March 03, 2023: Our nominees starred in first-ever wins, took maiden five-fors, and turned matches with incisive spells
Ebadot Hossain
6 for 46 vs New Zealand
first Test, Mount Maunganui
Bangladesh had never won an international game in New Zealand in any format before. Ebadot had a bowling average in the 80s before this Test, the worst of any fast bowler with at least ten wickets. But on the fourth day he ripped through New Zealand, getting the ball to deck around and hit speeds close to 140kph. He clipped the top of Will Young’s stumps to break a stand of 73 with Ross Taylor, then breached Henry Nicholls’ defences with an inswinger. He had Taylor chop an inducker back onto his own stumps. The next morning he snagged Devon Conway with another inducker and polished off the lower order to finish with 6 for 46, the best bowling figures for a Bangladesh fast bowler in Test cricket overseas.
Shardul Thakur
7 for 61 vs South Africa
second Test, Johannesburg
Thakur’s bowling figures in this innings are the best for India against South Africa in Test cricket. He displayed his knack for taking wickets in clusters with three strikes that got rid of Dean Elgar, Keegan Petersen and Rassie van der Dussen not too far apart – he had a struggling Elgar caught behind and Petersen edge to second slip, while van der Dussen inside-edged one onto his pads and then the stumps. Kyle Verreynne was Thakur’s fourth, trapped lbw by one that came back in sharply from a length outside off. Thakur had his first Test five-for when he got Temba Bavuma to edge one to Pant, then returned at the end to clean up Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi.
Matt Henry
7 for 23 vs South Africa
first Test, Christchurch
When Trent Boult was away on paternity leave, Henry, often relegated to the bench when the senior seamer was around, seized his chance, claiming the joint best figures by a New Zealand bowler at home and third best overall. Playing at his home ground, the Canterbury fast bowler wrecked South Africa’s line-up with the new ball, with seam movement and extra bounce at 140kph. He knocked off three of South Africa’s top four before lunch on the first day – Dean Elgar edged one to third slip, Aiden Markram was caught behind, and Rassie van der Dussen was squared up by one that straightened on him. Henry returned after lunch to claim four more, wiping out South Africa almost single-handedly for 95, their lowest first-innings total batting first since 1932.
Pat Cummins
5 for 56 vs Pakistan
third Test Lahore
Cummins’ masterclass on the third day of this Test cemented his status as one of the all-time great bowlers in the format. He became just the fourth Australian fast bowler to bag a five-wicket haul in Pakistan and helped spark a first-innings collapse of 8 for 54. He gave Australia an opening, dismissing Imam-ul-Haq early but then toiled on a surface that offered little for the bowlers. Cummins broke through when he completed a one-handed return catch to end Azhar Ali’s vigil on 78, and returned to cannon one through Sajid Khan’s stumps. He dismissed Nauman Ali and Hasan Ali in the space of four balls, running through the lower order with Mitchell Starc to hand Australia a substantial first-innings lead, which eventually resulted in a 115-run victory.
Kyle Mayers
5 for 18 vs England
third Test, St George’s
Mayers started his career as a bowler who could hit some sixes down the ground before a T20 stint in Oslo in the Norway Premier League following an ankle injury transformed him into an opening batter. In Grenada, Mayers turned the clock back with his first five-for in Test cricket, paving the way for a thumping ten-wicket win. He dismissed three of England’s top five for single-digit scores, including Joe Root and Ben Stokes. Mayers bowled his usual nagging line outside off, but he also showed that he could bring the ball back into the right-handers, as he did with Dan Lawrence. The batter expected an outswinger and shouldered arms, but got an inswinger that tickled the bails.
James Anderson
5 for 60 vs India
fifth Test, Birmingham
India were eyeing a rare Test-series victory in England, but Anderson had other ideas. After England put the visitors in in the rescheduled fifth Test, Anderson made light work of India’s top order. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja then forged a counterattacking 222-run sixth-wicket partnership off just 239 balls, but Anderson struck again to hit the top of Jadeja’s stumps to end that stand. He also preyed on Shreyas Iyer’s weakness against the short ball, getting him fending to the keeper.
Prabath Jayasuriya
6 for 59 vs Australia
second Test, Galle
Jayasuriya enjoyed a sensational debut, claiming a match haul of 12 wickets. His 6 for 59 in Australia’s second innings spun the visitors out for a mere 151 and capped an innings win. The left-arm fingerspinner found significant turn and dip, getting Usman Khawaja, one of the best players of spin in Australia’s line-up, caught bat-pad, then trapping Steven Smith in front for a duck and having an advancing Cameron Green stumped for 23. Jayasuriya posed a similar threat to the left-handers, Mitchell Starc at the tail end in addition to Khawaja at the start.
Marco Jansen
5 for 35 vs England
third Test, The Oval
South Africa lost the third Test by nine wickets; it was the shortest completed Test in England in more than 100 years, but Jansen’s maiden five-wicket haul was a bright spot. After South Africa were rolled over for 118 in their first innings, Jansen helped them rally with the ball. He used his two-metre tall frame to extract lift off a full length and bowl Alex Lees in his second over, then showed that his bowling wasn’t just about trampoline bounce, pinning Zak Crawley leg-before with a perfectly pitched Test-match delivery. He added Joe Root and Harry Brook to his list of scalps, and wrapped up his five-for by getting an advancing Ben Foakes caught at third slip. That kept England’s lead down to 40 runs.
Ollie Robinson
4 for 50 vs Pakistan
first Test, Rawalpindi
After a bumpy start to his Test career, Robinson transformed himself into a self-confessed gym freak and Rawalpindi proved the perfect display of his improved endurance on an unforgiving fifth-day pitch. He went round the wicket to bounce Abdullah Shafique out early with the new ball, then worked harder to make inroads once the ball was old. Backed by attacking fields set by Ben Stokes, he undid debutant Saud Shakeel, Pakistan’s top scorer in the innings, and Agha Salman, with proper Test-match lines and lengths, and lured Azhar Ali into the leg-slip trap. It was a performance that fetched him the Player of the Match award.
Mark Wood
4 for 65 vs Pakistan
second Test, Multan
If Robinson was England’s enforcer with the ball in Rawalpindi, it was Mark Wood who did the job for them in the second Test, in Multan. On another placid pitch, Wood broke Pakistan’s resistance with his high pace and heavy lengths. He kept pounding the middle of the surface to bring leg-side catches into the game. Mohammad Nawaz and Saud Shakeel were snaffled that way off short balls, while Abdullah Shafique, the opener, and the No. 10, Zahid Mahmood, were blasted out by fuller ones. Pakistan’s valiant pursuit of 355 was ultimately thwarted and they fell 26 short.
