Jeff Thomson

Jeffrey Robert Thomson (born 16 August 1950) is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he is one of the fastest bowlers in the history of cricket; he bowled a delivery with a speed of 160.6 km/h against the West Indies in Perth in 1975, which was the fastest recorded delivery at the time and the fourth-fastest recorded delivery of all time. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup. 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". Another news reporter reported: "Dump a cricket ball in kerosene, light it on fire and launch it out of a cannon and then you'll get something like Jeff Thomson." He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2016.