Watch: Five wickets in five balls, New Zealand cricketer creates history

Dubai: A cricketer in New Zealand made history with an extraordinary bowling spell, claiming six wickets in just eight deliveries — five of them in five consecutive balls.

Central Districts pacer Brett Randell produced the remarkable feat in a first-class match against Northern Districts during the Plunkett Shield in Napier. His burst made him the first player in the 254-year history of first-class cricket to take five wickets in five consecutive deliveries.

Randell finished with outstanding figures of 7 for 25 from 11 overs as Northern Districts were bowled out for just 82 and forced to follow on. Earlier, Central Districts had posted 373 in their first innings.

Northern Districts began their reply at 4 for 0 but suffered a dramatic collapse, losing five wickets in five balls to slump to 9 for 5. The sequence started when Henry Cooper was bowled by a sharp inswinger. Jeet Raval fell on the next ball, before Joe Carter edged behind to complete Randell’s hat-trick. Randell then had Robert O’Donnell caught in the slips and dismissed Kristian Clarke to complete the incredible five-in-five.

At the end of that devastating spell, Randell’s figures read 2.4 overs, one maiden, two runs and five wickets. He soon added another wicket, completing a sequence of six wickets in eight balls and cementing his place in first-class cricket history.

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While a few bowlers have achieved five wickets in five balls in T20 cricket — including Curtis Campher for Munster Reds and Kelis Ndhlovu in Zimbabwe’s domestic competition in 2024 — Randell’s accomplishment in the longer format is unprecedented.

“I’m pretty blown away,” Randell said after the match. “The high was pretty crazy — it was like a pinch-me moment. I was trying to stay level-headed and keep putting the ball in the same area, even after the hat-trick.”

He added that he focused on sticking to the team’s plan rather than chasing wickets.

“It gets drummed into us that we shouldn’t go searching for wickets. I just kept bowling the same ball and sticking to our Plan A, and it came off.”

Randell admitted he did not realise the magnitude of the achievement at the time. “I had no idea it was the first time five wickets in five balls had happened in first-class cricket anywhere in the world. It’s seriously cool. I don’t really have the words right now, to be honest — but I’ll take it.”