Five in five! Brett Randell 'blown away' after blowing Northern Districts away in landmark spell

Central Districts quick Brett Randell became the first to pick five wickets in five balls in first-class cricket history, and later became the first to take six wickets in eight balls in the format

ESPNcricinfo staff

Published: Mar 8, 2026, 5:18 AM (2 hrs ago)

Central Districts fast bowler Brett Randell has created history by becoming the first bowler in the history of first-class cricket to pick up five wickets in five balls. He recorded the feat on day two of a Plunkett Shield game against Northern Districts in Napier on Sunday.

In a spell from hell, Randell ran through the Northern Districts top-order, as they slipped from 4 for no loss to 9 for 5 in the space of five Randell deliveries.

Randell started the slide with the last ball of his second over when he removed opener Henry Cooper with a peach of an indipper that swung in late and crashed into Cooper's off pole, the batter having shouldered arms.

With the first ball of his next over, Randell went around the wicket to Jeet Raval, and left his stumps in a mess. Randell then claimed a hat-trick with Joe Carter caught behind, though the batter looked displeased with the decision. There was no doubt with his fourth wicket when Robert O'Donnell edged Randell's outswinger to Curtis Heaphy in the slips.

Randell then added a fifth wicket in five balls to his tally when Kristian Clarke flirted at a delivery well outside off, got a thin inside-edge with the ball bouncing back onto his stumps and disturbing his leg bail. Randell's bowling figures at this stage read a barely believable 2.4-1-2-5. Ben Pomare denied Randell a sixth wicket in six, but history had already been made by then.

Soon after, Randell also became the first to take six wickets in eight balls in first-class cricket.

"I'm pretty blown away. The high was pretty crazy, it was like a pinch-me moment," Randell said after his feat. "I was trying to stay level-headed and keep putting the ball in the same area and then after the actual hat-trick, just the same things -- trying to put the ball in the same area.

"It gets drummed into us a lot that we don't want to go searching for wickets, so I was trying to just keep bowling the same ball, and our 'Plan A' that we'd talked about, and it came off.

"I had no idea that it was the first time it [five wickets in five balls in first-class cricket] had happened in the world, it's seriously cool. I mean, I don't really have any words at the moment, to be honest. I'll take it."

Randell needed just 3.5 overs to complete his seven-wicket haul, adding the wickets of Pomare and Scott Kuggeleijn. He finished with career-best figures of 7 for 25 in 11 overs. Northern Districts were skittled for just 82 and were asked to follow-on after Central Districts had scored 373 in their first innings.

While Randell is the first bowler in first-class cricket to pick five in five, the feat has been achieved in T20 cricket before by Curtis Campher, who took five in five while playing for Munster Reds against North-West Warriors in the Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy in Dublin.

Zimbabwe Women allrounder Kelis Ndhlovu had also picked up five wickets in five balls for Zimbabwe U-19 against Eagles Women in the domestic T20 tournament in 2024.

As it turns out, Randell may not have played had the seniors been available. Central Districts' New Zealand bowlers Ajaz Patel (calf) and Blair Tickner (ankle) were unavailable for selection because of injuries. Two other contracted players, Tyler Annand and Joey Field, were also unavailable for selection.

Click here to read article