Is it a bird, or a 100mph delivery?

Otago: A low-flying seagull was blamed for interfering with the speed gun on Friday when New Zealand`s Neil Wagner bowled a ball clocked at 160 kilometres (99.4 miles) per hour -- one of the quickest on record.

The surprise missile from Wagner, whose normal bowling speed is in the low 130s, lit up social media before the speed radar`s operators said the reading may have been affected by a passing bird.

The left-arm seamer`s ball came on a blustery day at Dunedin`s University Oval when he was bowling to Sri Lanka`s Dinesh Chandimal on day two of the first Test.

However, members of the television production team operating the speed radar said a bird had probably caused an inaccurate reading from one of two monitors at the ground.

The alternative reading was 133kph, more in keeping with Wagner`s usual pace.

If Wagner did in fact send down a ball at 160kph, he would have been just a shade off Mitchell Starc`s Test world record of 160.4, set last month in Perth.

The fastest recorded delivery is 161.3 by Pakistan`s Shoaib Akhtar, nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", against England in a 2003 World Cup limited-overs match.

"If Neil Wagner is hitting 160km, then the drinks cart is doing 150km and West Indian cricket is nosediving at warp," quipped Twitter user @eld2_0.