Top 10 best bowling figures in an innings in BBL

Hobart Hurricanes all-rounder Dan Christian entered the record books when he scalped five-wicket haul in the Big Bash League (BBL) encounter against Adelaide Strikers recently. The medium pacer bagged 5/14 in his four overs to help the Hurricanes restrict the Adelaide Strikers to an average 143. He was rightly named the Player of the Match for his heroics. The bowling figures has now propelled into the number two spot in the top 10 best bowling figures in the tournament history of the BBL. The list boasts of some big names and the veteran Australian has joined the elite list with his five-for. This edition of the tournament, BBL 6, has been all about the bowlers thus far.

A couple of days ago, it was Sydney Sixers pacer Sean Abbott, who had bagged 5/16 against Adelaide Strikers. He had then moved to the number two spot in the list. Now, Christian has dethroned him from the second spot and Abbott finds himself third in the list. Interestingly, the tournament has been dominated by the batsmen in the past and the stats are only an evidence of the same. The premier T20 tournament is in its 6th edition and has only witnessed 6 five-wicket hauls.

Moreover, it has been Dan Christian, who has the distinction of taking two five-wicket hauls. The last time he did so was when he had donned the Brisbane Heat jersey. He had scalped 5/26 against the Sydney Thunder back in 2012. Only 3 spinners feature in the list of top 10 best bowling figures in the tournament history thus far. At number 10 is the Bangladeshi veteran Shakib Al Hasan. He had bagged 4/13 for the Melbourne Renegades in the 2015 edition of the BBL against the Brisbane Heat.

Australia’s preferred Test international Nathan Lyon had taken a five-wicket haul against the Hobart Hurricanes while playing for the Sydney Sixers in the same edition. West Indies bowler Samuel Badree is the third spinner to be in the list. His feat of 5/22 came for Brisbane Heat against the Melbourne Stars in the last edition of this T20 league. The list also has some domestic performers like Cameron Gannon and JK Reed. Veteran Proteas domestic juggernaut Alfonso Thomas also is placed in the top 10.

But the numero uno spot is bagged by arguably the best bowler in T20 cricket – Lasith Malinga. Playing for the Melbourne Stars, Malinga scaled 6/7 against the Perth Scorchers in BBL 2012. His effort had made a mockery of the Scorchers line-up that bundled out for just 69.

Here are the top 10 best bowling performances in an innings in BBL history: