The Fifers Strikers- Players With Successive 5-wicket Hauls in ODIs

Posted on 24 June 2015 at 13:57

The Fifers Strikers- Players With Successive 5-wicket Hauls in ODIs: In ODIs, you only get a total of 10 overs to bowl and taking a fifer is somewhat considered too hard and a commendable achievement. But throughout the years, we have seen bowlers taking a number of 5-wicket hauls in ODIs. In fact there has been a total of 416 5-wicket hauls being struck in ODIs throughout the days of ODIs. Waqar Younis leads the chart of fifers with as many as 13, 5-wicket hauls.

But, in order to push the bars to a further level, some bowlers achieved the feat of striking 5-wickets on successive occasions. Mustafizur Rahman, of late, managed to carve his name to a unique record by taking back to back five wicket hauls against India in the first two ODIs. No other bowler, except Brian Vettori has managed to strike 2 fifers in the first two ODIs of his ODI career. In fact Mustafizur stands with 11 wickets after his first two ODIs. No other bowler has gone this far, not even the legends of the game.

Let us extract some time to take a glance at The Fifers Strikers- Players With Successive 5-wicket Hauls in ODIs:

1 – Gary Gilmour (Australia):

The Australian pacer managed to strike back to back fifers in the semi final and in the final of 1975 World Cup. In the semi final, Gilmour managed to bag 6 wickets against England. His figures were 12-6-14-6. In the final, Gilmour managed to bag another 5 wickets against West Indies but unfortunately ended up being on the losing side. His figures were 12-2-48-5.

2 – Azhar Mahmood (Pakistan):

The sensational bowling all-rounder of Pakistan struck back to back fifers in the 6th match of the Coca Cola Champions trophy, 1999, Mahmood struck 6 wickets for Pakistan against West Indies. His figures were 10-2-18-6. In the very next match, which was the final match of the tournament, Mahmood struck 5 wickets against Sri Lanka, thereby paving the path for Pakistan’s victory. His figures in the final were 10-2-28-5.

3 – Ryan Harris (Australia):

The right arm Australian pacer was at the peak of his form in the era of 2009-10. He managed to strike back to back five wicket hauls in the third and fourth ODI of the bilateral series between Pakistan and Australia in Australia back in 2010. In the third ODI, Harris’ figures were 10-0-43-5. In the fourth ODI, his figures were 9.5-3-19-5. Australia won both the matches quite comprehensively.

4 – Ashantha de Mel (Sri Lankan):

The former Sri Lankan fast bowler achieved this feat back in 1983 in the Prudential World Cup. In the 15th match of the World Cup between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Leeds, de Mel managed to strike 5 wickets. His figures were 12-1-39-5 but unfortunately ended on the losing side. In Sri Lanka’s very next match, which was the 18th match of the World Cup, de Mel struck another fifer against New Zealand. His figures were 12-4-32-5. Sri Lanka ended up being victorious on that occasion.

5 – Waqar Younis (Pakistan):

One of the most lethal fast bowlers in ODIs, struck back to back fifers and that too on two occasions.

The first one came in 1990 when the legendary fast bowler went onto strike 3 back to back fifers in three successive matches for Pakistan. The first two came against New Zealand in the 2nd and 3rd ODI of the bilateral series between the two teams. In the second ODI, his figures read 6.4-2-11-5. This was followed by 6-1-16-5 in the third ODI. Pakistan was victorious on both the occasions. Immediately next to that, in the ODI series against West Indies, Waqar managed to strike another five wicket haul. His figures were 8-0-52-5 and Pakistan was victorious in that match.

Waqar’s second back to back fifer came in June, 2001 in the Natwest Series against England. Waqar Younis was leading the Pakistani side and on the 7th match of the series, Waqar’s figures were 10-0-36-7 against England. Pakistan won the match quite comprehensively. In the very next match against Australia, Waqar’s figures were 8-0-59-6 and Pakistan won the match by a margin of 36 runs.

6 – Brian Vitori (Zimbabwe):

Brain Vitori. (Photo Source: Associated Press)

The Zimbabwean pacer achieved a unique feat of striking back to back fifers in the first two ODIs of his cricketing career in August, 2011 against Bangladesh in Zimbabwe. In the first ODI of the series, Vitori’s figures were as 10-0-30-5. Zimbabwe won the match by a margin of 4 wickets. In the second ODI of the series, Vitori numbers were 9.3-0-20-5. Zimbabwe also won the game with cruise control.

7 – Mitchell Starc (Australia):

The deadly left arm speedster from Australia and perhaps one of the best bowlers of World Cricket at the moment achieved this feat against West Indies in February, 2013. Starc’s figures in the first ODI of the series were 6.5-2-20-5 and Australia won the match by 9 wickets. In the second ODI, Starc’s figures were 8-1-32-5 and Australia won the match by 54 runs.

8 – Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh):

Successive 5-wicket Hauls — Mustafizur Rahman. (Photo Source: Associated Press)

The 19-year old Bangladeshi talent made a boasting debut in international Cricket. The left arm pacer struck 5 wickets right in the first match of his international career by conceding 50 runs against a strong side, India. In the second match too, he carried on with his magical run and struck 6 wickets by conceding just 43 runs. He has made an impactful debut and has registered his name on many records just after playing 2 ODIs. And on the back of his smart cashing bowling Bangladesh managed to beat India in the 2 ODIs and win their 1st ever series against India.