Five wickets in five balls for New Zealander Brett Randell as he makes first-class cricket history

New Zealander Brett Randell became the first player to take five wickets in five balls in first-class cricket during a remarkable bowling burst in a domestic match in his homeland.

The 30-year seam bowler claimed six wickets in eight deliveries all told as he starred for Central Stags against Northern Districts in a Plunket Shield clash in Napier.

Randell - who played two County Championship games for Somerset in 2024 - finished with figures of 7-25 from 11 overs as Northern ​Districts were rolled for 82 in reply to their opponents' 373.

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Ireland's Curtis Campher claimed five wickets in as many balls in a domestic T20 game last year, while Zimbabwe Women's Kelis Ndhlovu did likewise in an U19 T20 in 2024.

But Randell is the first to do in the 254-year history of first-class cricket.

He said afterwards: "I am pretty blown away. The high was pretty crazy, ‌it was like a pinch-me moment. It's seriously cool, I don't really have any words at the moment, to be honest.

"I was trying to stay level-headed and ‌keep putting the ball in the same area and then after the actual hat-trick, just the same things - trying to put the ⁠ball in the same area.

"It ​gets drummed into us ​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 had ⁠talked about, and it came ​off."

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