List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Courtney Walsh

A photograph of Courtney Walsh
Former West Indian captain, Courtney Walsh

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 notable achievement,[2] and as of October 2024, only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[3] Courtney Walsh, a former cricketer, who represented the West Indies cricket team from 1984 to 2001, took 23 five-wicket hauls in international cricket.[3][4] He played 132 Tests and 205 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and took 519 and 227 wickets respectively.[4] A right-arm fast bowler, Walsh took 22 five-wicket hauls in Tests and 1 in ODIs.[5] In 1987, when he was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year, the cricket almanack Wisden noted his "three distinct speeds, all delivered with the same action", and his "sparing use of the bouncer, his shorter deliveries generally threatening the batsman's rib-cage, a tactic which, allied to change of pace, produced many catches in the short-leg area off splice or glove."[6] He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in October 2010.[7]

Walsh made his Test debut in November 1984 against Australia at the WACA Ground, Perth, a match West Indies won by an innings and 112 runs.[8] His first Test five-wicket haul came in 1987 against New Zealand at the Eden Park, Auckland; the match was won by West Indies by 10 wickets.[9] His career-best bowling figures for an innings were 7 wickets for 37 runs against the same team at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, in February 1995.[10] He took another 6 wickets in the next innings, accumulating 13 wickets for 55 runs in the match—his solitary pair of five-wicket hauls. West Indies won the match by an innings and 322 runs, and his performance earned him a man of the match award.[11] Walsh took more five-wicket hauls against England than any other nation: five.[10] He took ten or more wickets in a match on three occasions.[12]

Walsh made his ODI debut during the 1984–85 World Series Cup against Sri Lanka at the Tasmania Cricket Association Ground, Hobart.[13] His solitary ODI five-wicket haul came against the same team in December 1986, a match which West Indies won at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah by 193 runs. He took five wickets conceding one run in the match.[14] ESPNcricinfo declared that it was the "cheapest" five-wicket haul in the history of international cricket.[15] As of 2014, he is sixteenth among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers.[3]

Key

Kensington Oval with players in the ground; empty stands are also visible.
The Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, where Walsh took three of his five-wicket hauls
Symbol Meaning
Date Date the match was held, or starting date of the match for Test matches
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
Batsmen The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul
Econ Bowling economy rate (average runs per over)
Result The result for the West Indies team in that match
* One of two five-wicket hauls by Walsh in a match
† Walsh selected as "Man of the match"
‡ 10 wickets or more taken in the match
§ Captained the West Indies cricket team

Tests

Five-wicket hauls in Test cricket by Courtney Walsh
No. Date Ground Against Inn Overs Runs Wkts Econ Batsmen Result
1 27 February 1987 Eden Park, Auckland  New Zealand 3 30.2 73 5 2.40 Won[9]
2 25 November 1987 Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi  India 3 29.3 54 5 1.83 Won[16]
3 11 December 1987 Wankhede Stadium, Bombay[n 1]  India 1 17.4 54 5 3.05 Drawn[17]
4 28 April 1989 Sabina Park, Kingston  India 1 29 62 6 2.13 Won[18]
5 24 February 1990 Sabina Park, Kingston  England 2 27.2 68 5 2.48 Lost[19]
6 8 April 1994 Kensington Oval, Bridgetown  England 3 28 94 5 3.35 Lost[20]
7 18 November 1994 Wankhede Stadium, Bombay[n 1]  India 1 22 79 6 3.59 Lost[21]
8 10 February 1995*†‡ Basin Reserve, Wellington  New Zealand 2 20.4 37 7 1.79 Won[11]
9 10 February 1995*†‡ Basin Reserve, Wellington  New Zealand 3 15.2 18 6 1.17 Won[11]
10 8 April 1995† Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's  Australia 1 21.3 54 6 2.51 Drawn[22]
11 25 March 1995 Edgbaston, Birmingham  England 3 15 45 5 3.00 Won[23]
12 29 November 1995§ Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney  Australia 1 30 98 5 3.26 Lost[24]
13 1 February 1997§ WACA Ground, Perth  Australia 3 20 74 5 3.70 Won[25]
14 17 November 1997§ Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar  Pakistan 2 32 78 5 2.43 Lost[26]
15 29 November 1997§ Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi  Pakistan 2 43.1 143 5 3.31 Lost[27]
16 15 January 1999 Centurion Park, Centurion  South Africa 1 24.5 80 6 3.22 Lost[28]
17 26 March 1999 Kensington Oval, Bridgetown  Australia 3 17.1 39 5 2.27 Won[29]
18 18 May 2000 Kensington Oval, Bridgetown  Pakistan 1 13 22 5 1.69 Drawn[31]
19 25 May 2000 Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's  Pakistan 1 26 83 5 3.19 Won[32]
20 15 June 2000† Edgbaston, Birmingham  England 1 21 36 5 1.71 Won[33]
21 29 June 2000†‡ Lord's Cricket Ground, London  England 4 23.5 74 6 3.10 Lost[34]
22 17 March 2001 Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain  South Africa 3 36.4 61 6 1.66 Lost[35]

One Day Internationals

Five-wicket hauls in ODI cricket by Courtney Walsh
No. Date Ground Against Inn Overs Runs Wkts Econ Batsmen Result
1 3 December 1986† Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah  Sri Lanka 2 4.3 1 5 0.22 Won[14]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Bombay has since been renamed as Mumbai.
  2. ^ Mohammad Yousuf, after his conversion to Islam[30]

References

  1. ^ "Swinging it for the Auld Enemy – An interview with Ryan Sidebottom". The Scotsman. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2013. ... I'd rather take fifers (five wickets) for England ...
  2. ^ Pervez, M. A. (2001). A Dictionary of Cricket. Orient Blackswan. p. 31. ISBN 978-81-7370-184-9. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Records / Combined Test, ODI and T20I records / Bowling records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Courtney Walsh". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Records / Test matches / Bowling records – Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Wisden:Cricketer of the year 1987 – Courtney Walsh". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Rachael Heyhoe-Flint first woman inducted into cricket's Hall of Fame". The Guardian. Press Association. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  8. ^ "West Indies tour of Australia, 1984/85: The Frank Worrell Trophy – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  9. ^ a b "West Indies tour of New Zealand, 1986/87: Test series – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Statistics / Statsguru / Courtney Walsh / Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  11. ^ a b c "West Indies tour of New Zealand, 1994/95: Test series – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  12. ^ "Records/Test matches/Bowling records/Most ten-wickets-in-a-match in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  13. ^ "Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, 1984/85 – 3rd match". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Champions Trophy, 1986/87 – 5th Match". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  15. ^ "Cricket history on 3 December: Wicketkeeper's day out". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  16. ^ "West Indies tour of India, 1987/88: Test series – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  17. ^ "West Indies tour of India, 1987/88: Test series – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  18. ^ "India tour of West Indies, 1988/89: Test series – 4th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  19. ^ "England tour of West Indies, 1989/90: The Wisden Trophy – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  20. ^ "England tour of West Indies, 1993/94: The Wisden Trophy – 4th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  21. ^ "West Indies tour of India, 1994/95: Test series – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  22. ^ "Australia tour of West Indies, 1994/95: The Frank Worrell Trophy – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  23. ^ "West Indies tour of England, 1995 : The Wisden Trophy – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  24. ^ "West Indies tour of Australia, 1996/97: The Frank Worrell Trophy – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  25. ^ "West Indies tour of Australia, 1996/97: The Frank Worrell Trophy – 5th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  26. ^ "West Indies tour of Pakistan, 1997/98: Test series – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  27. ^ "West Indies tour of Pakistan, 1997/98: Test series – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  28. ^ "West Indies tour of South Africa, 1998/99: Test series – 5th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  29. ^ "Australia tour of West Indies, 1998/99: The Frank Worrell Trophy – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  30. ^ Samiuddin, Osman (23 September 2005). "Religion and the Pakistan team – Finding Faith". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  31. ^ "Pakistan tour of West Indies, 2000: Test series – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  32. ^ "Pakistan tour of West Indies, 2000: Test series – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  33. ^ "West Indies tour of England and Scotland, 2000: The Wisden Trophy – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  34. ^ "West Indies tour of England and Scotland, 2000: The Wisden Trophy – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  35. ^ "South Africa tour of West Indies, 2000/01: Sir Vivian Richards Trophy – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.