5 quickest Balls bowled in cricket

Watching a fast bowler running in and bowling at a tearaway pace is one of the most beautiful things in cricket. There have been few fast bowlers in the history of cricket who have provided a lot of entertainment to fans through their antics on the cricket field.

It often happens that a young bowler starts off as a genuine fast bowler, but, then in pursuit of accuracy he sacrifices pace. Having said that, there have been few fast bowlers who refused to let go of their pace and tormented batsmen throughout the world.

There have been lot of bowlers who have bowled at a speed of more than 150 km/hr, but, seldom anybody breaches 160 km/hr mark.

Let's take a look at five instances when the quickest bowls were bowled in cricket.

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#1 161.3 km/hr: Shoaib Akhtar (2003)

Shoaib Akhtar, one of the quickest bowlers who have played the game, never sacrificed his pace for line and length. He was a tearaway fast bowler who got many wickets through sheer pace. It was a sight to behold when he bowled Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid off successive deliveries at Eden Gardens in 1999.

He bowled the quickest delivery ever recorded on a cricket field against England at Newlands in 2003. It was bowled at a lightning speed of 161.3 km/hr.

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#2 161.1 km/hr: Shaun Tait (2010)

Shaun Tait about to deliver a ball

Shaun Tait, an out and out fast bowler was someone who never quite fulfilled his promise. He was quick but often wayward. At one point in time he was hailed as the next big thing in Australian cricket and to be fair, he got many opportunities to prove himself, but he often ended up wasting those opportunities.

Tait ended up playing just 3 Tests and 35 ODIs for Australia.

He bowled the second quickest delivery ever recorded on a cricket field against England at Lords in 2010. It was bowled at a superfast speed of 161.1 km/hr.

#3 161.1 km/hr: Brett Lee (2005)

Brett Lee in his action

Arguably the most consistent of the tearaway fast bowlers, Brett Lee was a great amalgamation of speed and accuracy.

Brett Lee played 76 Tests for Australia before injuries made him hang his boots and he finished with 310 wickets from these Tests.

He bowled the third quickest delivery ever recorded on a cricket field against New Zealand at Napier in 2005. It was bowled at a bolting speed of 161.1 km/hr. He bowled two deliveries at a speed of more than 160 km/hr in the same over during this game.

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#4 160.6 km/hr: Jeff Thomson (1976)

Jeff Thomson had a slinging action

Jeff Thomson is arguably the quickest bowler to ever play the game. He had a slinging action which generated a lot of pace.

During the times Thomson played, technology was not as advanced to measure the speed of the ball which created a bit of ambiguity regarding the speed at which he bowled.

Thomson took 200 wickets from 51 Test matches he played for Australia.

He bowled the fourth quickest delivery ever recorded on a cricket field at a net session at Perth in 1976. It was bowled at a speed of 160.6 km/hr.

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#5 160.4 km/hr: Mitchell Starc (2015)

Mitchell Starc going through his run-up

Easily the quickest bowler of the current generation, Mitchell Starc has been a match-winner for Australia for many years.

Mitchell Starc uses his height to good effect while bowling, and also, he has a sharp bouncer and a pacy toe crusher which makes him formidable.

He bowled the fourth quickest delivery ever recorded on a cricket field against New Zealand at Perth in 2015. It was bowled at a speed of 160.4 km/hr.