ESPNcricinfo Awards 2025 Associate men's bowling nominees: The first eight-for, and other triumphs
Bangladesh, Scotland, Zimbabwe, West Indies... and Myanmar were at the receiving end of these star performancesAshish PantPublished Feb 26 2026 , 1 hr agoHaider Ali3 for 7 vs Bangladeshthird T20I, SharjahHaider prepared for the Sharjah dew by practising with a cricket ball dipped in water and it worked wonders for him as he produced a riveting spell of 3 for 7, setting up UAE's historic series win against Bangladesh. It was classical left-arm spin bowling that did the trick. He was introduced into the attack in the fourth over after Bangladesh had raced to 31 for 1, and he made an immediate impact with a double-wicket maiden, trapping Litton Das in front with a generously flighted delivery before sending Towhid Hridoy back two balls later with the quicker one. In his next over, he bowled Mahedi Hasan to leave Bangladesh reeling at 49 for 4, with his figures reading a scarcely believable 2-1-2-3. Overall, Haider delivered 18 dot balls out of 24 and did not concede a boundary. His effort helped UAE restrict Bangladesh to 162 for 9 and eventually close the game by seven wickets.Harry Manenti5 for 31 vs ScotlandT20 World Cup Europe Region Final, The HagueThe Australian-born Manenti, who qualifies to play for Italy thanks to his Italian grandparents, was instrumental in taking Italy to their maiden T20 World Cup. One of his key bowling innings was against Scotland when he picked up his maiden T20 five-for after scoring a run-a-ball 38 to take Italy to 167 for 6. He took two wickets in his first over, but when George Munsey and Richie Berrington threatened to take the game away from Italy, Manenti returned to break the partnership. In the final over, with Scotland requiring 26, he dismissed Michael Leask and Matthew Cross to help Italy register a 12-run win.JJ Smit4 for 29 vs Zimbabwethird T20I, BulawayoLeft-arm fast bowler Smit was crucial in stopping Zimbabwe in their 205-run quest and ensuring Namibia ended the three-match T20I series with a win. Coming into the game 2-0 down, Namibia batted first and racked up 204 for 7. Zimbabwe lost two quick wickets but were still going at a healthy rate before Smit was introduced in the fourth over. He took out Brendan Taylor and, in his next over, he prised out Sikandar Raza restricting Zimbabwe to 44 for 4 in the powerplay. Sean Williams, however, counterattacked with a 45-ball 77, but Smit returned in the 18th over to first remove Tinotenda Maposa and then Williams to all but seal Namibia's win.Mohammad Aadil Alam4 for 24 vs West Indiessecond T20I, SharjahPlaying his first T20I in more than three years, medium-pacer Alam broke West Indies' back with a spell of 4 for 24, propelling Nepal to a historic series win. Having won the opening T20I, Nepal set West Indies a target of 174 in the second. West Indies started woefully, slipping to 6 for 2 in four overs. Ackeem Auguste and Kyle Mayers saw West Indies through the powerplay and would have harboured hopes of a revival, but Alam quickly shut them down when introduced into the attack in the eighth over. He got Mayers caught off a fuller ball, and in his next over, he cleaned up Auguste, reducing West Indies to 41 for 4 after ten. He took two more wickets in his next two overs, both batters caught at deep midwicket - Amir Jangoo off a wide length ball and Navin Bidaisee off a shorter, slower ball - as West Indies' chase fizzled out.Sonam Yeshey8 for 7 vs Myanmarthird T20I, GelephuBhutan left-arm spinner Yeshey stormed into the record books, taking the first eight-wicket haul in T20 cricket. Introduced into the attack against Myanmar in the third over, Yeshey struck three times in his first four balls. He picked up three more wickets in his next two overs. At the start of his final over, the ninth of the innings, Myanmar were 40 for 7. Yeshey took two in two balls and finished with figures of 4-1-7-8. No other bowler, man or woman, has taken an eight-for in T20s.Ashish Pant is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo
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