‘Shoaib is the fastest bowler i have ever played' said pointing

COLOMBO: Ricky Ponting on Friday paid a glowing tribute to Shoaib Akhtar describing the retiring Pakistan pacer as the fastest bowler he has ever faced in his international career.
The Australian captain told reporters here at the R Premadasa Stadium that he still believes that Akhtar, who announced on Thursday that he will quit the game after the World Cup, has the ability to make his presence in the ongoing tournament.
“I had some great duels with Shoaib over the years,” said Ponting. “To this day I still say he’s the fastest bowler that I’ve ever faced in international cricket,” he added.
“There’s one spell that everyone can watch on the internet of him bowling to me at the WACA. That was reasonably entertaining, although more so I think for Justin Langer who was at the other end laughing at me while I was trying to keep Shoaib’s deliveries out! He was express pace; a very, very good bowler.
Ponting said that Akhtar has managed to retain some of his pace in spite of a number of injuries.
“I guess over the years he’s probably had his fair share of injuries that haven’t allowed him to play as much as he would have liked, but even in this tournament you could see that he’s still got ability with the new ball, he’s still got pace and his experience has obviously helped him at different times as well.
“I talked about (Shahid) Afridi and (Umar) Gul, but in our team meeting we also spoke about Shoaib and what we need to do against him as well. So congratulations to him on what’s been an outstanding career.”