Stopped in their tracks

At Trent Bridge, James Anderson claimed the first six New Zealand wickets to fall and thoughts turned to him joining Jim Laker and Anil Kumble with all ten - though it wasn't to be. Cricinfo looks back on other bowlers who took the first six batsmen to fall before someone else ended their fun.

George Lohmann v Australia, Sydney, 1887
Lohmann's Test career was remarkable in that his 112 wickets at 10.25 came in only 18 matches. Had his health been more robust, he may well have doubled his career tally. As a 21-year-old in 1886, in his first series, he took 12 for 104 against Australia at The Oval, and he was an automatic choice for the two-Test tour to Australia which followed. In the first match, in Sydney, he took six wickets. In the second, also at the SCG, Australia fielded a weak side and Lohmann found what the Guardian labelled a "treacherous wicket" to his liking; the Times gushed that his bowling was "wonderfully good". Australia, replying to England's 151, were bowled out for 84. Lohmann, who bowled at a brisk medium pace and moved the ball both ways, took 8 for 38, including the first six. Two more in Australia's second innings gave him the second of five Test ten-fors and England the series.

Albert Vogler v England, Lord's, 1907
The googly only came into use after the turn of the century, but by the time South Africa toured England in 1907, they boasted four googly bowlers in their side - Vogler, Reggie Schwartz, Aubrey Faulkner and Gordon White. Vogler, who had honed his skill on the matting wickets used in the Cape Colony at the time, had also played for MCC and Middlesex in England in the years before the tour, alongside Bernard Bosanquet, the inventor of the delivery. The series opened at Lord's, and Vogler, bowling first change from the Pavilion End, took 7 for 128, his success down to variations in pace and flight more than any prodigious turn. Times rather sniffily dismissed his efforts as being more down to batting of an "indifferent character". The match was drawn, but Vogler ended the summer with 119 wickets and 723 runs.

Sydney Barnes v South Africa, Johannesburg, 1913
Arguably one of cricket's greatest bowlers, Barnes, had he been less strident in his views, or had he actually played more than two seasons of Championship cricket, would undoubtedly have been the first player to take 300, perhaps 400, Test wickets. He was 40 when he toured South Africa in 1913-14. In four Tests he took 49 wickets at 10.93, including the first six at Johannesburg (on his way to 17 for 149) and Durban. It was said he refused to play in the fifth match because he contended the South Africans had not carried out their promise of special reward if he took part in the tour. "So shrewdly did he conserve his energy that in 1928 when he was in his mid-fifties," Wisden noted, "the West Indies team of that year faced him in a club match and unanimously agreed he was the best they had encountered in the season."

Ian Botham v West Indies, Lord's, 1984
Against West Indies, Botham generally struggled to produce his trademark all-round heroics, but this was one of his standout performances against the best side in the world - though the match will be remembered for David Gower's declaration and West Indies' run chase. However, until Gower's misjudgment, Botham had taken centre stage. His 8 for 103 included the top six, one of which was Viv Richards, controversially lbw after a fascinating contest. "...He [Richards] was lbw to a ball from Botham that did a lot," said Wisden. "Umpire Meyer later stated that he 'may have made a mistake', and that he had considered recalling Richards." In the second innings, Botham was less successful as he conceded 117 runs off 20 overs.

Neil Foster v Pakistan, Leeds, 1987
Swing bowlers and Headingley are a favourite combination. It was a dank, wet summer in 1987, perfect for Foster's style of nagging swing, yet before the third Test he'd bowled just 15 overs in the series amid all the rain. England crashed to 136 all out, but Foster did his best to keep them in the contest. He took the first six Pakistan wickets, including Javed Miandad for a duck, as the visitors wobbled. However, Saleem Malik stood firm with 99 before falling to Phil Edmonds. Foster, though, had time to claim two more and finish with a career-best 8 for 107. Imran Khan overshadowed him with a masterful 7 for 40, but Wisden said of Foster: " ... a display of fast-medium bowling that matched Imran".

Merv Hughes v West Indies, Perth, 1988
The decision to replace Chris Matthews with Hughes for the second Test drew much unfavourable criticism - but it proved an inspired move. Hughes hadn't played a Test for nearly 11 months but returned match figures of 13 for 217 off 73.1 overs, including a split-innings hat-trick, to take the Man-of-the-Match honours. Having taken a five-for in West Indies' first-innings 449, Hughes lost his new-ball partner Geoff Lawson through injury but stepped up excellently, doing "Trojan work with the ball", Wisden noted. He trapped Gordon Greenidge lbw first ball, after which Richie Richardson helped add 103 with Desmond Haynes before he went for 48. It was a while before Hughes struck again, but he did so strongly - Haynes was cut short on 100, his maiden hundred, Viv Richards went lbw for 5, Carl Hooper was snapped up for 64, Jeff Dujon followed soon after, and West Indies were 6 for 259. Soon after, Tony Dodemaide, who had taken two neat catches to assist Hughes, dismissed Malcolm Marshall to snap his team-mate's march. Hughes took two more to finish with 8 for 87, but West Indies won the match by 169 runs.

Craig McDermott v England, Perth, 1991
Like all self-respecting Aussies, Craig McDermott saved his best for England. At Perth he took 8 for 97 as England collapsed from 191 for 2 to 244 all out. England's decision to bat on an ideal pitch, and do so with strong strokeplay, left them 191 for 3: McDermott accounted for Graham Gooch, Michael Atherton and Robin Smith in the first two sessions. Those three wickets cost him 80 runs in 18 overs, but what transpired next swung the match dramatically. Shortly after the interval Allan Lamb (91) fell pulling one outside off stump, lobbing a catch to Allan Border at mid-on; then Alec Stewart was given out lbw and that opened the floodgates: from 212 for 3, England folded for 244 over 70 minutes and 12.4 overs. Debutant Phil Newport went first ball to become McDermott's seventh victim, but there was to be no ten-wicket haul, however, as Hughes sneaked in a couple of tail-end wickets. McDermott had taken 5 for 17 in 6.4 overs, the second time he had eight wickets against England.

Curtly Ambrose v England, Headingley, 1991
This will always be remembered as Graham Gooch's Test - the quality of his masterful 154 was highlighted by some of the bowling he had to face from a fearsome attack led by Ambrose. England had a 25-run advantage on first innings, but the scales were soon evened by Ambrose, who reduced them to 38 for 3 and later 124 for 6. "Twice he was on a hat-trick," reported Wisden. "Mixing short-pitched bowling with accurate yorkers, Ambrose made full use of his 6ft 7in and kept the ball around the line of the off stump." But he couldn't get past Gooch, who added a vital 98 for the seventh wicket with Derek Pringle. Ambrose didn't add to his wicket tally, as Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh wrapped up the lower order, but England secured a famous win.

Devon Malcolm v South Africa, The Oval, 1994
"You guys are history," were the famous words uttered by Malcolm after he was cracked on the helmet by a Fanie de Villiers bouncer. He lived up to the statement. On a lightning fast Oval surface he ripped into the South African top order, leaving them floundering on 1 for 3. A partnership of 72 between Daryll Cullinan and Kepler Wessels restored the equilibrium for a while, then Malcolm returned to scalp the next four. He was rampant and all ten seemed to be on the cards. Then Darren Gough, never one to be kept out of limelight for long, nipped in and removed the troublesome Cullinan for 94 with a catch at slip by Graham Thorpe. The rest, however, were Malcolm's, as he ended with 9 for 57.

Saqlain Mushtaq v England, Lahore, 2000-01
Although England arrived in Pakistan fresh from their first series win against West Indies for 31 years, the task on the subcontinent was still expected to be beyond them. As history records, they famously won in the dark in Karachi, but the seeds of their success were sown in Lahore, when they showed they wouldn't fall in a heap to the spinners. However, Saqlain still had his success, albeit after a marathon stint of 74 overs. He took all eight England wickets to fall and with two tailenders to come, would have fancied his chances of claiming all ten, only for Nasser Hussain's declaration to end his hopes.

Matthew Hoggard v South Africa, Johannesburg, 2005
Hoggard has quickly slipped down England's pecking order from No. 1 bowler to a position where he is now fighting to regain his place. But in early 2005 he produced his greatest performance when he almost single-handedly bowled England to a series lead against South Africa. Steve Harmison was off form, Andrew Flintoff was already having problems with his ankle (although still bowled magnificently), while James Anderson cut a distraught figure, barely able to locate the pitch. Hoggard stepped up, following a five-wicket haul in the first-innings with an explosive new-ball burst. The key moment was his perfect outswinger to remove Jacques Kallis first ball. South Africa, with Graeme Smith down the order due to concussion after Ray Jennings hit him with a ball in practice, were rocking. Shortly after tea Hoggard had six in six, but Herschelle Gibbs was standing in England's way. Then Ashley Giles nipped in with one of his more important strikes, trapping Gibbs controversially lbw. It ended Hoggard's roll, but England went on to wrap up victory.