There are plenty of genuinely fast bowlers but relatively few candidates with a claim to be The Fastest of All. Then again, up at that rarified pace, it can be argued a few hundredths of a second is neither here nor there.
New Zealand have had Gary Bartlett from the 1960s and more recently Shane Bond, both seriously quick but blighted by injuries in relatively short careers.
Pakistan had Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar - whose 161.3km/h delivery against England in 2003 is listed as the fastest of all deliveries - as worthy candidates in any discussion, although Akhtar's arm didn't always bear close scrutiny.
When South Africa were allowed back into the world game in 1992, Allan Donald was among the slipperiest going around.
Michael Holding, the Rolls Royce of the West Indies four-pronged era, and the godfather of the quartet, Andy Roberts, were the quickest from the Caribbean in their prime.
In more modern times, Australians Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, and South African Dale Steyn, in his pomp, fit into the group.
A solid case can be made for Thomson as top dog. His javelin style action made it difficult for batsmen to pick up the ball, and at his pace they needed every split second.
One of New Zealand's better batsmen recalled a moment in a game against Queensland in 1980. Thomson was having a blue with the Australian selectors and felt a point needed to be made. The batsmen remembered Thomson's arm coming over and in a blink he lost sight of the ball. Time stood still, the batsman froze, until he heard the ball smack into the wicketkeeper's gloves.
Modest Thommo reckoned on occasions he would have been closer to 180km/h with current testing.
All good fun, but reaching a quantifiable assessment?
Not that easy.
Surely there must be technical equipment which can assess, from studying film of these bowlers from yesteryear, how quickly the ball travelled from point A to B. Then again, that would take the fun away from the argument.
