The following list is provided thanks to the efforts of Eddie Smith, who has been tabulating bowling speeds reported in the media and by his own direct observation over the last few years.
Arbitrarily we regard bowlers reaching 140kph as qualified fast men. Bowlers with the ability to deliver balls above 145kph are considered genuine speedsters. 150kph is regarded as the benchmark for express pace bowlers.
For a list of other reported speeds in past literature, news reports, domestic cricket, women's cricket and historical scientific studies, click here.
Notes:
- This list is not a comprehensive database of all such deliveries to have been timed at 140kph or faster. Nor is it official in any capacity. It simply shows which bowlers have broken this barrier on known occasions in international matches. If you are able to supply any substantiable information on deliveries not listed below, please contact Eddie so we can endeavour to make it more complete.
- Speed measuring devices have only become commonplace at international cricket matches since around 1998. There are few instances where speeds are known authoritatively prior to this.
- Some speed measuring devices display speeds to the nearest kilometre per hour. These figures appear below with no appended decimal fraction.
- Some speed measuring devices record in miles per hour. These figures have been converted to kilometres per hour and rounded to the nearest kph.
Enter a speed in either of the two boxes below and click 'Convert' or press 'enter' to perform an automatic conversion to the other form of measurement. Results are displayed to one decimal place. 1 mph = 1.60934 kph.
