In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five-for" or "fifer")[2] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a significant achievement.[3] As of September 2024[update], 174 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on their debut in a Test match,[4] with ten of them being taken by West Indian players.[5] They have taken a five-wicket haul on debut against five different opponents: four times against England, twice against India and Australia, and once against Pakistan and Sri Lanka each.[6] Of the ten occasions, the West Indies won the match four times, and drew once.[7][8] The players have taken five-wicket hauls at four different venues, two in the West Indies and two overseas.[9] The most common venue for a West Indies player to achieve the feat is Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, where it has occurred five times.[9] Of the overseas hauls, three occurred at Old Trafford in Manchester, England.[9][10]
Hines Johnson was the first West Indian player to take a five-wicket haul on his Test debut, taking five wickets for 41 runs against England in 1948.[11][12] Alf Valentine, Darren Sammy and Franklyn Rose took eight, seven and six wickets respectively, while six others have taken five wickets on their debut.[5] Valentine took eight wickets for 104 runs, the best bowling figures by a West Indian bowler on debut, against England in 1950, at Old Trafford, Manchester.[13] He accumulated 11 wickets for 204 runs in the match.[14] Johnson and Valentine are the only West Indians to have taken ten wickets in a match on debut; Johnson is one of only nine bowlers to take two five-wicket hauls on debut.[15][16] Amongst the bowlers, Johnson is the most economical, with 1.17 runs per over,[17] and Sammy has the best strike rate.[18][note 1] As of 2024[update], the most recent bowler to achieve the feat was Shamar Joseph, taking five wickets for 94 runs in his debut Test, against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in January, 2024.[20]
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
Bowler | The bowler who took the five-wicket haul |
‡ | 10 wickets or more taken in the match |
† | The bowler was selected as man of the match |
Date | Starting date of the Test match |
Ground | The Test cricket ground where the match was played |
Against | The team the bowler was playing against |
Inn | The innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken |
Overs | Number of overs bowled in the innings |
Runs | Runs conceded |
Wkts | Number of wickets taken |
Econ | Bowling economy rate (average runs per over) |
Batsmen | The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul |
Result | The result for the West Indies team in that match |
No. | Bowler | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hines Johnson ‡ | 27 March 1948 | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | England | 1 | 34.5 | 41 | 5 | 1.17 | Won[12] | |
3 | 31.0 | 55 | 5 | 1.77 | |||||||
2 | Alf Valentine ‡ | 8 June 1950 | Old Trafford, Manchester, England | England | 1 | 50.0 | 104 | 8 | 2.08 | Lost[14] | |
3 | Jaswick Taylor | 26 March 1958 | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Pakistan | 2 | 36.5 | 109 | 5 | 2.95 | Lost[21] | |
4 | Lester King | 13 April 1962 | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | India | 2 | 19.0 | 46 | 5 | 2.42 | Won[22] | |
5 | John Shepherd | 12 June 1969 | Old Trafford, Manchester, England | England | 1 | 58.5 | 104 | 5 | 1.76 | Lost[23] | |
6 | Franklyn Rose † | 6 March 1997 | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | India | 2 | 33.0 | 100 | 6 | 3.03 | Drawn[24] | |
7 | Nehemiah Perry | 13 March 1999 | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | Australia | 3 | 26.0 | 70 | 5 | 2.69 | Won[25] | |
8 | Fidel Edwards | 27 June 2003 | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | Sri Lanka | 1 | 15.4 | 36 | 5 | 2.29 | Won[26] | |
9 | Darren Sammy | 7 June 2007 | Old Trafford, Manchester, England | England | 3 | 21.3 | 66 | 7 | 3.06 | Lost[1] | |
10 | Shamar Joseph | 18 January 2024 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia | Australia | 2 | 20 | 94 | 5 | 4.70 | Lost |
... I'd rather take fifers (five wickets) for England ...