Often hailed as one of the most prestigious and competitive cricket formats in the world, test cricket is undoubtedly followed by millions of cricket aficionados from all over the world. The glorious history of the test cricket format, which spans over decades, has witnessed numerous legendary bowlers, including Muttiah Muralitharan, James Anderson, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and many others, have been nothing short of a walking nightmare for the top batting lineups of the most dominant national cricket teams in the world.
Interestingly, a few of these legendary bowlers have left the fans absolutely stunned with their lethal bowling attack and annihilated a few of the greatest batsmen with their breakneck deliveries. Have you ever wondered about the top four most iconic bowlers who have bowled the fastest deliveries in the history of the test cricket format? Well, let’s find out.
In this article we will take a look at the top four bowlers with the fastest deliveries in test cricket format.
Top 4 Bowlers With Fastest Deliveries in Test Cricket
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Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan – 161.3 km/h
The legendary Pakistani former international cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, widely regarded as one of the most lethal bowlers in the history of international cricket, is at the first spot in our list of the top four legendary bowlers who have bowled the fastest deliveries in the history of test cricket. Often popularly referred to as the “Rawalpindi Express”, Shoaib Akhtar represented Pakistan across all formats of international cricket from 1997 to 2011 and played a total of 46 test matches, picking up a record total of 178 wickets at an average of 25.7.
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Shoaib Akhtar created history during the Pakistan vs England test match in 2003 and bowled a breakneck delivery clocked at a speed of 161.3 km/hr, which continues to be the fastest delivery ever recorded in the test format as of September 2025.
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Brett Lee, Australia – 157.4 km/h
At the second spot in our list of the top four bowlers with the fastest deliveries in the test cricket format, we have the legendary Australian former international cricketer Brett Lee, who is often also popularly referred to as “Binga” by millions of cricketing aficionados from all over the world. Brett Lee undoubtedly proved to be one of the most reliable and lethal bowlers for the Aussies across all formats of international cricket, especially in the test format.
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Throughout his star-studded career, Brett Lee ended up playing a total of 76 test matches and picked up a total of 310 wickets, making him one of the most successful bowlers in the history of test cricket. Brett Lee unleashed his finest bowling potential in a test match against West Indies in 2000 and bowled an annihilating delivery clocked at a speed of 157.4 km/ h which continues to be the second-fastest delivery in the format.
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Shaun Tait, Australia – 155.9 km/h
Next, at the third spot in our list of the top four legendary bowlers who have bowled the fastest deliveries in the history of test cricket, we have trailblazing Australian former international cricketer Shaun Tait, who is currently serving as the bowling coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team.
Often hailed as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all-time, Shaun Tait created history in the 2005 Ashes Series and bowled a breakneck delivery clocked at a speed of 155.9 km/h, which continues to be the third-fastest delivery in the history of test cricket as of September 2025. Shaun Tait undoubtedly received enormous praise and attention from cricket aficionados from all over the world for his dominant bowling attack throughout the 2005 Ashes Series.
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Mitchell Starc, Australia – 154.7 km/h
Finally, at the fourth spot in our list of the top four bowlers with the fastest deliveries in test cricket format, we have the legendary Australian international cricketer Mitchell Starc, who continues to be Australia’s highest wicket-taker in both the One-Day Internationals and the test format.
Mitchell Starc has played a total of 100 test matches as of September 2025 and has picked up a total of 402 wickets at a phenomenal average of 27.0, making him one of the most dreadful bowlers of the test format. Mitchell Starc proved to be a walking nightmare for New Zealand’s top-batting lineup during the 2015 test match where he bowled a destructive delivery clocked at a speed of 154.7 km/h which continues to be the fourth-fastest delivery in the history of the test format.
