Will we ever see a fast bowlers deliver cricket balls above 160kph again?

In 2010, Australian cricketer Shaun Tait stood at the top of his mark on the picturesque turf of the famous Lord's Cricket Ground, ready to open the bowling against arch rivals England.

On the fifth ball of the over, Tait again seamlessly approached the crease, with his chest out, arms swinging beside him before ripping another thunderbolt of a delivery with his trademark slinging action, leaving England's then-captain Andrew Strauss to glance the ball from chest height for a single.

That delivery was clocked at 161.1 kilometres per hour, or 100.1 miles per hour, by the radar gun.

Fifteen years on, it remains the fastest ever recorded ball by an Australian and second of all-time behind Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar's bowl of 161.3kph.

Bowling above 160 kph, is a feat only achieved by a few across the world, but in recent years the number of bowlers even getting close to that figure has diminished.

Cricket biomechanics researcher and professional cricket coach, Rene Ferdinands, said questions were often raised about why bowling speeds had decreased compared to previous eras.

He attributed changes in bowling techniques as a possible cause and said it was "concerning" the traditional side on action that gave rise to many world-class bowlers, including Jeff Thomson, Mitchell Johnson, Akhtar and Tait, had now become something of the past.

"It's … technically the most efficient one and probably easier to achieve than the front on action."

Dr Ferdinands said the theory behind the shift from a side on to a front on bowling action was to prevent injury and improve efficiency, but he said those theories were "pseudo-scientific", and that front on bowlers were more prone to injuries.

He also said current coaching methods were prohibiting bowlers from developing a natural action, and with difficulties for bowlers to achieve optimal performance already it further reduced the number of potential players who could bowl at high speeds.

I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff Thompson turned up today and someone changed him to another kind of action, that's how serious this is.

"This is reaching epidemic levels."