credit- Cricket World

Shane Bond is known as “New Zealand’s best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee”. He is one of the fastest right-arm bowlers and his fastest delivery is 156.4km/h

His fastest delivery of 156.4 km/h was clocked against India in the 2003 World Cup. He is known for fast, lethal, and fearful pace bowling.

In later years he suffered from back problems, knee injuries, and an abdominal tear. Bond was also selected to play in the 3rd season of the Indian Premier League for the franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.

On 13 May 2010, he retired from all forms of the cricket game. He took 87 Test wickets, 147 ODI wickets, and 25 T20I wickets during his career for the BlackCaps. He is number 10 in our list of the top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history.

9 Mohammad Sami

Image Credit- Free Press Journal

Mohammad Sami is one of the fastest Pakistani bowlers ever in the history of the game. His bowling delivery of 156.4 kph (97.1 mph) is the second-fastest by any bowler in Pakistan cricket.

He has achieved that feat in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2003. Sami’s debut in international cricket is phenomenal. He took eight wickets for 106 runs on his Test debut against New Zealand and also took a fifer in the second innings.

During his career, he took 85 wickets from 36 Tests, 121 wickets from 87 ODIs, and 21 wickets from 13 T20Is. Mohammad Sami is number 9 in our list of the top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history.

8 Mitchell Johnson

Image Credit- Fox Sports

Mitchell Johnson is a left-arm fast bowler and was regarded to be one of the greatest fast bowlers of his era.

Mitchell is an Australian bowler. His fastest bowl is clocked with a delivery speed of 156.8 kph (97.4 mph). He achieved this feat against England in the fourth Ashes test in Australia.

Johnson received his second Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and first ICC Test Player of the Year award in 2014. He also played a pivotal role in the semi-final and final matches of the 2015 World Cup.

His performance eventually topped Australia to win the World Cup for the fifth time. He was surely a match-winner for Australia.

Mitchell Johnson took a total of 313 Test wickets, 239 ODI wickets, and 38 T20I wickets during his career for Australia.

7 Fidel Edwards

Image Credit- Eurosport

Fidel Edwards is one of the fastest bowlers in the West Indies. He is known for his sheer pace and aggression. Fidel Edwards’s fastest bowl was clocked against South Africa in 2003.

Fidel bowled his fastest delivery with a great speed of 157.7 km/hr. He made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2002 in Jamaica and picked up the fifer in the first innings.

He took a total of 165 Test wickets, 60 ODI wickets, and 20 T20I wickets during his career for the West Indies cricket team.

6 Andy Roberts

Image Credit- Wisden

Andy Roberts is considered the father of contemporary West Indian fast bowling. Roberts was phenomenal playing for the West Indies. He has taken seven wickets twice in Test innings. 

Andy Roberts is one of the fastest bowlers with the fastest delivery recorded being 159.5 kph (99.1 mph). He has also made 10-wicket test hauls twice during his career.

Andy Roberts was probably one of the fastest and best bowlers during the late 1970s and the early 80s.

He was also part of the West Indies World Cup Winning squad of 1975 and 1979. Roberts took a total of 202 wickets in the test and 87 wickets in ODIs. He is number 6 in our list of the top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history.

5 Mitchell Starc

Image Credit- ESPNcricinfo

Mitchell Starc is a left-arm fast bowler and one of the fastest bowlers of this current era. He was an eminent member of the Australian squad that won the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

For his excellent performance, he was announced Player of the Tournament. He was clocked with the fastest delivery speed of 160.4 kph (99.7 mph).

He has achieved the feat against Ross Taylor of New Zealand. Starc later became the fastest bowler to take 100 ODI wickets which he achieved in just 52 innings beating Saqlain Mushtaq’s 19-year-old record of taking 100 wickets in 53 innings.

He took a total of 269 Test wickets and 195 ODI wickets during his career for the Australian cricket team.

4 Jeff Thomson

top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history
Image Credit- Wisden

Jeff Thomson is considered one of the fastest bowlers in the history of cricket. He is probably the fastest bowler of his era.

Thomson was clocked at the speed of 160.6 kmph against the West Indies in Perth in 1975. Jeff Thomson was terrifying for any batting lineup during his prime.

His pace is outrageous and his sheer pace is enough to snatch victories for the team. Thomson’s consistency in delivering a fast bowl is something that is unmatchable.

His Partnership with Dennis Lillee is a terrifying sight for the opposition team. He was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2016.

Thomson took 200 Test wickets and 55 ODI wickets during his career. He is number 4 in our list of the top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history.

3 Brett Lee

top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history
Image Credit- DNA India

Brett Lee was acknowledged as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. He is the second-fastest bowler with a delivery speed of 160.8 kph (99.9 mph).

He has achieved that feat against New Zealand at Napier in 2005. His performance also helped Australia to win World Cup twice in the years 2003 and 2007.

Lee finished his Test career with a total of 310 wickets, and his One Day International career with 380 wickets. He is regarded as one of the best bowlers of his generation.

He is known for his lethal pace and pinpoint accuracy. Lee was also the first bowler to claim a hat-trick in a T20I match. Brett Lee is number 3 in our list of the top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history.

2 Shaun Tait

top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history
Image Credit- Sky Sports

Shaun Tait was one of the fastest bowlers in the world during his time. He played as a right-arm fast bowler and represented Australia in all three forms of cricket.

Shaun is an Australian cricketer. The fastest bowl clocked at a speed of 161.1 kph (100.1 mph) against England at Lords in 2010.

His performance in the 2007 World Cup was phenomenal. He finished the tournament as the joint-second leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets.

Tait retired from first-class cricket in 2009, and from One Day Internationals in March 2011, to focus on playing T20 cricket.

In March 2017, Tait declared his retirement from all forms of cricket. He played a total of 35 ODIs and took 62 wickets with an economy of 5.19.

1 Shoaib Akhtar

top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history

Shoaib Akhtar is considered one of the fastest bowlers in the history of international cricket. He has been clocked with a delivery speed of 161.3  km/h (100.23 mph) in a Day International during the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

Akhtar was known by the nickname “Rawalpindi Express”. He put an official world record by breaking 100 mph twice a year.

Akhtar is known for his fierce bowling and distinctive action. Akhtar took a total of 178 Test wickets and 247 ODI wickets during his career for the Pakistan Cricket team. Shoaib Akhtar tops the list of the top 10 fastest bowlers in cricket history.

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Kamran Khan

A geek, who just loves to update sports, gaming, and tech updates from around the world to the other geeks out there. A passionate sports lover, a tech geek from the mind, and a gamer from the heart.

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