In
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a
bowler takes five or more
wicket
In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...
s in a single
innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a
century
A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
...
from a
batter.
Taking a five-wicket haul at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
earns the bowler a place on the
Lord's honours boards
The Lord's honours boards are boards in the Lord's Pavilion, Pavilion at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, which commemorate cricket players who have scored a century (cricket), century, taken Five-wicket haul, 5 wickets in a single innings, or ...
.
Records
As of 2025, only thirteen cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul in all three international formats of the game (
Test cricket
Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
,
One Day International and
Twenty20 International):
Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis and
Lasith Malinga,
India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and
Kuldeep Yadav,
New Zealand's Tim Southee,
South Africa's Imran Tahir and
Lungi Ngidi,
West Indies' Jason Holder and
Alzarri Joseph,
Bangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan,
Pakistani
Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
Umar Gul and
Hasan Ali, and
Afghan Rashid Khan.
In 2018,
Afghan cricketer
Mujeeb Zadran, aged 16, became the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in an ODI. In 2019, Pakistani cricketer
Naseem Shah, also aged 16, became the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a Test match. Afghan cricketer
Rashid Khan is the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a T20 international match; he was 18 at the time.
Sri Lankan
Muttiah Muralitharan has taken the most five-wicket hauls in
Test matches with 67, and Pakistani
Waqar Younis has taken the most five-wicket hauls in
ODIs
ODIS, or the Offender Data Information System is a web based, computerized records management software application to improve the capture, maintenance and quality of law enforcement data that is capable of running in any combination of centraliz ...
with 13. The record for most five-wicket hauls in
T20Is is two, which has been achieved by seven cricketers.
See also
*
List of cricketers with five-wicket hauls in all international formats
*
List of cricketers who have taken five-wicket hauls on Test debut
*
List of cricketers who have taken two five-wicket hauls on Test debut
*
:Lists of international cricket five-wicket hauls
*
Ten-wicket haul
References
{{International cricket five-wicket hauls
Cricket terminology
Cricket records and statistics
Bowling (cricket)