Shoaib Akhtar, a Pakistani former cricketer, took 16 five-wicket hauls during his career in international 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, only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[3] [4] A fast bowler who represented his country from 1997 to 2011, BBC described Shoaib as "one of the fastest bowlers ever to play the game".[5]
Shoaib made his Test debut in 1997 against the West Indies at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where he took two wickets in the first innings.[6] His first Test five-wicket haul came the following year against South Africa, a match Pakistan won at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban.[7] Shoaib took a pair of five-wicket hauls against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve, Wellington in December 2003.[8] His career-best figures for an innings were 6 wickets for 11 runs against New Zealand at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, in May 2002.[9] Shoaib took twelve five-wicket hauls in Test cricket and ten or more wickets per match twice in the format.[8] [10]
Having made his One Day International (ODI) debut in October 1998 against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club,[11] Shoaib's first five-wicket haul came against New Zealand in 2001, a match Pakistan won at the Eden Park, Auckland.[12] His best bowling performance in ODIs was 6 wickets for 16 runs against New Zealand at the National Stadium, Karachi, in December 2001.[13] Shoaib played 19 Twenty20 Internationals for Pakistan, however he never took a five-wicket haul in this format.[14] He retired from international cricket after the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[15] As of 2014, he is sixth in the list of five-wicket haul takers for Pakistan, all formats of the game combined.[16]
| Symbol | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Day the Test started or ODI held | |
| Inn | 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 | |
| Econ | Bowling economy rate (average runs per over) | |
| Batsmen | Batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul | |
| Result | Result for Pakistan in that match | |
| One of two five-wicket hauls by Shoaib in a match | ||
| 10 wickets or more taken in the match | ||
| Shoaib was selected as man of the match |
| No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | Won | ||||||||||
| 2 | align=left | Lost[17] | ||||||||||
| 3 | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah (neutral venue) | align=left | Won[18] | |||||||||
| 4 | align=left | Won[19] | ||||||||||
| 5 | align=left | Lost[20] | ||||||||||
| 6 | align=left | Won | ||||||||||
| 7 | align=left | Won | ||||||||||
| 8 | align=left | Won | ||||||||||
| 9 | align=left | Lost[21] | ||||||||||
| 10 | align=left | Lost[22] | ||||||||||
| 11 | align=left | Lost[23] | ||||||||||
| 12 | align=left | Won[24] |
| No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | align=left | Won | ||||||||||
| 2 | align=left | Won | ||||||||||
| 3 | align=left | Won[25] | ||||||||||
| 4 | align=left | Won[26] |