No bowler had ever claimed five wickets in a single over in South African T20 cricket before Tuesday, when Chad Laycock changed that in Pietermaritzburg. Bowling for KZN Inland against Titans in the CSA Pro20 Cup, Laycock produced a historic 19th over that also set a second South African T20 record: four wickets in four consecutive deliveries.
His final figures of 6 for 26 were the best of his career and surpassed Beuran Hendricks’ 6 for 29 from 2014, placing Laycock at the top of the all-time CSA Pro20 Cup bowling charts. The record-breaking over began with the dismissal of Leus du Plooy. Laycock then removed Dayyaan Galiem, Aphiwe Mnyanda, Janco Smit and Esosa Aihevba on successive balls to complete the five-wicket over. Titans, who had been 193 for 4 at the start of that over, were bowled out for 204.
Laycock had also played a role earlier in the innings. Titans’ opening pair had put on 112 before he broke the stand by dismissing Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who had made 81 off 36 balls, in the ninth over. That was KZN Inland’s first wicket of the innings.
Where does Laycock’s feat sit in the wider history of T20 cricket?
Only three men had previously claimed five wickets in a single over in T20 cricket anywhere in the world. Bangladesh’s Al-Amin Hossain was the first, doing so for UCB-BCB XI against Abahani Limited in the 2013-14 Victory Day T20 Cup. Abhimanyu Mithun of India was next, taking five in an over during the semi-final of the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while representing Karnataka against Haryana.
Indonesia’s Gede Priandana occupies a unique place on that list as the only bowler, male or female, to accomplish the feat in a T20 international, having done so against Cambodia in December 2025. Laycock’s performance in the CSA Pro20 Cup makes him the fourth man in the history of men’s T20 cricket to join that group.
The four-wicket sequence within the over also connects Laycock to a distinguished set of names at the international level. Among Full Member nations in T20 internationals, Lasith Malinga, Rashid Khan, Curtis Campher and Jason Holder had each taken four wickets in four consecutive deliveries before Tuesday.
What did the match result mean for both sides?
Laycock’s extraordinary bowling effort was not enough to carry KZN Inland to victory. Set 205 to win, they were bowled out for 183 for 6, falling short by 21 runs. Laycock contributed an unbeaten 31 with the bat, but the target proved beyond the side.
The win was Titans’ sixth in a row in the CSA Pro20 Cup, keeping them unbeaten and at the top of the competition standings. Despite the defeat, Laycock’s record-breaking figures ensured the match will be remembered as a landmark moment in South African domestic T20 history.
