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The Ashes has always been about more than bat and ball. It is about pressure, theatre and the extremes of human skill. It is about legacy and heroic performances and about history.
There are very few sporting contests anywhere in the world that boast the type of history and legend that The Ashes do.
One of the recurring themes of Ashes Test cricket over the years has been the lightning-fast quicks who have terrorised batters down the generations.
From bruised ribs to broken stumps, speed has been one of the defining features of this rivalry. While pace alone does not win series, the psychological effect of seeing a blur hurtling towards you at 90mph or more is incalculable.
Here are seven of the fastest bowlers ever to take part in cricket’s oldest contest.
1. Harold Larwood (England)
- Ashes career: 1926-1933
- Innings: 28
- Wickets: 64
- Best bowling in a match: 10/124
- Average: 29.87
- Economy rate: 2.83
- Strike rate: 63.3
Few names resonate in Ashes folklore quite like Harold Larwood. The spearhead of England’s “Bodyline” tactics in the 1932–33 series, Larwood consistently delivered at fearsome pace on unforgiving Australian pitches.
His hostile short-pitched bowling at Don Bradman and company was controversial, sparking one of cricket’s greatest diplomatic rows, but also set new standards for controlled aggression.
While Larwood’s Test career ended prematurely amid the fallout, his speeds were estimated well in excess of 90mph, a quite remarkable achievement for an era before modern training and equipment.
2. Jeff Thomson (Australia)
- Ashes career: 1974-1985
- Innings: 37
- Wickets: 97
- Best bowling in a match: 9/105
- Average: 23.89
- Economy rate: 2.92
- Strike rate: 49.0
Perhaps the most frightening bowler the Ashes has ever seen, Jeff Thomson’s action was as unorthodox as it was explosive. At his peak in the mid-1970s, Thomson was timed at over 95mph, and batters spoke of the ball appearing from “somewhere behind his right ear.”
His opening partnership with Dennis Lillee in the 1974–75 Ashes left England shell-shocked. With long, slingshot limbs and a snarling competitiveness, Thomson embodied raw pace at its most destructive.
Also read – Rated: Australia’s greatest Ashes openers – no room for David Warner or Justin Langer
3. Frank Tyson (England)
- Ashes career: 1954-1959
- Innings: 13
- Wickets: 32
- Best bowling in a match: 10/130
- Average: 25.31
- Economy rate: 2.81
- Strike rate: 53.8
Nicknamed “Typhoon Tyson,” Frank Tyson was the cutting edge of England’s 1954–55 Ashes triumph in Australia. His bowling was so fast that contemporaries compared him to Larwood and even suggested he surpassed him.
Tyson’s devastating burst in Sydney (he took six for 85 in the second innings) turned the series. He may have played only 17 Tests, but in that brief window Tyson delivered spells of pace rarely matched before or since.
4. Brett Lee (Australia)
- Ashes career: 2001-2007
- Innings: 36
- Wickets: 62
- Best bowling in a match: 6/83
- Average: 40.61
- Economy rate: 3.85
- Strike rate: 63.2
Brett Lee brought Hollywood glamour to the fast bowler’s role, all flowing blond hair and whiplash pace. But behind the charisma was raw velocity: Lee was regularly clocked above 95mph and occasionally edged towards the 100mph mark.
His Ashes record is mixed – he was often blunted by England’s batting depth – but his battles with Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen remain etched in memory. Lee’s sheer speed meant that even when wickets did not come, the sense of danger never receded.
5. Jofra Archer (England)
- Ashes career: 2019-2019
- Innings: 8
- Wickets: 22
- Best bowling in a match: 8/85
- Average: 20.27
- Economy rate: 2.85
- Strike rate: 42.5
The 2019 Ashes produced many storylines, but none more compelling than the emergence of Jofra Archer as a genuinely quick bowler for England.
His duel with Steve Smith at Lord’s, when a 92mph bouncer struck the Australian star on the neck, was a chilling reminder of pace’s power. Archer’s relaxed run-up belies the explosiveness of his deliveries, which often exceeded 95mph during that series.
Injuries have curtailed his progress since, but his impact in that summer was seismic. England have been working hard to manage his load and return him to full fitness in the hope that he will be able to wreak havoc again in December.
6. Dennis Lillee (Australia)
- Ashes career: 1971-1982
- Innings: 47
- Wickets: 128
- Best bowling in a match: 11/159
- Average: 22.32
- Economy rate: 2.45
- Strike rate: 54.6
While not always the outright fastest, Dennis Lillee combined pace, hostility and unerring control to devastating effect. In tandem with Thomson, he formed one of the most feared fast-bowling pairings in Ashes history.
Lillee’s ability to crank up to speeds in the mid-90s, allied with relentless aggression, made him a nightmare for England’s batters in the 1970s and early 1980s. Beyond the numbers,
Lillee’s aura, all chest hair, gold chain, and constant barrage of verbals, was an intimidation weapon in itself.
7. Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
- Ashes career: 2009-2015
- Innings: 34
- Wickets: 87
- Best bowling in a match: 9/82
- Average: 25.81
- Economy rate: 3.57
- Strike rate: 43.2
England fans of 2013–14 still shudder at the mention of Mitchell Johnson. Having endured years of inconsistency, Johnson suddenly clicked, bowling at 95mph with venomous bounce and late swing.
His moustached charge through that series brought 37 wickets at 13.97 and left England’s batting order in ruins. It was one of the most dominant displays of pace bowling in Ashes history, and proof of how pure speed can change the entire dynamic of a contest.
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