In
cricket, a
five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a
bowler taking five or more
wickets in a single
innings. A five-wicket haul on debut is regarded by the critics as a notable achievement. As of February 2024,
171 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on Test match debut, out of which twenty-five were from the
South Africa national cricket team. The five-wicket hauls have come against six different opponents, and the South Africans have performed this feat fifteen times against England. Of the twenty-two matches where a South African debutant has taken a five-wicket haul, twelve have ended in defeat, six in victory and the other four in a draw. The five-wicket hauls were taken at eleven different venues, six of them being taken at the
Newlands Cricket Ground,
Cape Town.
Albert Rose-Innes was the first South African to take a five-wicket haul on Test cricket debut. He took 5 wickets for 43 runs against England in 1889. In the second Test of the series, Gobo Ashley took 7 wickets for 95 runs, in what turned out to be his only appearance in Test cricket. When the country was re-admitted to play competitive cricket in 1991, Lance Klusener became the first debutant to take a five-wicket haul. His 8 wickets for 64 runs against India in November 1996 remain the best bowling figures in an innings by a South African on debut. Sydney Burke and Alf Hall are the only South African debutants to collect 10 or more wickets in a match as of February 2015. Klusener's figures, along with George Bissett's 5 for 37 runs, were included among the "Top 100 Bowling performances of all time" by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002. Neil Brand is the latest cricketer to achieve this feat; he took 6/119 against New Zealand in February 2024.
Key
- Date – Starting date of the match
- Inn – The innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken.
- Overs – Number of overs bowled in that 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 South African team in that match.
- † – The bowler was selected "Man of the match".
- ‡ – The bowler took 10 wickets or more in the match.
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Five-wicket hauls
England
Australia
New Zealand
India
Sri Lanka
Pakistan