Chad Laycock took five wickets in one over, and KZN Inland still lost to Titans by 21 runs

Titans were 193 for 4 with two overs of their innings left. One over from Chad Laycock later, they were 195 for 9. The KwaZulu-Natal Inland fast bowler took five wickets in the 19th over of a CSA Pro20 Cup game at the City Oval in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday, the first time anyone has done it in South African T20 cricket.

He finished with 6 for 26 from his four overs, the best figures in the competition’s history. KZN Inland still lost by 21 runs.

The over

Laycock bowled Leus du Plooy with the first ball. The second went for two. Then came four wickets in four balls: Dayyaan Galiem, the Titans captain, caught by Malcolm Nofal, and then Aphiwe Mnyanda, Janco Smit and Esosa Aihevba all bowled, each of them first ball.

Four of the five were bowled. Tail-enders swing at everything in the 19th over, and that helps a bowler who keeps hitting the stumps, but five in six balls is still absurd. Four in four is a South African T20 record on its own. Tabraiz Shamsi was run out in the last over, and Titans were all out for 204 with a ball to spare.

Laycock had also taken the first wicket of the innings, and it was the one KZN Inland needed most. Lhuan-dre Pretorius had raced to 81 off 36 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes, and Titans were 112 for 0 when he was caught off the last ball of the ninth over.

A short list, with an Indian name on it

Laycock is the fourth bowler known to have taken five wickets in an over in men’s T20 cricket. Bangladesh’s Al-Amin Hossain was the first, for UCB-BCB XI against Abahani Limited in the 2013-14 Victory Day T20 Cup.

The second was Abhimanyu Mithun. The Karnataka seamer did it in the last over of Haryana’s innings in the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy semi-final in Surat. Himanshu Rana and Rahul Tewatia went to the first two balls, and Mithun finished with 5 for 39 as Karnataka won by eight wickets. Indonesia’s Gede Priandana is the only bowler to manage it in a T20 international, against Cambodia.

Laycock’s 6 for 26 also beats Beuran Hendricks’ 6 for 29 from 2014 as the best return in Pro20 Cup history.

Still not enough

KZN Inland needed 205, and they were 93 for 5 in the 12th over. Michael Erlank made 56 off 33 balls and Laycock added 31 not out with the bat, but they finished on 183 for 6.

Titans had Dewald Brevis in their side, and he made 33 off 24 before Bamanye Xenxe had him caught. They are top of Pool A with six wins from six.

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