Pacers are mainly known for their bowling speed, which is their primary weapon against the batsmen. In addition to that, they practice on their line and lengths, variations, and ability to swing. It is said in cricket that a good batsman or spinner can be made after years of practice, but pacers are born and carved into a better bowler.
Many pacers are naturally blessed with the right genetics and body proportions required for speed of bowling. Let’s dive deep into the analysis of the Pacers’ mechanism of generating speed and the reasons behind sheer speed.
Legendary Pacers Bowling Speed Analysis
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Mitchell Johnson– The tall left-arm pacer from Australia used to bowl over 150 kmph and gave a death scare to the batsmen on the striker, especially on the Australian pitches. His infamous trap of bowling short-pitch deliveries towards the body of the batsmen in the Ashes series, with 2 fielders at the deep leg and 2 in the 30-yard area. His highest bowling speed is 156.8 kmph.
In his career span of 2005-2015, he managed to take 590 wickets, including all formats. His accuracy was as good as his speed, which trapped the English batsmen on the short balls, even though they are good at playing such deliveries. His action was the reason behind generating a significant amount of speed while bowling.
He marked his run-up to the 30-yard mark, and after his load up at the time of release, he delayed his bowling arm after placing the front foot. This action looked similar to a catapult due to his slingy action and bowled fireballs on the pitch, especially in Test cricket.
Mitchell Starc– Another modern-day great bowler from Australia who is known for taking a wicket in his first over of the match, for instance, dismissing Rory Burns in the Ashes 2021, 1st Test, and 1st ball of the match with a swinging delivery, taking out the leg-stump. Till now (24th June, 2025), he has taken 710 wickets in his career span of 2010-2025. His highest bowling speed is 160.4 kmph.
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He takes a long run-up of more than 30 yards circle,s and generates the speed with his subtle sprint while bowling and due to long extension of non-bowling arm with a snap of wrist at the time of release initiating massive amount of speed on the ball with a significant amount of back spin to swing the ball as well.
His quick speed and great movement of the ball make it extremely hard for the batsman to face the ball on merit.
Jofra Archer– The Caribbean right-arm fast bowler of England, who created havoc in international cricket in 2019 with his extravagant performance in the ODI World Cup in England. His highest bowling speed was recorded at 152.3 kmph. In his career span of 2019-2025, he has taken 137 wickets.
His run-up is usually not very long, and he generates the speed solely with his arms. He does not jump or load up like other pacers at the time of release, and when he reaches near the crease, his bowling takes a full rotation without bending like a windmill, which creates an enormous speed and unexpected bounce on the ball.
For instance, in the 2019World Cup, he bowled a length delivery with a scrambled seam to Soumya from Bangladesh, and the ball went past the boundary after hitting the off-stump.
Jasprit Bumrah– The lone warrior of India who broke several records in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar trophy by taking 12 five-wicket hauls and achieving the lowest bowling average after completing 200 Tests, surpassing 90s and 80s legends like Malcum Marshal, Joel Garner, and Curtly Ambrose, etc. He has taken a total of 448 wickets till now (24th June, 2025) across all formats for India.
He creates his speed from his release position and wrist. With a small run-up of hardly 9 to 10 steps, Bumrah takes a jump around the crease and with his unique bowling action he releases the ball late from his bowling arm around 30 cm more than an average bowler and snaps his wrist at the end which gives less time to the batsmen to face the delivery front-on. His highest bowling speed is 153.26 kmph.
ALSO READ: Top 5 Bowlers With Most Test Wickets Since 2020
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