In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five-for" or "fifer")[1] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a significant achievement.[2] As of July 2024, 173 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on their debut in a Test match.[3] Of these, twelve cricketers have taken two five-wicket hauls on their Test debut, including five from England, two each from Australia and Sri Lanka, and one each from India, South Africa, and the West Indies.
English left-arm medium-paced bowler Frederick Martin was the first player to do so; he took 6 wickets for 50 and 6 wickets for 52 on his debut, against Australia in the second Test of the 1890 Ashes series.[4] The feat was repeated three years later by Tom Richardson who took 5 for 49 and 5 for 107 against Australia in the third Test of the 1893 Ashes series.[5] Clarrie Grimmett became the first Australian to take two five-wicket hauls on his Test debut, when he took 5 for 45 and 6 for 37 in the fifth Test of the 1924–25 Ashes series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[6] Charles Marriott was the third England player to take a pair of fifers on his Test debut, against the West Indies on their 1933 tour of England.[7] Despite his bowling performance, Marriott never played Test cricket again.[8]
Ken Farnes took two five-wicket hauls on his debut against Australia in the first Test of the 1934 Ashes series but still ended on the losing side.[9] In 1948, West Indian right-arm fast bowler Hines Johnson was the first cricketer outside an Ashes tournament to take two fifers on his Test debut when he took 5 for 41 and 5 for 55 against England at Sabina Park during England's 1947–48 tour.[10][11] South African medium-fast bowler Sydney Burke became the seventh player to take a pair of five-wicket hauls on Test debut, with a total of eleven wickets in the third Test of New Zealand tour of 1961–62.[12][13]
Narendra Hirwani recorded the best match-figures by any bowler on Test debut. He took 8 for 61 and 8 for 75 against West Indies in 1987–88 Test series.[14] As of July 2024, England's fast bowler Gus Atkinson is the most recent cricketer to take two five-wicket hauls on debut. He took 7/45 and 5/61 against West Indies during the first Test of the 2024 series between the teams.[15]
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
Date | Date the match was held, or starting date of the match for Test matches |
Overs | Number of overs bowled in that innings |
Runs | Runs conceded |
Wkts | Number of wickets taken |
Econ | Bowling economy rate (average runs conceded per over bowled) |
Batsmen | The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul |
Result | The result for the bowler's team in that match |
† | Bowler selected as "Man of the match" |
Drawn | The match was drawn |
Note: For the bowling figures, the top line is the first innings bowling figures, and the bottom line is the second innings bowling figures.
No. | Bowler | Date | Ground | Against | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Frederick Martin | 11 August 1890 | The Oval, London, United Kingdom | Australia | 27[a] | 50 | 6 | 2.22 | Won[4] | |
30.2[a] | 52 | 6 | 2.05 | |||||||
2 | Tom Richardson | 24 August 1893 | Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom | Australia | 23.4[a] | 49 | 5 | 2.47 | Drawn[5] | |
44[a] | 107 | 5 | 2.91 | |||||||
3 | Clarrie Grimmett | 7 February 1925 | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia | England | 11.7[b] | 45 | 5 | 2.84 | Won[6] | |
19.4[b] | 37 | 6 | 1.42 | |||||||
4 | Charles Marriott | 12 August 1933 | The Oval, London, United Kingdom | West Indies | 11.5 | 37 | 5 | 3.12 | Won[7] | |
29.2 | 59 | 6 | 2.01 | |||||||
5 | Ken Farnes | 8 June 1934 | Trent Bridge, Nottingham, United Kingdom | Australia | 40.2 | 102 | 5 | 2.52 | Lost[9] | |
25 | 77 | 5 | 3.08 | |||||||
6 | Hines Johnson | 27 March 1948 | Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | England | 34.5 | 41 | 5 | 2.52 | Won[10] | |
31 | 55 | 5 | 1.77 | |||||||
7 | Sydney Burke | 1 January 1962 | Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa | New Zealand | 53.5 | 128 | 6 | 2.37 | Lost[12] | |
27.1 | 68 | 5 | 2.55 | |||||||
8 | Bob Massie | 22 June 1972 | Lord's, London, United Kingdom | England | 32.5 | 84 | 8 | 2.55 | Won[16] | |
27.2 | 53 | 8 | 2.38 | |||||||
9 | Narendra Hirwani | 11 January 1988 | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Madras, India | West Indies | 18.3 | 61 | 8 | 3.29 | Won[17] | |
15.2 | 75 | 8 | 4.89 | |||||||
10 | Praveen Jayawickrama† | 3 May 2021 | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | 32 | 92 | 6 | 2.88 | Won[18] | |
32 | 86 | 5 | 2.69 | |||||||
11 | Prabath Jayasuriya† | 11 July 2022 | Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka | Australia | 36 | 118 | 6 | 3.27 | Won[19] | |
16 | 59 | 6 | 3.68 | |||||||
12 | Gus Atkinson† | 10 July 2024 | Lord's, London, England | West Indies | 12 | 45 | 7 | 3.75 | Won[15] | |
14 | 61 | 5 | 4.35 | |||||||
Source:[20] Correct as of 11 July 2022 |
... I'd rather take fifers (five wickets) for England ...