Justin Greaves became the first-ever bowler to deliver five consecutive wicket-maidens in the opening Test match against Pakistan in Trinidad. The West Indies all-rounder has achieved a feat that no other player has done in the history of Test cricket. His achievement surpassed the prior record of four straight wicket-maidens set by former England fast bowler Stuart Broad against South Africa in Johannesburg in January 2016.
By the end of the day, West Indies managed a lead of 155 runs after restricting Pakistan to 282 runs in the first innings.ย
Greaves’ย historic spell – As it happened
On Day 3 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Pakistan started strong. However, the 31-year-old Greaves changed the course of the match and he ended with his personal best stats of 5/27 from 11 overs, taking all five wickets in five consecutive maiden overs.
Courtesy of Shan Masoodโs century, Pakistan were cruising at 158/2. Yet the course of the innings flipped completely in the second half of the day. Greaves bowled Masood first in the 64th over and then proceeded to dismiss Aamir Jamal, Ali Usman, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Abbas in the next four overs.ย
Still a lot of work to do: Justin Greaves
Following the dayโs end, Greaves credited the achievement to a simple approach, saying he stuck to instructions from captain Roston Chase.ย
โWhen I came on, captain Roston Chase just said, ‘continue to be disciplined in what you are doing’ and to see if I can get some wickets for the team,โ he said. โThe ball nipped around, and I got some reward. Anytime I get the ball in hand, the team looks to me to be that solid player for them to try to dig us out of situations.โย
He further added that he was ecstatic after taking five consecutive maiden wickets, but believed that there was much more to accomplish. โTo get five wickets for the first time in Test cricket, I’m really happy, but there’s still a lot of work to do in the game,โ he said.
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