THE manner with which the first 100mph delivery by a cricketer was greeted wasn't surprising.

As any keen follower of Pakistani Cricket will tell you the ICC have always had it in for Shoaib Akhtar.

The 26-year-old bowler was clocked at 161 kilometres an hour, a fraction over the 100 miles an hour mark, during the third one-day international against New Zealand recently. The ICC have since said the delivery will remain unrecorded.

Shoaib has always managed to get himself on the wrong side of cricketing authorities and should be commended for battling through and coming out top.

Akhtar's record was announced in a statement by the Pakistan Cricket Board at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

"According to the speed gun operated in the ground by a sponsor, Shoaib Akhtar bowled a delivery as a speed of 161 kph (100.04)," the statement said.

The main issue concerning the ICC is the fact the delivery was recorded on a sponsor's speed gun after the gun operated by the host broadcasting company broke down.

Since the last World Cup both Akhtar and Australian Brett Lee have been attempting to break the world record set back in 1976 by Jeff Thompson.

In special nets set up for the purpose of measuring the speed of a bowl Thompson's delivery was clocked at 99.8 miles per hour. In the same session West Indian Andy Roberts bowled one at 97.8 miles per hour.

The delivery has definitely spiced up the three one-day matches between Pakistan and Australia in June. Both bowlers have been in explosive form this year and this summer we could see the record be smashed again.

The first two day-night matches between Australia and Pakistan will be played indoors at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium on June 12 and 15. The third match will be played outdoors in Brisbane on June 19.

Although we as cricket fans will never know some of the fastest deliveries in history may have gone unaccounted for. In the late seventies and early eighties Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Dennis Lille had many batsmen quivering in their boots.

The top six

100.04 mph, Shoaib Akhtar (Pak), v New Zealand, Lahore, 2002

99.8 mph, Jeff Thomson (Aus), special study*, 1976

98.4 mph, Brett Lee (Aus), v SA, Cape Town, 2001/02

97.8 mph, Andy Roberts (WI), special study*, 1976

96.0 mph, Nantie Hayward (SA, v Ind, Bloemfontein, 2001/02

95.1 mph, Waqar Younis (Pak), v SA, 1993

* Thomson and Roberts were measured in controlled conditions with high-speed cameras