"If he thinks he can only bowl at 155, he is wrong"- Shoaib Akhtar picks a pacer who can soon join the 100-mile club

Shoaib Akhtar is the fastest bowler in the history of the game. He was the first bowler to reach 100 m/ph and had his name written in the record book. It's been almost two decades since the records became untouchable.

During the 2003 ODI World Cup in South Africa, he bowled the fastest cricket bowl to Nick Knight in a game against England. However, former Australian pacers Brett Lee and Shaun Tait also joined the 100-mile club.

But none of them were able to break Akhtar's record for the fastest ball, with a speed of 161 km/h. However, now, the Pakistani speedster has named a current bowler who can break his record as the fastest bowler.

Akhtar reckons that the English pacer Mark Wood is the one bowler who can join him in the elite club, but he also highlights some issues with his bowling actions. In a podcast on The Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club, Akhtar said that Wood is an exciting pacer who can bowl at speeds over 150 km/h regularly.

He said, "Mark Wood, a great looking guy and a lovely human being with a beautiful action, that’s what I like to see! If he is thinking that he cannot bowl more than 155, he is absolutely wrong there! If he wants to bowl 100mph, he needs to start pulling trucks."

Notably, England is currently in Pakistan for a three-match test series. Wood is part of the squad but didn't play in the first game due to fitness issues. He is likely to join the team in the second match if he declares fit.

The second test is scheduled to start on December 9 in Multan. On the other hand, the English pacer was the fastest bowler in the recently concluded T20 World Cup in Australia. He bowled with real pace and was the pick of the bowlers for England in the group stage.