In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer")[1] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,[2] and as of December 2015 only 45 bowlers have taken at least 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[3] Richie Benaud, a leg spinner and former captain of the Australia cricket team, played 63 Tests for his country between 1952 and 1964.[4] He took 248 wickets at an average of 27.03, including 16 five-wicket hauls.[4] [5] The cricket almanack Wisden named him one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1962.[6] He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2007,[7] and into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame as one of the inaugural members in January 2009.[8] [9] Leo McKinstry, a cricket writer, in 1998 described Benaud as "one of cricket's greatest legends" and "one of the great all-rounders", and further noted him being the first to take 200 wickets and make 2,000 runs in Tests.[10]
Benaud made his Test debut in January 1952 against the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground, a match Australia won by 202 runs.[11] His first Test five-wicket haul came in the first match of the 1956–57 series against India at the Corporation Stadium. He took 7 wickets for 72 runs in the first innings of the match, his best bowling figures for an innings.[12] Benaud took his solitary pair of five-wicket hauls in the third Test of the series at the Eden Gardens. He accumulated 11 wickets for 105 runs in the match, his career-best performance in Test cricket.[12] [13] Benaud claimed his 16 five-wicket hauls against five different opponents, and Australia never lost any of the games on such instances. He was most successful against India and South Africa, taking 5 five-wicket hauls against each side.[12] Benaud took his five-wicket hauls at 12 cricket grounds, including 11 at venues outside Australia.[12] As of August 2014, he is thirty-first among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Date | Date the match was held, or starting date of the match for Test matches |
| Inn | The innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken |
| Overs | Number of overs bowled in that innings |
| Runs | Runs conceded |
| Wkts | Number of wickets taken |
| Batsmen | The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul |
| Econ | Bowling economy rate (average runs per over) |
| Result | The result for Australia in that match |
| One of two five-wicket hauls by Benaud in a match | |
| 10 wickets or more taken in the match | |
| Benaud captained Australia | |
| Drawn | The match was drawn |
| No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corporation Stadium, Madras[14] | Won[15] | ||||||||
| 2 | Eden Gardens, Calcutta[16] | Won | ||||||||
| 3 | Won | |||||||||
| 4 | [17] | Won[18] | ||||||||
| 5 | Drawn[19] | |||||||||
| 6 | Won[20] | |||||||||
| 7 | Won[21] | |||||||||
| 8 | Drawn[22] | |||||||||
| 9 | Won[23] | |||||||||
| 10 | Drawn[24] | |||||||||
| 11 | Won[25] | |||||||||
| 12 | Won[26] | |||||||||
| 13 | Drawn[27] | |||||||||
| 14 | Won[28] | |||||||||
| 15 | Drawn[29] | |||||||||
| 16 | Drawn[30] | |||||||||