Irish cricketer Curtis Campher etched his name into sporting legend on Thursday, becoming the first male professional cricketer to claim five wickets in five consecutive deliveries. The Munster Reds all-rounder achieved this unprecedented feat during a domestic T20 Trophy match against North-West Warriors in Dublin, propelling his team to a 100-run victory. Campher’s magical spell began with two wickets (bowled and lbw) to close the 12th over, then returned in the 14th to complete a hat-trick before adding two more victims to complete the five-in-five sequence. “I wasn’t really sure what was happening,” a modest Campher told Cricket Ireland after his record-breaking performance.
The 24-year-old’s victims included Jared Wilson (bowled), Graham Hume (lbw), Andy McBrine (caught), Robbie Millar (bowled) and Josh Wilson (caught) – a display of precision bowling that left spectators and opponents stunned. This remarkable achievement surpasses all previous T20 records and joins the rarest feats in cricket history, alongside perfect games in baseball or nine-dart finishes in darts. Campher’s heroics came just months after Zimbabwe women’s player Kelis Ndhlovu became the first cricketer ever to achieve the five-in-five milestone during an U19 domestic match in January 2024.
The match situation transformed dramatically during Campher’s spell, with North-West Warriors collapsing from 80/4 to 80/9 in the space of seven legitimate deliveries. Cricket statisticians noted that while four wickets in four balls (the “double hat-trick”) has been achieved 11 times in professional cricket, Campher’s five-in-five sets a new benchmark that may stand for generations. Social media erupted with reactions from cricket legends, with England’s Stuart Broad – holder of Test cricket’s best eighth-wicket figures – tweeting: “That’s just ridiculous bowling! Congrats @curtiscampher.”
Campher’s historic performance adds to his growing reputation as Ireland’s most dynamic all-rounder, having previously scored a 50-ball century in ODIs. The Johannesburg-born player, who qualified for Ireland through his Cork-born mother, now finds his name alongside cricket’s most elite company. As the cricketing world debates whether this feat can ever be repeated, one thing is certain – July 11, 2024 will forever be remembered as the day Curtis Campher bowled his way into immortality. The match ball has already been sent to the MCC Museum at Lord’s for permanent display.