The game of Cricket has always been blessed with the presence of some dynamic individuals who have elevated the level of intensity with their blistering pace and cutting edge sharpness. Right from the period of the 70s and the 80s, the availability of 2 or 3 lightning fast bowlers have always been considered as an advantage for a team over their opponents. We have seen teams in the past which used to inculcate the feeling oof in the late seventies and eighties led by Malcolm Marshall, Joel garner, Andy Roberts and Michael Holding or Pakistani pace battery of 1990s consisting of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, these fast bowlers had the ability to win matches single handedly. Sadly, there weren't Speed guns at that time that could measure the speed of Jeff Thompson or Michael Holding at that point in time but we luckily got that technology from late 90s onwards which empowered us to measure the spped of killer bowlers like Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar. Here are 10 current fast bowlers who can destroy best of batting lineups in the world:
Mitchell Starc(Fastest ball- 160.4 km/h)
Considered as one of the best produced by Australian soil, starc is famous for his fast, in-swinging Yorkers. He bowled the fastest ball ever in Test cricket at 160.4 km/h to New Zealand’s batsman Ross Taylor at WACA in Perth, Australia during 2015. He has taken 244 Test wickets and 184 ODI wickets.
Mark Wood(Fastest ball- 154.0 km/h)
The Englishman holds the record of bowling the fastest ball in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup final match against New Zealand batsman Henry Nicholls at 154.0 km/h at Lord’s, London. Wood has been injury-prone. However, he has the potential to break the fastest ball world record one day.
Jofra Archer(Fastest ball- 154.6 km/h)
The man from Barbados made his international debut for England in 2019. He bowled at 154.6 km/h to Australia’s batsman Steve Smith at Lord’s, London, in an Ashes Test match during 2019 and put him on the sidelines with a concussion. Archer has already played a vital role in making his country win the 2019 cricket world cup.
Anrich Nortje(Fastest ball- 156.2 km/h)
This rising star of South Africa bowled his fastest ball in IPL 2020 at 156.2 km/h to Jos Buttler of Rajasthan Royals at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai. Nortje has categorically mentioned that he wants to break the fastest ball world record of Shoaib Akhtar, standing at 161.3 km/h sometime in the future.
Kagiso Rabada(Fastest ball- 154.2 km/h)
Rabada has played a lot of international cricket for South Africa in his relatively short period. In the IPL 2019 season for Delhi Capitals, Rabada had bowled the fastest ball that clocked at 154.2 km/h to Andre Russell of Kolkata Knight Riders at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Umesh Yadav(Fastest ball- 152.2 Km/h)
He has played in all sorts of formats for the Indian team. Although he has been a bit inconsistent with his form and hence does not get featured regularly in the indian side. His fastest delivery recorded is 152.2 Kmph against Sri Lanka.
Jasprit Bumrah(Fastest ball- 153.26 km/h)
Bumrah announced his arrival in Indian team when he was selected for Mumbai Indian in the IPL and till now, he has always given remarkable performances. In 2018, in the Adelaide Test match, he bowled his fastest delivery recorded at 153.26 kmph.
Wahab Riaz(Fastest ball- 154.5 km/h)
Considered as one of the best quick batteries from Pakistan, Wahab Riaz recorded his fastest bowling speed of 154.5 kmph against their arch-rivals India during the early stages of 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Pat Cummins(Fastest ball- 153.56 km/h)
He is currently the vice-captain of the Australia national team across T20I and ODI formats. This fiery australian is considered as one of the sharpest bowlers in the world. Cummins held the record for bowling the fastest delivery in IPL 2017, having clocked 153.56 kmph to top the list.Pat Cummins(Fastest ball- 153.56 km/h)
Adam Milne(Fastest ball- 153.2 km/h)
Adam Milne impressed everyone during the Champions League in 2010 when he bowled with verve and passion playing for Central Districts. The Kiwi's fastest delivery was clocked at 153.2 km/h against West Indies in 2015, making him the sixth-fastest active bowler in international cricket to clock at above 150 kmph at that time.
