List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Richie Benaud

A side shot of Richie Benaud
Former Australian captain, Richie Benaud.

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] Richie Benaud, a leg spinner and former captain of the Australia cricket team, played 63 Tests for his country between 1952 and 1964.[4] He took 248 wickets at an average of 27.03, including 16 five-wicket hauls.[4][5] The cricket almanack Wisden named him one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1962.[6] He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2007,[7] and into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame as one of the inaugural members in January 2009.[8][9] Leo McKinstry, a cricket writer, in 1998 described Benaud as "one of cricket's greatest legends" and "one of the great all-rounders", and further noted him being the first to take 200 wickets and make 2,000 runs in Tests.[10]

Benaud made his Test debut in January 1952 against the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground, a match Australia won by 202 runs.[11] His first Test five-wicket haul came in the first match of the 1956–57 series against India at the Corporation Stadium.[n 1] He took 7 wickets for 72 runs in the first innings of the match, his best bowling figures for an innings.[12] Benaud took his solitary pair of five-wicket hauls in the third Test of the series at the Eden Gardens. He accumulated 11 wickets for 105 runs in the match, his career-best performance in Test cricket.[12][13] Benaud claimed his 16 five-wicket hauls against five different opponents, and Australia never lost any of the games on such instances. He was most successful against India and South Africa, taking 5 five-wicket hauls against each side.[12] Benaud took his five-wicket hauls at 12 cricket grounds, including 11 at venues outside Australia.[12] As of August 2014, he is thirty-first among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers.[n 2]

Key

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 Australia in that match
* One of two five-wicket hauls by Benaud in a match
† 10 wickets or more taken in the match
‡ Benaud captained Australia
Drawn The match was drawn

Test five-wicket hauls

Five-wicket hauls in Test cricket by Richie Benaud
No. Date Ground Against Inn Overs Runs Wkts Econ Batsmen Result
1 19 October 1956 Corporation Stadium, Madras[n 3]  India 1 29.3 72 7 2.44 Won[15]
2 2 November 1956*† Eden Gardens, Calcutta[n 4]  India 2 29 52 6 1.79 Won[13]
3 2 November 1956*† Eden Gardens, Calcutta[n 4]  India 4 24.2 53 5 2.17 Won[13]
4 31 December 1957 Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town  South Africa 3 21[n 5] 49 5 1.75 Won[16]
5 24 January 1958 Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban  South Africa 2 50.7[n 5] 114 5 1.68 Drawn[17]
6 7 February 1958 New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg  South Africa 3 41[n 5] 84 5 1.53 Won[18]
7 28 February 1958 Crusaders Ground St George's Park, Port Elizabeth  South Africa 3 33[n 5] 82 5 1.86 Won[19]
8 9 January 1959‡ Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney  England 1 33.4[n 5] 83 5 1.85 Drawn[20]
9 30 January 1959‡ Adelaide Oval, Adelaide  England 2 27[n 5] 91 5 2.52 Won[21]
10 4 December 1959‡ National Stadium, Karachi  Pakistan 1 49.5 93 5 1.86 Drawn[22]
11 12 December 1959‡ Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi  India 3 46 76 5 1.65 Won[23]
12 13 January 1960‡ Corporation Stadium, Madras[n 3]  India 2 32.1 43 5 1.33 Won[24]
13 27 January 1961‡ Adelaide Oval, Adelaide  West Indies 1 27[n 5] 96 5 2.66 Drawn[25]
14 27 July 1961‡ Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester  England 4 32 70 6 2.18 Won[26]
15 23 November 1962‡ The Gabba, Brisbane  England 2 42[n 5] 115 6 2.05 Drawn[27]
16 6 December 1963‡ The Gabba, Brisbane  South Africa 2 33[n 5] 68 5 1.54 Drawn[28]

Notes

  1. ^ The Corporation Stadium has since been renamed as Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
  2. ^ Benaud shares the position with Terry Alderman, B. S. Chandrasekhar, Shoaib Akhtar, Graham McKenzie, Bob Willis and Chaminda Vaas.[14]
  3. ^ a b Madras has since been renamed as Chennai.
  4. ^ a b Calcutta has since been renamed as Kolkata.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Eight-ball overs were bowled in this match.

References

  1. ^ "Swinging it for the Auld Enemy – An interview with Ryan Sidebottom". The Scotsman. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 23 October 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 23 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Records / Combined Test, ODI and T20I records / Bowling records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Richie Benaud". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Records / Test matches / Bowling records – Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Wisden:Cricketer of the year 1962 – Richie Benaud". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  7. ^ Coverdale, Brydon (4 February 2007). "Benaud and Macartney join Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  8. ^ "ICC and FICA launch Cricket Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  9. ^ Agencies (11 July 2011). "Warne gets Hall of Fame honour". Dawn. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  10. ^ McKinstry, Leo (13 December 1998). "Benaud ready to write a new chapter in his illustrious story (13 December 1998)". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  11. ^ "West Indies tour of Australia, 1951/52: Test series – 5th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d "Statistics / Statsguru / Richie Benaud / Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  13. ^ a b c "Australia tour of India, 1956/57 : Test series – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  14. ^ "Records / Combined Test, ODI and T20I records/ Bowling records – Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  15. ^ "Australia tour of India, 1956/57: Test series – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Australia tour of South Africa, 1957/58: Test series – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Australia tour of South Africa, 1957/58: Test series – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  18. ^ "Australia tour of South Africa, 1957/58: Test series – 4th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  19. ^ "Australia tour of South Africa, 1957/58: Test series – 5th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  20. ^ "England tour of Australia, 1958/59: The Ashes – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  21. ^ "England tour of Australia, 1958/59: The Ashes – 4th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  22. ^ "Australia tour of Pakistan, 1959/60: Test series – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  23. ^ "Australia tour of India, 1959/60: Test series – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  24. ^ "Australia tour of India, 1959/60: Test series – 4th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  25. ^ "West Indies tour of Australia, 1960/61: The Frank Worrell Trophy – 4th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  26. ^ "Australia tour of England, 1961: The Ashes – 4th Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  27. ^ "England tour of Australia, 1961: The Ashes – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  28. ^ "South Africa tour of Australia, 1963/64: Test series – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2013.