Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher etched his name into cricket history on Thursday by becoming the first male cricketer in professional history to claim five wickets in five consecutive deliveries.
Campher achieved the extraordinary feat while playing for the Munster Reds in an Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy match against the North-West Warriors in Dublin. His record-breaking spell helped Munster secure a dominant 100-run victory.
The remarkable sequence began at the end of the 12th over, when Campher bowled Jared Wilson and trapped Graham Hume lbw. Returning in the 14th over, he completed a rare hat-trick by dismissing Andy McBrine, then continued the streak by removing Robbie Millar and Josh Wilson — five wickets in five balls.
“I wasn’t really sure what was happening,” Campher told Cricket Ireland. “I just kind of stuck to my guns and kept it real simple, and luckily it kind of went off.”
While Campher is the first male cricketer to accomplish the feat, Zimbabwe women’s all-rounder Kelis Ndhlovu previously achieved five wickets in five balls during a domestic U-19 T20 match against Eagles Women in 2024 — making her the first in the sport overall to do so.
Campher’s unprecedented achievement has added a new chapter to cricketing records and underscored his reputation as a game-changing all-rounder.