Shoaib Akhtar bowled a delivery clocked at 100.2mph against Nick Knight at the 2003 World Cup — the fastest delivery in the history of cricket according to official speed gun measurements.
Shoaib Akhtar had been the world's fastest bowler since the late 1990s, consistently clocking above 95mph. The question of whether any human could bowl at 100mph had been cricket's most debated physical question. At the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, with accurate speed guns installed, the answer came.
The delivery registered 100.2mph on the official ICC speed gun. The ball hit the stumps — Nick Knight clean bowled. The crowd gasped at the number, then erupted when they realised what they had seen.
Subsequent analysis suggested the delivery might have been slightly quicker (some measurements put it at 161.3 kmh which converts closer to 100.2mph) but official ICC recognition has always cited this delivery. Brett Lee subsequently matched 100.1mph. Nobody has officially exceeded Shoaib's 100.2.
The delivery — 100.2mph, Nick Knight bowled
The speed gun reading — the crowd's reaction
The first officially recorded 100mph delivery in cricket
February 22, 2003
2003 World Cup group match, Cape Town
Shoaib's delivery
100.2mph — Nick Knight bowled, record set
Pakistan won the match. Shoaib continued his career until 2011, troubled by injuries and controversies. The 100.2mph delivery is the one statistic that defines his career — it is the number that appears in every discussion of fast bowling.
The most extreme physical speed measurement in cricket history. Roger Bannister's four-minute mile equivalent for bowling — the 100mph barrier that generations of pace bowlers had theorised about, delivered by the one man fast enough to achieve it.
100mph is cricket's speed ceiling. No bowler has officially exceeded Shoaib's 100.2. The theoretical possibility of bowling faster is regularly discussed — but the combination of pace, action, and fitness required to sustain 100mph has not been reproduced.
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