List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Alec Bedser

Sir Alec Bedser was a medium-fast bowler for England in Test matches between 1946 and 1955. Across his career he played 51 Tests, and took 236 wickets at a bowling average of 24.89. Bedser's wicket tally is the tenth highest for England in Test cricket, and he took 15 five-wicket hauls. Also known as "five–fors" or "fifers",[1][2] five-wicket hauls refer to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,[1] as of March 2014 only 41 bowlers have taken more than 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[3][4] Bedser's fifteen lies joint fifth in most five-fors for England.

Bedser's 236 wickets was for a time a world-record, which he took from Australian Clarrie Grimmett in 1953 and in turn yielded to Brian Statham ten years later. Bedser took his first five-wicket haul in his debut Test: seven wickets at a cost of 49 runs against India in June 1946.[5] His best bowling in an innings, 7/44, came in June 1953 against Australia at Trent Bridge.[6] This was the first Test of the 1953 Ashes series, a match series during which he took 39 wickets including five of his five-wicket hauls,[7] described as the "spearhead" of England's bowling attack.[8]

Key

Date – Date the match was held. Starting date of the match for Test matches. Overs – Number of overs bowled in that innings. Runs – Runs conceded. Wkts – Number of wickets taken. Batsmen – The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five wicket haul. Econ – Bowling economy rate (average runs per over). Inn – The innings of the match in which the five wicket haul was taken. Result – The result for the England team in that match. * – 10 wickets or more taken in the match.

Note: Man of the match awards did not enter Test cricket until the 1980s, after Bedser had retired.[9]

Tests

No.	Date	Ground	Against	Inn	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Econ	Batsmen	Result
1	22 June 1946	Lord's Cricket Ground, London,	India	1	29.1	49	7	1.68	VM Merchant L Amarnath VS Hazare Nawab of Pataudi snr DD Hindlekar CS Nayudu SG Shinde	Won[5]
2	20 July 1946	Old Trafford, Manchester,	India	4	25	52	7*	2.08	Nawab of Pataudi snr VS Hazare RS Modi L Amarnath MH Mankad Abdul Hafeez CT Sarwate	Drawn[10]
3	20 July 1950	Trent Bridge, Nottingham,	West Indies	2	48	127	5	2.64	FMM Worrell CL Walcott JDC Goddard HHH Johnson S Ramadhin	Lost[11]
4	23 February 1951	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,	Australia	1	22	46	5*	1.56	JW Burke GB Hole IWG Johnson D Tallon RR Lindwall	Won[12]
5	23 February 1951	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,	Australia	3	20.3	59	5*	2.17	AR Morris JW Burke RR Lindwall IWG Johnson JB Iverson	Won[12]
6	7 June 1951	Trent Bridge, Nottingham,	South Africa	3	22.4	37	6	1.63	EAB Rowan DJ McGlew JE Cheetham CB van Ryneveld AMB Rowan CN McCarthy	Lost[13]
7	5 July 1951	Old Trafford, Manchester,	South Africa	1	32.3	58	7*	1.78	EAB Rowan JHB Waite AD Nourse GM Fullerton JE Cheetham NBF Mann CN McCarthy	Won[14]
8	5 July 1951	Old Trafford, Manchester,	South Africa	3	24.2	54	5*	2.21	JE Cheetham AMB Rowan NBF Mann RA McLean GWA Chubb	Won[14]
9	17 July 1952	Old Trafford, Manchester,	India	3	15	27	5	1.80	MH Mankad PR Umrigar DG Phadkar VL Manjrekar RV Divecha	Won[15]
10	14 August 1952	The Oval, London,	India	2	14.5	41	5	2.76	HR Adhikari VL Manjrekar PR Umrigar GS Ramchand RV Divecha	Drawn[16]
11	11 June 1953	Trent Bridge, Nottingham,	Australia	1	38.3	55	7*	1.42	GB Hole AR Morris RN Harvey KR Miller AL Hassett D Tallon JC Hill	Drawn[6]
12	11 June 1953	Trent Bridge, Nottingham,	Australia	3	17.2	44	7*	2.53	GB Hole AL Hassett RN Harvey KR Miller R Benaud RR Lindwall JC Hill	Drawn[6]
13	25 June 1953	Lord's Cricket Ground, London,	Australia	1	42.4	105	5	2.46	AR Morris RN Harvey AL Hassett GRA Langley AK Davidson	Drawn[17]
14	9 July 1953	Old Trafford, Manchester,	Australia	1	45	115	5	2.55	AR Morris KR Miller GB Hole RN Harvey RG Archer	Drawn[18]
15	23 July 1953	Headingley, Leeds,	Australia	2	28.5	95	6	3.29	AR Morris AL Hassett GB Hole AK Davidson RR Lindwall GRA Langley	Drawn[19]

References

Notes

1. Pervez, M. A. (2001). A Dictionary of Cricket. Orient Blackswan. p. 31. ISBN 978-81-7370-184-9.
2. "Swinging it for the Auld Enemy – An interview with Ryan Sidebottom". The Scotsman. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2009. ... I'd rather take fifers (five wickets) for England ...
3. "Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". Cricinfo. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
4. "Records / One-Day Internationals / Bowling records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". Cricinfo. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
5. "India in England Test Series - 1st Test - England v India - 1946 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
6. "Australia in England Test Series - 1st Test - England v Australia - 1953 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
7. "Statistics / Statsguru / AV Bedser / Test matches". ESPN CricInfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
8. Williamson, Martin. "Player Profile: Sir Alec Bedser". ESPN CricInfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
9. "Records / Test matches / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) /Most player-of-the-match awards". ESPN Cricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
10. "India in England Test Series - 2nd Test - England v India - 1946 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
11. "West Indies in England Test Series - 3rd Test - England v West Indies - 1950 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
12. "England in Australia Test Series - 5th Test - England v Australia - 1950/51 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
13. "South Africa in England Test Series - 1st Test - England v South Africa - 1951 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
14. "South Africa in England Test Series - 3rd Test - England v South Africa - 1951 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
15. "India in England in Test Series - 3rd Test - England v India - 1952 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
16. "India in England Test Series - 4th Test - England v India - 1952 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
17. "Australia in England Test Series - 2nd Test - England v Australia - 1953 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
18. "Australia in England Test Series - 3rd Test - England v Australia - 1953 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
19. "Australia in England Test Series - 4th Test - England v Australia - 1953 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2014.

Sources

• Alec Bedser at ESPNcricinfo
• Alec Bedser at CricketArchive (subscription required)