Top 10 Fastest Bowlers in Cricket History

Cricket is much of the time viewed as the batsman's down. On rare events, bowlers will more often than not have the high ground in spite of more limited limits and huge measured bats which help to make life simpler for the batsman. Nonetheless, many quick bowlers in the past have left their imprint with a couple of their weapons, in particular speed, swing, and bob. While pace for most hitters these days is certainly not an immense concern, still a couple of tearaways quick bowlers have figured out how to shake teams with their speed combined with precision. In this article, we will discuss the absolute quickest bowlers in cricket history.

List of All-time Fastest bowlers in Cricket History | Top-10

Bowler	Country	Fastest delivery	Year and Opposition
Shoaib Akhtar	Pakistan	161.3 km/hr (100.2 mph)	2003 vs England
Shaun Tait	Australia	161.1 km/hr (100.1 mph)	2010 vs England
Brett Lee	Australia	160.8 km/hr (99.9 mph)	2005 vs New Zealand
Jeffrey Thomson	Australia	160.6 km/hr (99.8 mph)	1975 vs West Indies
Mitchell Starc	Australia	160.4 km/hr (99.7 mph)	2015 vs New Zealand
Andy Roberts	West Indies	159.5 km/hr (99.1 mph)	1975 vs Australia
Fidel Edwards	West Indies	157.7 km/hr (97.9 mph)	2003 vs South Africa
Mitchell Johnson	Australia	156.8 km/hr (97.4 mph)	2013 vs England
Mohammad Sami	Pakistan	156.4 km/hr (97.1 mph)	2003 vs Zimbabwe
Shane Bond	New Zealand	156.4 km/hr (97.1 mph)	2003 vs India

Here's a detailed look at the list of top-10 fastest bowlers of all time:

10. Shane Bond (New Zealand ) – 156.4 km/hr

Shane Bond was a fast, destructive, and fearsome pace bowler for New Zealand. In a career marred with injuries, Bond struggled with his longevity in the game. The Kiwi was world-renowned for his brutal pace and the sheer comfort at which he nailed the perfect yorkers to the batsmen. Toe-crushing yorkers were his speciality and he feasted on the best batsmen of his era. To be specific, he will always be remembered to claim Ricky Ponting’s wicket in all of the first six ODI’s they played against one another.

Bond's athletic and smooth action was geared towards his inswing and his frustratingly 150 km/hr effort that allowed the ball to swing late. In the World Cup 2003 against India, the Kiwi pacer bowled his fastest ball at a speed of 156.4 km/hr. He took 87 Test wickets, 147 ODI wickets, and 27 T20I wickets in his bowling career for the BlackCaps.

9. Mohammad Sami (Pakistan) – 156.4 km/hr

Mohammad Sami is the 2nd fastest bowler for Pakistan in their cricket history. Known for his pace and swing, Sami has unofficially bowled the fastest delivery in cricket at a speed of 164 km/h (101.9 mph) during an ODI. 

However, it was later identified as a fault in the speed meter by the cricket officials. Sami did deliver his fastest ball clocked at 156.4 km/hr against Zimbabwe in the ODI series of 2003. Sami took 85 Test wickets and 121 ODI wickets during his bowling career for Pakistan.

8. Mitchell Johnson (Australia) – 156.8 km/hr

Mitchell Johnson was undoubtedly one of the most destructive pacers in the world. The Aussie, at his best, was as fearsome as fast bowlers may come. During his prime, he was a runaway match-winner for Australia. The left-arm quick bowled his fastest delivery in the 2013 Ashes at MCG clocking 156.8 km/hr. The seamer did a stupendous job with the ball against England & South Africa with his speed and aggression. He cowed the batsmen with ease in those eight test matches he played, picking up 59 wickets at 15.23 along with a bunch of cherries on the helmet. That stellar performance led him to the prestigious Allan Border medal at the age of 32. He was achieving all sorts of laurels for his sheer class with the ball.

Mitchell Johnson has 313 Test wickets and 239 ODI wickets in his cricket career for Australia. Johnson played a crucial role in guiding the home team to an Ashes win with 37 wickets in 2013. The Queensland bowler was also a part of Australia's World Cup triumph in 2015.

7. Fidel Edwards (West Indies) – 157.7 km/hr

The West Indian pace bowler Fidel Edwards made his debut in 2003. His burst onto the scene was marked with much hype touting him as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. Fidel bowled his fastest delivery against South Africa where the Caribbean speedster clocked 157.7 km/hr. He had a very round-arm action and was often regarded as one of the toughest bowlers to pick from the hand.

However, the right-arm pacer didn't have a huge impact at the highest level. In his active bowling career for West Indies, he took 165 Test wickets and 60 ODI wickets. The 39-year-old has even earned a T20I call-up for the home series against Sri Lanka in 2021.

6. Andy Roberts (West Indies) – 159.5 km/hr

Andy Roberts was part of the legendary West Indian quartet during the late 1970s and the early 80s. His fastest delivery of 159.5 km/hr came against Australia in Perth in the year 1975. Roberts was the first Antiguan who represented West Indies at the international level.

He was part of the West Indies World Cup Winning squad in 1975 and 1979. The pace bowler picked a total of 202 Test wickets and 87 ODI wickets during his playing career for the West Indies.

5. Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 160.4 km/hr

Mitchell Starc is part of the elite list of left-arm bowlers to have played the game at the highest level. The Australian pacer was the highest wicket-taker in two consecutive 50-over World Cups in 2015 and 2019. The speedster bowled his fastest delivery at 160.4 km/hr in a Test match against New Zealand at Perth. 

The 31-year-old has picked 255 Test wickets and 184 ODI wickets in his career so far. Despite witnessing a dip in his recent performances, Starc happens to be one of Australia's premier pacers in the Test format. 

4. Jeffrey Thomson (Australia) – 160.6 km/hr

Jeff Thomson was a dreadful sight for any batter during his prime. The former Australian made life miserable for most batters during his tenure as an Australian cricketer. He instilled fear in the minds of the opposition with his sheer pace coupled with enormous consistency. 

He delivered his fastest delivery at a speed of 160.6 km/hr against the West Indies at Perth in 1975. Partnering with Dennis Lillee, Thomson would make for the most fearsome fast-bowling duo during the 1974-75 season. He took 200 Test wickets and 55 ODI wickets between 1972 to 1985.

3. Shaun Tait (Australia) – 161.1 km/hr

With a muscular and beefy build with broad shoulders and a slinging action that complemented the short run-up, Shaun Tait had made it to the big leagues. Known for his erratic bowling, Shaun Tait didn't witness enough success at the international level for Australia. However, he was one of the quickest bowlers during the 2010s. He could only play three Tests and 35 ODIs for Australia between 2004 and 2016. His slinging action made it look so easy for him but bowling consistently above 150 clicks had now become his forte. He bowled his fastest delivery against England.

This particular ball was delivered at a speed of 161.1 km/hr. The right-arm pacer even breached the 100mph barrier against Pakistan in a T20I game at Melbourne later in his career. Despite a short career, Shaun Tait will always be regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in cricket history.

2. Brett Lee (Australia) – 161.1 km/hr

Brett Lee was the fastest Australian bowler in history and the second-fastest bowler of all time. The New South Wales player had a formidable Australian line-up during the early 2000s. He was a regular feature along with the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Apart from his accuracy, his menacing pace troubled most batters against him. He crossed the 100 miles barrier to deliver his fastest delivery at 161.1 km/hr against New Zealand in 2005 at Napier. 

Among the fastest bowlers in his heyday, Brett lee was a potent weapon in Australia’s armoury during their glory days back in the 2000s. The pacer had every trick up his sleeve, right from a slower ball to a menacing yorker, he had it all. His deadly bouncers and sheer pace with devious eye contact with the batters made him the complete fast-bowling package.

1. Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan) – 161.3 kmph

Known as the ‘Rawalpindi Express', Shoaib Akhtar is the fastest bowler in the world of cricket. He had a runup like no other, wherein he often ran from the boundary line and bowled his delivery. Shoaib Akhtar had a natural pace and bounce with the help of his slinging action which was complemented tremendously by his beefy build.

The right-arm pacer from Pakistan bowled the fastest delivery in international cricket during the Cricket World Cup 2003. Akhar, who always cherished bowling fast, clocked 161.3 km/hr against England at Capetown (South Africa). This delivery made him the first player in cricket history to break the 100 Mile barrier on the speed gun. His aggressive bowling and unique action always grabbed the limelight amidst all the cricket action.

Akhtar took 178 Test wickets and 247 ODI wickets during his playing days for Pakistan (1997 – 2011). He was feared by most of the batsmen in his heyday and was undoubtedly one of the fastest bowlers in cricket history. He enjoys a huge fan following in his country and is widely appreciated for his game analysis.