Records indicate this feat hasn’t been accomplished since the first documented first-class match in 1772.
WELLINGTON: An unheralded New Zealand domestic bowler made history on Sunday, becoming the first player in the 254-year history of first-class cricket to take five wickets in five consecutive deliveries.
Brett Randell achieved the remarkable feat while bowling for Central Districts against Northern Districts on day two of a Plunket Shield four-day match, witnessed by a modest crowd at McLean Park in Napier.
Records from the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians indicate that this feat hasn’t been achieved since the first documented first-class match in 1772.
According to the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, and corroborated by other cricket historians, no one has taken five wickets in five balls since the inaugural recorded first-class match in 1772.
Historical records show that this extraordinary feat has not been matched since cricket’s first recognized first-class match in 1772.
Last year, Ireland international Curtis Campher became the first player to take five wickets in five balls in a professional Twenty20 match, but Brett Randell has now achieved the historic feat in first-class cricket.
Randell’s right-arm seamers tore through the Northern Districts top order with ruthless precision. The 30-year-old began by clean bowling Henry Cooper with the final delivery of his second over, then dismissed fellow opener and former New Zealand Test batsman Jeet Raval at the start of his third over.
Three more wickets fell on consecutive deliveries, including the record-breaking fifth wicket, when international all-rounder Kristian Clarke was bowled. Randell went on to claim two additional wickets in his following over, as Northern Districts were bowled out for just 82 in response to Central Districts’ massive 373.
Randell finished with figures of 7-25, marking the best performance of his nine-year, 38-match first-class career.
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