Many cricket followers believe that cricket is a game heavily dominated by the batters. A batter’s mark of expertise is often expressed in terms of the number of half-centuries (scoring 50 runs) and centuries (scoring 100 runs) that he or she hit in their career. These milestones are in addition to the batter’s average and strike rate which define his or her skill level. For a bowler the milestones that define their skill level are the number of five-wicket and ten-wicket hauls. This article explains the former.
The bowling side aims to restrict the flow of runs by the batter by fielding, and dismissing the batters. A team is bowled out when ten of their eleven batters are deemed out. If a single bowler dismissed five to nine batters, then this achievement is called a five-wicket haul. Though difficult to achieve across any format, it is a common sighting in test cricket or first-class cricket when compared to limited overs cricket (One Day Internationals and T20).
In test cricket, since each team bats for two innings, bowlers get two opportunities in a single match to get a five wicket haul. It should be noted though, that a bowler needs to take five or more wickets in one innings to be counted as a five wicket haul. If a bowler takes two wickets in the first innings and three in the second, then it is not considered a five wicket haul.
Getting a five wicket haul in test cricket is also advantageous as there is no limit to the number of overs a bowlers can bowl in a test innings. On the other hand, a bowler cannot bowl more than four and ten overs in T20 and One Day International cricket respectively. Another notable mention to keep in mind is that a run out inflicted by the bowler is not credited to the bowler. Thus, it does not count to his or her wicket tally.
As of June 2025, Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for taking a record 67 five-wicket hauls in test cricket. In One Day Internationals, this record is held by Pakistan’s Waqar Younis who took 13 five-wicket hauls. In T20s (International and League cricket included), Namibia’s David Wiese’s tally of seven five-wicket hauls is the most by any player.
