The world of cricket has witnessed a bowler picking all ten wickets in a Test innings only three times so far in history. Former English spinner Jim Laker became the first player to achieve the feat in the international circuit in July 1956, ripping through the Australian batting unit in the fourth Test of the Ashes.
It, however, was not the first time for Laker to dismiss all the opposition batters in an innings. He achieved a similar feat in a first-class game on May 16 of the same year. Before going into the Ashes, the Australian unit featured in a few tour matches against English clubs.
Jim Laker was part of one of those warm-up matches, representing Surrey. Under the captaincy of Stuart Surridge, the English side put up a commanding performance in the fixture, which was hosted at the Kennington Oval in London.
Australian skipper Ian Johnson won the toss and elected to bat first. Laker was brought into the attack early. The decision was proven right when he started his prolific show producing magical deliveries.
Jim Laker started the demolition by sending off Jim Burke. The other Australian opener, Colin McDonald, looked to be in great touch.
The right-handed batter registered 89 runs before falling victim to Laker. The next two Aussie batters– Ken Mackay and Neil Harvey failed to survive long and returned to the dressing room with scores of 4 and 13 respectively.
Keith Miller gave his best to revive the Australian innings but wickets kept falling at the other end. Miller remained unbeaten on 57 while the others surrendered to Jim Laker quite early. The Australian side ultimately was bundled out for 259 on the opening day of the match.
In response, Surrey produced 347 runs on the back of a century by Bernie Constable. The Australian batting unit looked quite pale in the second innings as well. This time, the visitors were brought down to their knees by Tony Lock, who scalped seven wickets while conceding just 49 runs in 31.1 overs.
After Jim Laker’s exploits in the 1956 Ashes, India great Anil Kumble became the second bowler to take ten wickets in a Test innings. The legendary spinner made it happen during a home game against Pakistan in February 1999.
New Zealand bowler Ajaz Patel replicated the feat against India in 2021.
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