Who has been the fastest bowler in cricket?

Even though in modern times, the rules of cricket have evolved to favor the batsman more than ever, there is no better sight for any other cricket lover when a fast bowler charge and hurls down a ball at the speed of 140+ kmph and makes the batsman realize that if they aren’t careful they will lose their wicket or worse, suffer a blow that will leave a mark for weeks. Even though due to the strenuous efforts by fast bowlers which results in a majority of them having a short career, they are the players who have impacted the field of cricket greatly. I will talk about a few of the fast bowlers who were at the top of their craft and the lethal speed in which they bowled created terror in the mind of the batsman facing them. 

• Mitchell Johnson- With the handlebar mustache and the searing fast pace by which he was bowling, his performances in the 2013/14 Ashes series is something which will be talked about for ages. He was so quick and lethal during that series that he finished the career of a few English batsmen who could not cope with his bowling. He bowled a delivery with a speed of 156.8 kmph in the series at the MCG. For his efforts in the series, he was awarded the ICC Test Cricketer and the ICC Test Player of the Award in 2014. 
• Mitchell Starc- The perfect replacement for Johnson, Starc has created a name for himself as one of the best fast bowlers of his time. He was one of the main reasons behind Australia lifting the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015. A very useful lower-order batsman, Starc clocked a delivery at 160.4 kmph against New Zealand. 
• Bret Lee- The third Australian on the list and probably the most famous of the lot, Lee is one of the best fast bowlers Australia has ever produced. He was instrumental in the rampaging run of Australia in world cricket by helping them lift the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy twice, first in 2003, followed by 2007. In 2005, Lee clocked a delivery of 161.1 kmph against New Zealand, thus giving a testament of the limits of the speed of the fast bowler.
• Shoaib Akhtar- The Rawalpindi Express. The fastest bowler in the history of cricket. Representing Pakistan, Akhtar is synonymous with the term fast bowling by constantly reaching close to the 100 mph mark and breaking it twice in his career. Playing at the same time as Lee, both of them defined a glorious period of fast bowling in the history of cricket. He recorded the fastest delivery ever in the history of cricket against England in the 2003 World Cup, which was recorded at 161.3 kmph. A record that will most likely never be broken.