Top 10 fastest deliveries in the history of cricket

• Shoaib Akhtar- 161.3 KPH
One of the fastest bowlers in world cricket. Shoaib on his day can blow apart any batting line up with prodigious pace and accuracy. After making his debut for Pakistan towards the end of 1990’s he started to gain reputation for being the fastest but his breakthrough moment came when he bowled a fast spell in Kolkata getting rid of two legends of the game in successive deliveries. His moment of glory as the undisputed king of fast bowling came in 2003 world cup when he bowled a ball clocked at 161.3 to Nick Knight in the world cup group game.

• Brett Lee – 161.1 KPH

At the turn of the new millennium Australia unleashed its own fast bowling missile in the form of Brett Lee. He had everything a fast bowler wanted, a rhythmic run-up, amazing release and terrifying pace. He also the ability to knock the batsman out of his groove with his speed. Lee bowled his 161.1 KPH thunderbolt in a one day match versus New Zealand in what is to this date considered to be the fastest over bowled in Kiwi land.

• Shaun Tait-161.1 KPH

The wild thing as he was called by many, the moniker suited him pretty well, even though Shaun Tait had a very short international career for Australia, he has etched his name in the annals of the game for being known as a very quick bowler, who on his day can send shivers down the spine of many batsman. Tait created a name for himself as one of the fastest bowlers in the history of the game, when he bowled at 161.1 against England in one day international match in 2010.

• Jeff Thomson -160.6 KPH

Australia has never fallen short of producing fast bowlers who could leave a mark in world cricket. Jeff Thomson was perhaps one of the greatest bowlers to have played the game in the brutal era of the 70’s and 80’s when fast bowling was at its peak. He formed a deadly combination with Dennis Lillee as the two caused havoc against many a batting line up across the cricketing spectrum. He bowled the fastest delivery of that time which was clocked at 160.6 at W.A.C.A against the West Indies in 1975. Thomson for an entire decade was a big ticket attraction for many who loved fast bowling.

• Mitchell Starc-160.4 KPH

Australian seems to be producing fast bowlers who can make the top ten lists for fast bowling records. The left handed fast bowler is already a legend in the making. He is pretty accurate with his bouncers and has a very deadly Yorker in his kitty which makes any batsman worry about his health. Starc is possibly the fastest in the current era and he made the world sit up and take notice when he bowled at 160.4 KPH in a test match against New Zealand. Ross Taylor who was batting well past his century dead batted this toe crusher to the astonishment of many in the crowd.

• Sir Andy Roberts- 159.5 KPH

The west indies produced one of the most deadly pace quartet, none of them was more deadly, vicious, rhythmic and accurate as Andy Roberts. He was the enforcer in that all conquering team that won two world cups successively. His penchant for bowling fast was well known but he was also a pretty clever operator, he was known to have two kinds of bouncers, a slower bouncer and a faster bouncer which could knock a batsman out cold. Roberts bowled this delivery at 159.5 KPH in the same match that Thomson bowled his fast thunderbolt at.

• Fidel Edwards-157.7 KPH

Fidel Edwards burst on to the scene at a time when West Indies was looking for the next generation of fast bowlers who could help them rediscover their place in the top rung of international cricket again. The extremely quick Barbados fast bowler made his debut just a few months after the 2003 cricket world cup ended, and soon was being spoken about as a very good prospect in the fast bowling department. He was known to be quick and very accurate but also could be on the inconsistent side occasionally. South Africa though was on the receiving end of one of Edwards most fearful delivery which was released at 157.7 KPH.

• Mitchell Johnson- 156.8 KPH

Johnson was an exciting prospect when he started; the world had not seen a fast bowler who could clock over 150 since the early years of Wasim Akram. He was spoken about fondly by Jeff Thomson as being once in a generation bowler. For a long time thought Johnson never fulfilled that potential that was afforded to him. Ashes 2013 in Australia thought changed it for him, he single handedly demolished half the English cricket teams careers by picking 40 wickets in that edition of the ashes. His fastest delivery of 156.8 KPH was bowled at the Melbourne cricket ground in 2013. That years ashes was pretty special and memorable both for Australia because it could beat its eternal rivals 5-0 and also for Johnson because he became one of the top bowlers of the world

• Mohammad Sami-156.4 KPH

Pakistan produced another fast bowling gem, which could topple any batting line up with his sheer pace in the form of Mohammad Sami. He was the perfect foil in the fast bowling line up to shoaib akhtar. Sami had a very hit and miss career, he started out with a lot of promise but couldn’t live up to it in the long run. He had moment in the sun though, when he delivered the cricket ball at 156.4 KPH in a game, instantly putting him in the bracket of a deadly fast bowler.

• Shane Bond-156.4 KPH

The start of the new millennium saw 3 fast bowlers go head to head in a battle of pace supremacy. Shane bond was the third cog in the wheel of this pace bowling duel. He had a quick run up and an impeccable release, his biggest moment came in the 2003 world cup when he bowled at 156.4 KPH instantly becoming a serious threat to batsman world over. The most terrifying thing for many batsmen was he could bowl this quick yet he could swing the ball, bowl a devastating bouncer and also had a toe crushing Yorker which made him a complete bowling machine.