New Zealander Brett Randell became the first player to take five wickets in five balls in first-class cricket during a remarkable bowling burst in a domestic match in his homeland.
The 30-year seam bowler claimed six wickets in eight deliveries all told as he starred for Central Stags against Northern Districts in a Plunket Shield clash in Napier.
Randell – who played two County Championship games for Somerset in 2024 – finished with figures of 7-25 from 11 overs as Northern Districts were rolled for 82 in reply to their opponents’ 373.
Randell played two County Championship matches for Somerset in 2024, taking three wickets
Ireland’s Curtis Campher claimed five wickets in as many balls in a domestic T20 game last year, while Zimbabwe Women’s Kelis Ndhlovu did likewise in an U19 T20 in 2024.
But Randell is the first to do in the 254-year history of first-class cricket.
He said afterwards: “I am pretty blown away. The high was pretty crazy, it was like a pinch-me moment. It’s seriously cool, I don’t really have any words at the moment, to be honest.
“I was trying to stay level-headed and keep putting the ball in the same area and then after the actual hat-trick, just the same things – trying to put the ball in the same area.
“It gets drummed into us that we don’t want to go searching for wickets, so I was trying to just keep bowling the same ball, and our ‘Plan A’ that we had talked about, and it came off.”
