Are these the fastest bowlers in cricket history?

For some cricket fans, the sport is about watching elegant batters stroking fours through extra cover, for others, it’s about seeing a wily spinner turning one through the batter’s gate. However, something that unifies all fans is the sight of a truly express bowler steaming in, striking fear into the heart of the batter. But who are the fastest bowlers of all time? In no particular order…

Yadav is still in his early 20s with barely any professional cricket behind him, yet his bowling has proven too much for many batters in the 2024 Indian Premier League. His fastest delivery of the tournament clocked in at 156.7 kph, per Business Standard making him truly one of the fastest bowlers ever already.

Jeff Thomson is widely regarded as one of the scariest bowlers of all, consistently hitting speeds well over 155 kph in his pomp. Rod Marsh described him as, “faster than anyone I ever kept to,” which is quite the statement.

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When he’s not riding his imaginary horse, Mark Wood is sending down rockets for England in all formats. His consistent high-end speed is a joy to watch, and according to Sports Adda, he clocked out at 156.6 kph during a test match in Pakistan. Wheels.

Edwards was never quite able to nail test cricket, partially due to injuries, but during his early years, he was fearsomely quick, topping out at 157.7 kph according to Wisden.

Nortje is the protypical South African fast bowler, big, strong, and aggressive, he is never shy to throw in some short stuff. He consistently tops out at 150 kph and, as his fastest ball shows, can push it down even faster when he needs to.

Malik has struggled to regain his form of 2023, but when he’s on song, there are few in cricketing history to bowl faster. His quickest ball was recorded at 157 kph per Wisden, which is absolutely rapid.

Much like Jeff Thomson, Roberts’ speed is legendary, even if it wasn’t recorded as accurately as modern players. Able to strike fear into opposing batters, Roberts’ reputation preceded him, which is not surprising when you can bowl 159.5 kph.

For those familiar with Johnson, it should come as no surprise that his fastest ball came during the 2013/14 Ashes series, a series that will be seared into the minds of many England batters. His top speed of 156.8 kph puts him as the eighth fastest in international cricket history per Wisden.

Bond is thought of as perhaps the biggest “what could have been” cricketer of all time, with injuries consistently curtailing excellent form. Still, his top speed of 156.4 kph is nothing to be sniffed at!

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Pakistan has had a conveyor belt of express pace bowlers of the years, with Sami emerging as the second-fastest of them all, clocking 156.4 kph during an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2003 per Wisden.

Many cricket fans will dispute the 160.4 kph figure as there were some debates over the efficacy of the speed gun during the 2015 test match against New Zealand. Still, he regularly topped out at 150 kph during his physical peak, making him one of the quickest ever.

Few players on this list made fast bowling look quite as effortless as Archer did during the 2019 Ashes and World Cup. According to iNews, he bowled an over during the Lord’s test of that year that averaged 149.3 kph, which is just ridiculous speed.

Many cricket fans see Lee as the most consistently fast bowler of all time, able to run in all day bowling at, or above, 145 kph. When he was fit and firing (and angry) he could reach the high 150s regularly. His fastest ball came against New Zealand in 2005.

Tait was aptly nicknamed “Wild Thing” throughout his career due to his incredible speed and lack of control. Still, he’s one of two players to ever bowl north of 100 miles per hour. Rockets.

Akhtar was given the excellent "Rawalpindi Express" express nickname during his career. It worked perfectly, he’s from Rawalpindi, and he bowled express pace, the most express pace we have ever seen!

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