Five-Wicket Hauls and Bowling Milestones in Cricket
A five-wicket haul (5-fer) is the bowling equivalent of a century — a milestone that marks a bowler's dominance in a single innings. This guide explains what five-wicket hauls mean, bowling milestones across formats, who holds the records, and how bowling averages are calculated and interpreted.
A five-wicket haul — five or more wickets taken by a single bowler in one innings — is cricket's primary individual bowling milestone. The 5-fer (or 'fifer') is the bowling equivalent of a batsman's century: a performance that is celebrated individually, recorded in statistical histories, and marks a bowler's contribution as genuinely match-changing. In limited-overs cricket, five wickets in a single innings is rarer and even more celebrated because innings last only 50 or 20 overs.
Ten-Wicket Match Hauls
A ten-wicket match haul (five or more wickets in each innings of a Test) is rarer still — only the greatest bowlers achieve it multiple times. Jim Laker's 19/90 in the 1956 Ashes Test (Old Trafford) — 9 wickets in Australia's first innings and 10 in the second — remains the most extraordinary bowling performance in Test history. Taking all ten wickets in an innings has been achieved only by Laker in Tests; Anil Kumble is the only other bowler to achieve ten wickets in a single Test innings (10/74 vs Pakistan in 1999).
Bowling Average and Economy Rate
Bowling average (runs conceded per wicket taken) is the primary bowling statistic in Test cricket — a lower average indicates a more effective wicket-taking bowler. The greatest Test bowlers average below 25; very good bowlers average 25-30; average international bowlers 30-35. In limited-overs cricket, economy rate (runs conceded per over) is equally or more important — a bowler who takes few wickets but concedes only 4 runs per over in ODIs can be highly valuable, while a wicket-taking bowler who concedes 8 runs per over may be a liability.
ODI and T20 Bowling Milestones
In ODI cricket, the highest wickets record is Muttiah Muralitharan's 534 ODI wickets. Wasim Akram (Pakistan) holds the record for most ODI wickets by a pace bowler. In T20 internationals, Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) holds multiple records including the most T20I wickets. Hat-tricks — three wickets in three consecutive deliveries — are especially rare in Test cricket but less rare in T20s where batsmen take more aggressive risks.
Frequently asked questions
What is a five-wicket haul (5-fer) in cricket?
A five-wicket haul or '5-fer' is when a single bowler takes five or more wickets in one innings. It is cricket's most celebrated individual bowling milestone — the bowling equivalent of a century. In limited-overs cricket, five wickets in an innings is exceptionally rare because fewer overs are available.
Who has taken the most wickets in Test cricket?
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) holds the record for most Test wickets: 800. Shane Warne (Australia) is second with 708. James Anderson (England) is third, having passed 700 wickets. Muralitharan also holds the record for most five-wicket hauls (67) and most ten-wicket match hauls in Test history.
What is bowling average in cricket?
Bowling average is runs conceded per wicket taken — calculated as total runs conceded ÷ total wickets taken. A lower average indicates a more effective bowler. The best Test bowlers average below 25; good bowlers 25-30. In T20 and ODI cricket, economy rate (runs per over) is considered alongside or above bowling average as a key metric.