Cricket is not always a team game. Sometimes an incredible individual player can win a game–irrespective of the format. The feat of a bowler picking wickets in an over is one of a kind. If you’re a batsman, you get one chance to succeed, and if you make one little mistake, you have no other chance till the next match. But, the bowler has enough odds to perform well in the game because of the overs. Taking wickets in the game is more entertaining for the fans to watch, and taking one or more wickets in an over is more entertaining. Here is the list of Top 10 bowlers with the highest wickets haul in an over:
1. Maurice Allo
Maurice Allom was a right-arm medium-fast bowler who played for England in the early 1930s. His best career test came against New Zealand where he took five wickets in 6 deliveries of the over. His game-changing over destroyed the New Zealand team by eight wickets. Maurice became the first bowler to achieve it.
2. Ken Cranston
Ken Cranston was an English cricketer who played for England from 1947 to 1950. He played his second test match against South Africa and cleaned up the South-African tail in a single over without letting any run. Cranston took four wickets in a single over and conceded 12 runs in four overs. England won the match without losing any wickets.
3. Fred Titmus
Fred Titmus was an English all-rounder who played for the England cricket team. Unlike Maurice and Cranston, Titmus played a significant part in the history of the England cricket team. The renowned off-spinner was a valuable lower-order batsman who had made numerous contributions to his squad. In 1965, Titmus bowled the super-over and took four wickets in 6 balls, knocking out the kiwis in the game.
4. Chris Old
Chris Old is a former English cricketer and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. He was one of the best all-rounders of his era. Chris is known for one of his notable performances when he destroyed the Pakistan batting line-up. He took four wickets in five balls in the Test match against Pakistan at Edgbaston in June 1978. Chris leads England to their win.
5. Wasim Akram
The first time someone other than an Englishman achieved this feat was Wasim Akram in the 1990 Lahore test against West Indies. The legendary left-arm pacer wrote another record under his name by taking four wickets for just one run in an over. However, the game was a tie neither of the team was able to claim victory.
6. Andrew Caddick
Andrew Caddick is a former cricketer who played for England as a fast bowler in Test matches and ODIs. Caddick was one of the most successful bowlers for England for a decade, taking 13 five-wicket hauls in test matches. When England defeated the West Indies in a series in 2000 while playing against them, Caddick became one of just four bowlers in history to take four wickets in a single six-ball over.
7. Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga is the only bowler to achieve this feat in the limited-overs. During the 2007 Cricket World cup match on 28 March against South Africa, Malinga became the first man to take a four-wicket haul in an over in four consecutive balls in One Day International cricket.
8. Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas is a former Sri-Lankan international and is one of the most renowned fast-bowler in Sri Lanka. In the 2003 cricket World cup, Vaas picked six wickets and took a hat-trick with the first three deliveries. It was the first time in Tests and ODI history that a bowler achieved a hat-trick with the first three balls of a game.
9. Neil Wagner
Neil Wagner is a South-African-born New Zealand test cricketer and a left-arm medium-fast bowler. In April 2011, Wagner took four wickets in four balls against Wellington. His bowling figures for the innings were 6/36 personal best at that time, became one of the best first-class players.
10. Andre Russell
Andre Russell is a Jamaican professional cricketer who plays for the West Indies cricket team. He is one of the best all-rounders in the world at this time. In September 2013 T-20 match against India at Bangalore, he dismissed four Indian batters in 4 consecutive deliveries. Russell has become one of the key players in the West Indies unit and has played a crucial role in their recent success.
