Cricket fastest bowlers are usually most entertaining to watch. If they employ their wit and abilities, they are someone who is most productive and match winners wherever. Every batsmen in the world have very little time to play strokes against raw pace bowling, so it is especially dangerous to face fastest bowler in the world who have extra pace in their arsenal. There have been few fastest bowlers in cricket history who could consistently bowl quick over 90 miles per hour.
Here’s a list of Top 10 fastest bowlers in the world –
1. Shoaib Akhtar – 161.3 km/hr
Shoaib akhtar is the fastest bowler in the world and is popularly known as ‘Rawalpindi Express’. He often regarded as possibly the best of all super fast bowlers. Shoaib akhtar produced the sort of devastating bowling spells that change a match and thrill a crowd. However, his bowling was more than just fast pace. Shoaib’s temperament had always been fiery in cricket. Apparently he was the most fascinating to watch, especially when running to bowl in. Numerous fast bowling speed records belong to Shoaib Akhtar. His 159 km/h, 159.3 km/h, 158.4 km/h, and 161 km/h fast bowling speeds.
One of the most dangerous fast bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar used to cause mayhem on the field against all teams in the world. Shoaib Akhtar used to intimidate the opposing batsmen with his incredible speed and ferocious bouncers. In 2003 World Cup match against England, Shoaib Akhtar bowled the fastest ball in cricket history at a speed of 161.3 kmph (100.2 mph) to Nick Knight, breaking the 100 mph barrier for the first time in the history of cricket.
He played 46 Tests and took fabulous 178 wickets with a average of 25.69, a strike rate of 45.7 with 10 five-wicket hauls to his name. His six wickets for just 11 runs his test career best against New Zealand in 2002. Shoaib played in 163 ODI games throughout the course of his career, taking magnificent 247 wickets with an average of 24.97 and and strike rate of 31,4 respectively. His greatest bowling performance in an ODI match came against New Zealand in 2002, 6 for 16 runs.
2. Shaun Tait – 161.1 km/hr
Shaun Tait is one of the most incredible fastest bowler in the world, known as “The Wild Thing.” A muscular and brutal bowler with a shoulder-strong action, Tait had all the qualities to be one of the most dangerous fast bowlers of all time. He had a reputation as one of the quickest bowlers because of his consistent ability to bowl at speeds of up to 155 kilometres per hour. Tait often bowled the ball at up to 155 km/h and even faster.
He charged in full force and sent thunderbolts at the batsman who thudded furiously. The fastest ball ever recorded in Australia was bowled by Tait 160.7 against Pakistan on February 5, 2010, during a T20 international. Tait bowled even more fastest delivery in 2010, clocking 161.1 kph in a one day match against England at Lord’s. It is the second fastest ball that has ever recorded in the history of cricket.
3. Brett lee – 161.1 km/hr
Brett Lee is simply the most sensational fastest bowler in the world who has dominated cricket world till his last match. Brett lee was remarkable and had the ability of being able to bowl at 160 km/h, or 100 mph. He was exceptional because of his raw and unadulterated pace. Over the course of two decades, ‘Lethal’ Brett Lee terrorised many batsmen in the world. All batsmen were unable to handle his devastating speed and ferocious bouncers. Brett Lee is a great illustration of a raw and intense fast bowler ever.
In an ODI match at Napier in 2005, Brett Lee bowled the fastest delivery of his career to Craig Cumming of New Zealand. The delivery was made at a speed of 161.1 kmph (100.1mph). Brett lee was more than just a short pitched, express fast bowler who enjoyed rattling the batsmen. Lee was ranked as the No. 1 ODI fast bowler by the ICC in January 2006 and has held that position since 2003, making him one of the best and most feared fast bowlers in the world.
In the 2003 World Cup, when Australian team dominated every opposition they faced, Brett Lee was at his most lethal form regularly clocking in at 150 km/h. In the end, Lee had taken 22 wickets in the tournament. He played in 221 ODIs and 76 Tests. He is one of the select few bowlers with over 300 wickets in both formats, with 310 in test cricket and 380 in one-day internationals. He is Australia’s third-highest wicket-taker in test cricket history.
4. Jeff Thomson – 160.6 km/hr
Jeff Thomson is widely regarded as the fastest bowler in the world to ever play test cricket. He was mind bogglingly and earth scorchingly quick. Thomson had an excellent physique, simply jogged up to the wicket before spreading his enormous chest and shoulders and launching the ball above at a speed that was far from 100 mph. In 1975, at Perth, Thomson bowled his fastest delivery at 160.6 kph (99.8 mph) against the West Indies.
“Tommo” was portrayed as the typical Australian fast bowler who was nasty and bloodthirsty and sought to harm batsmen. There would not be a dispute today over who will be the first fastest bowler to break the 100 mph barrier if speed guns had been available in the 1970s. Jeff Thomson would have reached Mach as the speedy does.
He also developed incredible bounce, which made the idea of facing him even more terrifying. In 1974-1975 Ashes series, all England’s batsmen were scared by Thomson and Dennis Lillee. Thomson took brilliant 33 wickets total at an average of 17.93, so he started one of the most dangerous fast bowling attacks with the new ball in cricket history.
5. Mitchell Starc – 160.4 km/hr
Mitchell Starc is famously known as one of the best fast bowlers in the modern era and the most consistent performer for Australia since debut. Mitchell Starc has gained a lot of admiration throughout the world for his relentless consistency in releasing lethal power with the ball. He swings the ball, assaults the stumps, and creates pace up to about 150 km/h.
His arsenal includes inswing, reverse swing and unplayable yorkers, all of which are extremely effective. In 2015, on the third day of the second Test match against New Zealand, Mitchell Starc bowled the fastest delivery of his career. It was a 160.4 kmph (99.7 mph) yorker to Ross Taylor.
6. Andy Roberts – 159.5 km/hr
Andy Roberts is the godfather to the all generation of West Indies fast bowlers. Andy Roberts was a tough competitor and one of the greatest fast bowlers who could bowl very lethal bouncer and swing the ball with excellent change of pace. In his whole career, he injured several batsmen of every team from his incredible lethal fast bowling.
During the second ‘Supertest’ of ‘World Series Cricket’ in December 1977, Andy Roberts hit bouncer to Australian batsman David Hookes in the face, breaking his jaw. Nobody bowled a sharper bouncer than Roberts that time, therefore the cricket world called him, then Hitman. In 1975 test match, he bowled at a speed of 159.5 kph (99.1 mph) against Australia.
He was the primary strike bowler for the West Indies starting in the middle of the 1970s. Andy Roberts is the first West Indies fast bowler ever to take 200 Test wickets. He paved the way for a great number of others, including Holding, Garner, Croft, Marshall, Walsh, and Ambrose, who continued the legacy of West Indies fast bowling for the next 20 years.
7. Fidel Edwards – 157.7 km/hr
Fidel Edwards was the most entertaining fast bowlers that West Indies had produced in the modern era 2000s. Edwards was the team’s strike bowler in 2000s because of his excellent pace and his ability to quickly swing the ball away from the batsmen. He bowled lethal bouncers at very high speed that extremely unplayable to all batsmen in the world.
He bowled at a speed of 157.7 kmph (97.9 mph) in 2003 while playing against South Africa. At the time, it was the second-fastest delivery in international cricket. He will always be remembered for his fiery aggression as a super-fastest bowler.
8. Mitchell Johnson – 156.8 km/hr
Mitchell Johnson is well regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of the modern era. Mitchell Johnson terrorized several batsman of every team in his whole career with his dangerous bouncer. He swung the ball nicely when he got it properly and bowled at a speed of about 150 km/h with brilliant control and aggression. Mitchell’s devastating pace on the cricket pitch made him one of the most feared fast bowlers of all time.
During the 2013 Ashes Series, he delivered the fastest ball of his career, registering at 156.8 km/hr. He terrorised England in the 2013–14 Ashes series became the leading wicket-taker with 37 wickets at an average of 13.97 in five tests including three five wicket hauls was phenomenal. Throughout the whole series, he was at his most menacing, terrifying the English batsmen with his brutal pace and bouncer and making them feel extremely uneasy to play. Johnson was awarded Player of the Ashes Series for his tremendous performance.
9. Shane Bond – 156.4 km/hr
New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond is frequently referred to as one of the world class fast bowlers ever. Since his debut in 2001, he bowled clocking between 145 and 150 km/h on the speed-gun radar. Shane Bond was the crowing achievement for the New Zealand team, giving them the genuine strike strength needed to win crucial ODIs and Test matches.
He began by having a devastatingly quick in-swinging yorker, and over time he was able to add a leg cutter and an outswing. He bowled his fastest delivery at the ICC World Cup 2003 clocking at 156.4 kmph (97.1 mph), making him one of the brilliant fast bowlers of all time.
10. Mohammad Sami – 156.4 km/hr
Mohammad Sami was undoubtedly one of the fastest bowlers in 2000s with the capacity to frequently bowl over 150-155km/h. He had taken a hat-trick against Sri Lanka in his third Test match, and in 2002, he got his second career hat-trick against the West Indies in an ODIs.
He also became one of two Pakistani fast bowlers to have taken a hat-trick in both Test and ODI cricket after Wasim Akram. He bowled the fastest delivery of his career on the first ball of his fifth over of an ODI match against Zimbabwe on April 3, 2003, at Sharjah, when he bowled a 156.4 kmph (97.1 mph) ball to Dougie Marillier.
Read also: Top 10 Best Spin Bowlers of All Time