Cricket
Which bowler has taken 6 wickets in an over?
A 44-year-old third-grade cricketer finished with bowling figures of 7/16 from seven overs, including six wickets in a single over.
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Some cricket records seem almost impossible until they are shattered. For example, hitting six sixes in an over was once deemed an incredible feat, but over the years, we have seen quite a few batsmen hit six sixes in an over in both domestic and international cricket.
It seemed unimaginable that a bowler could deliver a maiden over in a Super Over, but Sunil Narine defied expectations in the 2014 Caribbean Premier League.
In a similar vein, taking six wickets in an over was previously unheard of - until a groundbreaking moment last year. An Australian third-grade cricketer accomplished this extraordinary feat, becoming the first to achieve this in professional cricket.
The record of six wickets in a single over
A 44-year-old third-grade cricketer named Sam Morgan made history during a Premier League Division 3 ODI match in the Gold Coast on November 14 last year. Playing for Mudgeeraba against Surfers Paradise, Morgan, captain of Mudgeeraba, took six wickets in the final over, turning the game on its head.
Chasing a target of 179 runs to win, Surfers Paradise eventually needed only five runs to win with six wickets remaining. Morgan decided to bowl the last over himself. What followed was groundbreaking. He first dismissed opener Jake Garland, who had scored 65, and then went on to take five more wickets, all for golden ducks. The first four batters were caught, while the last two were bowled out. Morgan finished with outstanding bowling figures of 7 for 16 from seven overs, sealing an unbelievable win for Mudgeeraba.
His contributions were not limited to bowling, as he had also top-scored for Mudgeeraba with a quick 39.
Recalling the moment, Morgan, a local council worker, shared with the BBC, "The umpire told me I need a hat-trick to win this one. It was a bit of a laugh at the time, I thought it was extremely unlikely.
"When we won, it was very chaotic. My team - half of who are under 19 - were excitedly running around. I was in a state of disbelief. The umpire just shook his head, walked up to me and said 'that's unbelievable'."
Morgan’s feat surpassed the previous record of five wickets in an over, held by New Zealand's Neil Wagner, Bangladesh's Al-Amin Hossain, and India's Abhimanyu Mithun. Interestingly, Morgan isn’t even a regular bowler. He explained in an interview with The Guardian, "I’m not a frontline bowler in the team and don’t often bowl in this competition."
Before this, the record for the most wickets taken in a single over in professional cricket was five, achieved by New Zealand's Neil Wagner in 2011, Bangladesh's Al-Amin Hossain in 2013, and India's Abhimanyu Mithun in 2019.
Quite interestingly, Morgan isn't a frontline bowler, he revealed in an interview to the guardian. "My role in the team is not to be a frontline bowler,” he says. “I don’t often bowl myself in that third grade competition much at all.”
FAQs
Anil Kumble is the only Indian bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test innings. He achieved this feat against Pakistan in February 1999 at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, where he took all 10 wickets for 74 runs, leading India to a famous victory.
Ravi Shastri was the first Indian cricketer to hit 6 sixes in an over. He achieved this feat in 1985, in a Ranji Trophy match for Bombay against Baroda.
Umaima Saeed is a professional sports writer whose articles have been featured in several leading websites. She writes long-form content on sports, particularly cricket. She has a penchant for telling human-interest stories. Umaima has contributed articles on cricket to more than a dozen publications, both in print and online.