Trescothick edged the delivery -- the fifth ball of Lee's third over and the fastest he has ever bowled -- over the third slip for a boundary.

Akhtar and Lee, acknowledged as the world's fastest  bowlers, have insisted that they are not in competition to outdo each other here at the World Cup. But during a match against England last week, Akhtar officially became the world's fastest bowler, sending a delivery recorded at 161.3 kph to opener Nick Knight.

Lee, who shared the new ball with Glenn McGrath in a  Group A match against England today, had given an indication that he was out to beat Akhtar's record in his very first over.

The second delivery was recorded at 154.2 kph. He went up to 159.7 kph in the third delivery but Knight turned him off the hips to a boundary at square leg. The fifth ball came in at 159.9 kph and last delivery came hurtling down at 160 kph.

Lee turned up the speed even more in his third over, bowling first at 160.6 kph before recording the fastest delivery of his life.

Until now, Lee's top recorded speed was 157.6 kmph  during a test against South Africa last year.

But Lee's pace came at a cost, as the England openers  negotiated him easily, forcing captain Ricky Ponting to remove him from the attack after four overs, which cost 33 runs.

Ponting had said Saturday that he doesn't want Lee to get involved in a need-for-speed contest with Akthar, and wants him to bowl accurately even if it means lowering the pace.

"I don't like it at all. I don't want Brett to bowl just as fast as he can (for the sake of a match up)," Ponting said. "But I think he has learned a lot about himself and has grown up."