Jeff Thomson

Possibly the fastest bowler ever, Jeff Thomson ran to the wicket at the pace of man jogging around the block, but his whiplashing action was one of cricket's most explosive, with the ball hurled like a javelin. In that, he was the forebear of the likes of Lasith Malinga, who took ball-slinging to an extreme in the 21st century.

Thomson was also naturally fit, and as much a threat with old ball as new. He debuted against Pakistan in 1972-73, but was ineffective, hampered by a broken bone in his foot (which he hid from the selectors). Recalled in 1974-75, he teamed up with Dennis Lillee to terrorise the England tourists with consistent spells of extreme fast bowling, taking 33 wickets in the series.

When West Indies came visiting the following season, "Thommo" laid a bet with a West Indian businessman about whether he or Andy Roberts would take more wickets in the series. Thomson won, taking 29 wickets in the six Tests, including five on Boxing Day in Melbourne and six in the second innings in Sydney to blow West Indies away for 128.

Thomson's action put considerable stress on his body, particularly his right shoulder, and he was rarely fit enough to reach those peaks again. He adapted, relying less on pure pace, and more on an excellent cutter, and seam and swing. Occasionally he would unleash the fast bouncer that would skid and follow the batter from only just short of a length.

He remained with the Australian side when many left to join World Series Cricket in 1977, and carried their attack through two series against England and India, where he took 45 wickets in ten Tests, but he left to join WSC himself shortly afterwards. He was a capable fielder, and a lower-order batter who could hit. In 1982, Allan Border and he nearly pulled off the greatest last-wicket chase in history, when they put on 70 runs between them and fell four short of the target of 292.

Thomson finished on a round 200 Test wickets, getting to the mark on his last Ashes tour, in 1985.