The ManicaPost
On The Point With Aubrey Kamba —
CRICKET is said to be the third most watched team sport in the world just after football and rugby. There have been a lot of changes in cricket since the bodyline series of 1932.
With today’s technology, it is now easier and precise to measure speed of bowlers as there are speed guns planted around the ground which measure the speed of ball when it leaves the hand of the bowler.
An instrument called “Radar Gun” which consist of transmitter and receiver uses a radio wave to intercept speed of cricket bowl the moment it leaves bowlers hand.
#1. Shoaib Akhtar – 161.3km/h vs England (2003, Newlands)
There are fastest bowlers and then there is Shoaib Akhtar, he is one of the few who consistently bowled over 150km/h in his career even though it was a short one and reached a world record speed during World Cup 2003 against England when his produced a 161.3 km/h speed of a bowl to England.
He became the first bowler to reach speed of 100 miles an hour in official ICC match.
#2. Bret Lee – 161.1km/h vs New Zealand (2005, Napier)
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee was at the peak of his powers during his career and he was ruthless to batsman all over the cricketing world reaching over 150 km/h consistently.
He became the second bowler in history to record a 100 miles per speed during 2005 ODI game against New Zealand when he recorded 161.1 km/h (100.1 miles/ph.).
#3. Shaun Tait – 161.1km/h vs England (2010, Lord’s)
Another Australian on the list is Shaun Tait, whose career was short lived but was fun while it lasted.
He was not your average tall bowler with orthodox round arm bowling action but he could really hit the deck hard with his pacy and skiddy bowling line and length. He recorded 160.7 km/h bowling speed against Pakistan in the ODI game in Australia.
#4. Jeffrey Thompson – 160.6km/h
Recorded 160km/h in the “1976 fast bowling study conducted at WACA Ground.
It is hard to believe there was precise enough instrument to record bowling speeds in 1976 but Thompson was arguably the fastest bowlers of his era.
Apparently he recorded the fastest bowling speed in world cricket of 160.6 km/h in the nets back in 1976 when a fast bowling study was conducted.
#5. Andy Roberts – 159.5km/h vs Australia (1975, WACA)
Tall West Indies bowler in the golden generation of West Indies cricket Andy Roberts was part of a formidable West Indies bowling units.
They were all fast but Andy Roberts stood out with his speed and many batsman of his generation regard him one of the fastest they have ever faced. His fastest bowl is recorded at the speed of 159.5 km/h which 99.11 miles/h.
#6. Fidel Edwards – 157.7km/h vs South Africa (2003, Wanderers)
Another West Indies bowler but from the current crop, Edwards is frustratingly inconsistent but he consistently bowls fast and recorded his fastest delivery at the speed of 157.7 km/h during ODI game against South Africa in 2003 which kind of put him the limelight. But since then he has failed to achieve the hype surrounding his speed.
#7. Mitchell Johnson – 156.8km/h vs England (2013, Melbourne)
Mitchel Johnson career was going nowhere but he turned all around in the recent Ashes series in Australia where he bamboozled English batsman with his raw pace and aggression and recorded his fastest ball at 156.8 km/ph. in the 4th Ashes test.
Muhammad Sami – 156.4km/h vs Zimbabwe (2003, Sharjah)
Another fast bowler another similar tale, a talented young man with a very short cricket career. Muhammad Sami rose to fame when Wasim and Waqar retired. He was genuine fast bowler but often missed his line and length in pursuit speed.
#9. Shane Bond – 156.4km/h vs India (2003, Centurion)
A versatile fast bowler with smooth run-up and bowling action, Shane Bond was constant threat to batsman all over the world but like many other genuine fast bowlers his career was plagued by injuries but when fit he was quite a sight.
Ras Blue, thank you so much for the feedback, I see you cannot wait for the franchise cricket to start so that you can go to Mutare Sports Club to watch good cricket being played.
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