Randell makes history with five wickets in five balls

New Zealander Brett Randell has become the first bowler in the 254-year history of first-class cricket to take five wickets in five balls.

The 30-year-old created the piece of cricket history playing for Central Stags on day two of their match against Northern Districts in New Zealand’s Plunket Shield.

“I’m pretty blown away,” said Randell. “The high was pretty crazy, it was like a pinch-me moment.

Randall took the first wicket of his five in a row at the end of his second over before taking the rest from the start of his third over as Northern Districts slumped from 4-0 to 9-5.

The right-arm medium pacer had figures of 5-2 at that point and also took a wicket with the first ball of his third over to make it six wickets in eight balls.

He dismissed another batter with the fifth ball of his third over and finished with figures of 7-25.

“It gets drummed into us a lot 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’d talked about, and it came off,” said Randall.

“I had no idea that it was the first time it [five wicket in five balls in first-class cricket] had happened in the world, it’s seriously cool.

“I mean, I don’t really have any words at the moment, to be honest. I’ll take it.”

While it is the first time a player has achieved the feat in first-class cricket, it is not the first time a player has taken five wickets in five balls in all formats.

Ireland international Curtis Campher became the first male player to do so in a professional match in July 2025 in a domestic T20 game.