Jim Laker: 19 Wickets in a Test — Cricket's Most Remarkable Record

Who Was Jim Laker?

Jim Laker was an England off-spinner who played from 1948 to 1959, taking 193 Test wickets at an average of 21.24. He is best remembered for a single Test match performance that is widely considered the most astonishing individual bowling feat in the history of cricket: 19 wickets for 90 runs against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956. No bowler has come close to matching this in the 70 years since.

Old Trafford 1956: 19 Wickets

In the fourth Test of the 1956 Ashes at Old Trafford, Jim Laker took 9 wickets for 37 in Australia's first innings and then 10 wickets for 53 in the second innings — 19 wickets in a single Test for just 90 runs. His Surrey colleague Tony Lock — also a top-class spinner — could only take one wicket in the entire match from the other end. The pitch was tailor-made for off-spin, dusty and crumbling, but Laker's control, flight, and variation still produced a masterclass that exceeded all expectation.

Bowling Style

Laker bowled classical off-spin with a high action, extracting significant turn from responsive pitches. He had excellent control of flight — the art of looping the ball to deceive the batter's feet — and combined this with a sharp off-cutter that could straighten on good-length deliveries. Unlike modern off-spinners who often prioritise containment, Laker's era rewarded flight and guile, and he used both to devastating effect throughout his Surrey and England career.

Legacy

Jim Laker's 19-wicket haul is the one Test record that experts universally consider impossible to beat, since a bowler can take at most 10 wickets in an innings (20 in a match) and Laker took 19. His record will almost certainly stand forever. He later became a respected television commentator for the BBC, helping to popularise cricket on television in the 1960s and 1970s. The Jim Laker stand at The Oval is named in his honour.