Jeff Thomson

Who is Jeff Thomson?

Jeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he is known unofficially as the fastest bowler of all time. He was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history. Commenting on their bowling during the 1974–75 season, Wisden wrote: "... it was easy to believe they were the fastest pair ever to have coincided in a cricket team".

In 1975, in "net conditions", he was timed using high-speed cameras with a speed of 160.45 km/h; one year on in 1976, he was timed at 160.58 km/h again, using conventional radar; There is speculation though, that with the available technology then, the speeds measured then were actually 'averaged' over the length of the pitch.

Most cricketers and experts and viewers who have watched cricket from at least the 1970s rate Thomson as the fastest they ever saw. Richie Benaud rates Thomson as the fastest he has seen since Frank Tyson. Australian wicket-keeper Rod Marsh kept wicket to Thomson for most of his Test career and claimed that Thomson bowled upwards of 180 km/h. Ian Chappell and Ashley Mallett have also opined the same.