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

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 September 2024, 174 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on Test match debut,^[5] out of which twenty-five 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 fifteen 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 eleven different venues, six of them being taken at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town.^[8]

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

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.^[a] 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.^[b] 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.^[c] Sydney Burke and Alf Hall are the only South African debutants to collect 10 or more wickets in a match as of February 2015.^[d][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] Neil Brand is the latest cricketer to achieve this feat; he took 6/119 against New Zealand in February 2024.^[16]

Key

Date – Starting date of the match Inn – The 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 – The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul. Result – The result for the South African team in that match. † – The bowler was selected "Man of the match". ‡ – The bowler took 10 wickets or more in the match.

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	12 March 1889	Crusaders Ground, St George's Park, Port Elizabeth	England	1	18.0	43	5	3.58	Bobby Abel Frank Hearne Henry Wood Johnny Briggs Charles Coventry	Lost[17]
2	Gobo Ashley	25 March 1889	Newlands, Cape Town	England	1	43.1	95	7	3.29	Bobby Abel George Ulyett Maurice Read Monty Bowden Basil Grieve Emile McMaster Arnold Fothergill	Lost[18]
3	Bonnor Middleton	13 February 1896	Crusaders Ground, St George's Park, Port Elizabeth	England	1	25.4	64	5	2.97	Tom Hayward C. B. Fry Hugh Bromley-Davenport Lord Hawke Harry Butt	Lost[19]
4	George Rowe	2 March 1896	Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	England	1	49.0	115	5	2.81	Tim O'Brien Tom Hayward C. B. Fry Hugh Bromley-Davenport Christopher Heseltine	Lost[20]
5	Alf Hall ‡	1 January 1923	Newlands, Cape Town	England	2	37.3	63	7	1.68	Andy Sandham Frank Woolley Phil Mead Arthur Carr Percy Fender Frank Mann Vallance Jupp	Lost[21]
6	George Parker	14 June 1924	Edgbaston, Birmingham	England	1	37.0	152	6	4.10	Herbert Sutcliffe Frank Woolley Patsy Hendren Percy Chapman Maurice Tate George Wood	Lost[22]
7	Henry Promnitz	24 December 1927	Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	England	1	37.0	58	5	1.56	Herbert Sutcliffe Bob Wyatt Greville Stevens Ewart Astill Rony Stanyforth	Lost[23]
8	George Bissett	31 December 1927	Newlands, Cape Town	England	1	17.0	37	5	2.17	Percy Holmes Herbert Sutcliffe Ernest Tyldesley Greville Stevens Bob Wyatt	Lost[24]
9	Sandy Bell	29 June 1929	Lord's, London	England	1	30.4	99	6	3.22	Herbert Sutcliffe Maurice Leyland Maurice Tate Walter Robins Harold Larwood Jack White	Drawn[25]
10	Norman Gordon	24 December 1938	Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	England	1	33.4	103	5	2.30	Wally Hammond Les Ames Bryan Valentine Len Wilkinson Ken Farnes	Drawn[26]
11	Lindsay Tuckett	7 June 1947	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	England	1	37.0	68	5	1.83	Cyril Washbrook Denis Compton Norman Yardley Sam Cook Jack Martin	Drawn[27]
12	Cuan McCarthy	16 December 1948	Kingsmead, Durban	England	2	12.0	43	6	2.68	George Mann Denis Compton Allan Watkins Reg Simpson Godfrey Evans Roly Jenkins	Lost[28]
13	Michael Melle	10 February 1950	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	Australia	1	33.0	113	5	2.56	Jack Moroney Keith Miller Ray Lindwall Sam Loxton Ian Johnson	Drawn[29]
14	David Ironside	24 December 1953	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	New Zealand	1	19.0	51	5	2.01	Geoff Rabone Lawrie Miller Frank Mooney Tony MacGibbon Guy Overton	Won[30]
15	Peter Heine	23 June 1955	Lord's, London	England	1	25.0	60	5	2.40	Tom Graveney Peter May Denis Compton Ken Barrington Godfrey Evans	Lost[31]
16	Peter Pollock	8 December 1961	Kingsmead, Durban	New Zealand	2	20.3	38	6	1.85	John Guy Paul Barton Zin Harris John Reid Artie Dick Jack Alabaster	Won[32]
17	Sydney Burke ‡	1 January 1962	Newlands, Cape Town	New Zealand	1	53.5	128	6	2.37	Noel McGregor John Sparling Murray Chapple Artie Dick Gary Bartlett Dick Motz	Lost[33]
18	Lance Klusener	27 November 1996	Eden Gardens, Calcutta	India	2	19.0	64	8	1.73	Nayan Mongia Sourav Ganguly V. V. S. Laxman Mohammad Azharuddin Sunil Joshi Anil Kumble Javagal Srinath Narendra Hirwani	Won[34]
19	Charl Langeveldt	2 January 2005	Newlands, Cape Town	England	1	16.0	46	5	2.87	Michael Vaughan Graham Thorpe Geraint Jones Simon Jones Steve Harmison	Won[35]
20	Vernon Philander †	9 November 2011	Newlands, Cape Town	Australia	2	7.0	15	5	2.14	Ricky Ponting Michael Clarke Brad Haddin Mitchell Johnson Shaun Marsh	Won[36]
21	Marchant de Lange	26 December 2011	Kingsmead, Durban	Sri Lanka	1	23.2	81	7	3.47	Tharanga Paranavitana Kumar Sangakkara Thilan Samaraweera Angelo Mathews Thisara Perera Rangana Herath Chanaka Welegedara	Lost[37]
22	Kyle Abbott †	22 February 2013	Centurion Park, Centurion	Pakistan	1	11.4	29	7	2.48	Mohammad Hafeez Younus Khan Misbah-ul-Haq Sarfraz Ahmed Saeed Ajmal Ehsan Adil Mohammad Irfan	Won[38]
23	Lungi Ngidi †	13 January 2017	Centurion Park, Centurion	India	2	12.2	39	6	3.16	K. L. Rahul Virat Kohli Hardik Pandya Ravichandran Ashwin Mohammed Shami Jasprit Bumrah	Won[39]
24	Beuran Hendricks	24 January 2020	Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	England	2	15.3	64	5	4.12	Dom Sibley Ben Stokes Sam Curran Chris Woakes Joe Root	Lost[40]
25	Neil Brand	5 February 2024	Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui	New Zealand	1	26.0	119	6	4.58	Daryl Mitchell Glenn Phillips Rachin Ravindra Mitchell Santner Matt Henry Tim Southee	Lost[41]

Notes

1. The match marked his debut in first-class cricket.^[9]
2. The International Cricket Council had suspended South Africa in 1970 because of the government's apartheid policy.^[11][12]
3. As of February 2015, the figures are the fourth-best by any bowler on debut.^[13]
4. Hall's figures of 11 wickets for 112 runs are the best bowling figures in a match by a South Africa debutant.^[6]