List of South Africa cricketers who have taken five-wicket hauls on Test debut

Vernon Philander has conceded the fewest runs while taking a five-wicket haul.

In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer")^[1][2] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. A five-wicket haul on debut is regarded by the critics as a notable achievement.^[3][4] As of November 2016, 147 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on Test match debut,^[5] out of which twenty-two were from the South Africa national cricket team.^[6] The five-wicket hauls have come against six different opponents, and the South Africans have performed this feat fourteen times against England.^[7] Of the twenty-two matches where a South African debutant has taken a five-wicket haul, twelve have ended in defeat, six in victory and the other four in a draw. The five-wicket hauls were taken at ten different venues, with six of them being taken at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town.^[8]

Albert Rose-Innes was the first South African to take a five-wicket haul on Test cricket debut. He took 5 wickets for 43 runs against England in 1889.^{[lower-alpha 1]} In the second Test of the series, Gobo Ashley took 7 wickets for 95 runs, in what turned out to be his only appearance in Test cricket.^[10] When the country was re-admitted to play competitive cricket in 1991, Lance Klusener became the first debutant to take a five-wicket haul.^{[lower-alpha 2]} His 8 wickets for 64 runs against India in November 1996 remain the best bowling figures in an innings by a South African on debut.^{[lower-alpha 3]} Sydney Burke and Alf Hall are the only South African debutants to collect 10 or more wickets in a match as of February 2015.^{[lower-alpha 4][14]} Klusener's figures, along with George Bissett's 5 for 37 runs, were included among the "Top 100 Bowling performances of all time" by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002.^[15] Kyle Abbott is the most recent South African cricketer to achieve this feat. His figures of 7 wickets for 29 runs against Pakistan in February 2013 are second only to Klusener's among his countrymen.^[6]

Key

Five-wicket hauls

Five-wicket hauls on Test debut by South African bowlers

No.	Bowler	Date	Ground	Against	Inn	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Econ	Batsmen	Result
1	Albert Rose-Innes	000000001889-03-12-000012 March 1889	Crusaders Ground, St George's Park, Port Elizabeth	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001180000000000000♠18.0	7001430000000000000♠43	05157 !5	7000358000000000000♠3.58	Bobby Abel Frank Hearne Henry Wood Johnny Briggs Charles Coventry	Lost[16]
2	Gobo Ashley	000000001889-03-25-000025 March 1889	Newlands, Cape Town	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001431000000000000♠43.1	7001950000000000000♠95	07105 !7	7000329000000000000♠3.29	Bobby Abel George Ulyett Maurice Read Monty Bowden Basil Grieve Emile McMaster Arnold Fothergill	Lost[17]
3	Bonnor Middleton	000000001896-02-13-000013 February 1896	Crusaders Ground, St George's Park, Port Elizabeth	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001254000000000000♠25.4	7001640000000000000♠64	05136 !5	7000297000000000000♠2.97	Tom Hayward C. B. Fry Hugh Bromley-Davenport Lord Hawke Harry Butt	Lost[18]
4	George Rowe	000000001896-03-02-00002 March 1896	Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001490000000000000♠49.0	7002115000000000000♠115	05085 !5	7000281000000000000♠2.81	Tim O'Brien Tom Hayward C. B. Fry Hugh Bromley-Davenport Christopher Heseltine	Lost[19]
5	Alf Hall	000000001923-01-01-00001 January 1923	Newlands, Cape Town	England	7000200000000000000♠2	7001373009999900000♠37.3	7001630000000000000♠63	07137 !7	7000168000000000000♠1.68	Andy Sandham Frank Woolley Phil Mead Arthur Carr Percy Fender Frank Mann Vallance Jupp	Lost[20]
6	George Parker	000000001924-06-14-000014 June 1924	Edgbaston, Birmingham	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001370000000000000♠37.0	7002152000000000000♠152	06048 !6	7000410009999999999♠4.10	Herbert Sutcliffe Frank Woolley Patsy Hendren Percy Chapman Maurice Tate George Wood	Lost[21]
7	Henry Promnitz	000000001927-12-24-000024 December 1927	Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001370000000000000♠37.0	7001580000000000000♠58	05142 !5	7000156000000000000♠1.56	Herbert Sutcliffe Bob Wyatt Greville Stevens Ewart Astill Rony Stanyforth	Lost[22]
8	George Bissett	000000001927-12-31-000031 December 1927	Newlands, Cape Town	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001170000000000000♠17.0	7001370000000000000♠37	05163 !5	7000217000000000000♠2.17	Percy Holmes Herbert Sutcliffe Ernest Tyldesley Greville Stevens Bob Wyatt	Lost[23]
9	Sandy Bell	000000001929-06-29-000029 June 1929	Lord's, London	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001304000000000000♠30.4	7001990000000000000♠99	06101 !6	7000322000000000000♠3.22	Herbert Sutcliffe Maurice Leyland Maurice Tate Walter Robins Harold Larwood Jack White	Drawn[24]
10	Norman Gordon	000000001938-12-24-000024 December 1938	Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001334000000000000♠33.4	7002103000000000000♠103	05097 !5	7000230000000099999♠2.30	Wally Hammond Les Ames Bryan Valentine Len Wilkinson Ken Farnes	Drawn[25]
11	Lindsay Tuckett	000000001947-06-07-00007 June 1947	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001370000000000000♠37.0	7001680000000000000♠68	05132 !5	7000183000000000000♠1.83	Cyril Washbrook Denis Compton Norman Yardley Sam Cook Jack Martin	Drawn[26]
12	Cuan McCarthy	000000001948-12-16-000016 December 1948	Kingsmead, Durban	England	7000200000000000000♠2	7001120000000000000♠12.0	7001430000000000000♠43	06157 !6	7000268000000000000♠2.68	George Mann Denis Compton Allan Watkins Reg Simpson Godfrey Evans Roly Jenkins	Lost[27]
13	Michael Melle	000000001950-02-10-000010 February 1950	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	Australia	7000100000000000000♠1	7001330000000000000♠33.0	7002113000000000000♠113	05087 !5	7000256000000000000♠2.56	Jack Moroney Keith Miller Ray Lindwall Sam Loxton Ian Johnson	Drawn[28]
14	David Ironside	000000001953-12-24-000024 December 1953	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	New Zealand	7000100000000000000♠1	7001190000000000000♠19.0	7001510000000000000♠51	05149 !5	7000200999999999999♠2.01	Geoff Rabone Lawrie Miller Frank Mooney Tony MacGibbon Guy Overton	Won[29]
15	Peter Heine	000000001955-06-23-000023 June 1955	Lord's, London	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001250000000000000♠25.0	7001600000000000000♠60	05140 !5	7000240000000000000♠2.40	Tom Graveney Peter May Denis Compton Ken Barrington Godfrey Evans	Lost[30]
16	Peter Pollock	000000001961-12-08-00008 December 1961	Kingsmead, Durban	New Zealand	7000200000000000000♠2	7001203000000000000♠20.3	7001380000000000000♠38	06162 !6	7000185000000000000♠1.85	John Guy Paul Barton Zin Harris John Reid Artie Dick Jack Alabaster	Won[31]
17	Sydney Burke	000000001962-01-01-00001 January 1962	Newlands, Cape Town	New Zealand	7000100000000000000♠1	7001535000000000000♠53.5	7002128000000000000♠128	06072 !6	7000237000000000000♠2.37	Noel McGregor John Sparling Murray Chapple Artie Dick Gary Bartlett Dick Motz	Lost[32]
18	Lance Klusener	000000001996-11-27-000027 November 1996	Eden Gardens, Calcutta	India	7000200000000000000♠2	7001190000000000000♠19.0	7001640000000000000♠64	08136 !8	7000173000000000000♠1.73	Nayan Mongia Sourav Ganguly V. V. S. Laxman Mohammad Azharuddin Sunil Joshi Anil Kumble Javagal Srinath Narendra Hirwani	Won[33]
19	Charl Langeveldt	000000002005-01-02-00002 January 2005	Newlands, Cape Town	England	7000100000000000000♠1	7001160000000000000♠16.0	7001460000000000000♠46	05154 !5	7000287000000000000♠2.87	Michael Vaughan Graham Thorpe Geraint Jones Simon Jones Steve Harmison	Won[34]
20	Vernon Philander	000000002011-11-09-00009 November 2011	Newlands, Cape Town	Australia	7000200000000000000♠2	7000700000000000000♠7.0	7001150000000000000♠15	05185 !5	7000214000000000000♠2.14	Ricky Ponting Michael Clarke Brad Haddin Mitchell Johnson Shaun Marsh	Won[35]
21	Marchant de Lange	000000002011-12-26-000026 December 2011	Kingsmead, Durban	Sri Lanka	7000100000000000000♠1	7001232000000000000♠23.2	7001810000000000000♠81	07119 !7	7000347000000000000♠3.47	Tharanga Paranavitana Kumar Sangakkara Thilan Samaraweera Angelo Mathews Thisara Perera Rangana Herath Chanaka Welegedara	Lost[36]
22	Kyle Abbott	000000002013-02-22-000022 February 2013	SuperSport Park, Centurion	Pakistan	7000100000000000000♠1	7001114000000000000♠11.4	7001290000000000000♠29	07171 !7	7000248000000000000♠2.48	Mohammad Hafeez Younus Khan Misbah-ul-Haq Sarfraz Ahmed Saeed Ajmal Ehsan Adil Mohammad Irfan	Won[37]

Notes

References