Shrikant Wagh Takes All Ten Wickets In An Innings In England

Shrikant Wagh drew comparisons with none other than Irfan Pathan when he arrived on the scene in 2005. But while Wagh could not make it to international cricket, he made sure to leave his mark in domestic arena.

Wagh, who was the Vidarbha spearhead just two years ago, has now achieved something that even Irfan could not d0 – taking all ten wickets in an innings, The left-arm pacer achieved the rare feat against Middlesbrough while playing for Stokesley during a league match of North Yorkshire & South Durham (NYSD) Cricket League, which is England Cricket Board’s Premier Division League.

Wagh had also come close to taking all the ten wickets in an innings in the past too. During the Under-19 Asia Cup in 2003-04, he had taken nine wickets against Bangladesh. The Indian bowler’s efforts, nonetheless, helped Stokesley Club thrash their opponents by 135 runs. Wagh, also a capable batsman, made useful contribution with the bat too, scoring 41 off just 28 balls with the help of 4 sixes and a four.

Incredible scenes at the SCG as Shrikant takes all 10 Middlesbrough wickets to record a 25 point win! pic.twitter.com/yvQaTtS4Ap

— Stokesley Cricket Club (@Stokesley_CC) June 30, 2018

Wagh’s Stokesley Club teammate James Weighwell, who also plays for Durham County, hailed Wagh.

“It’s the first time I have witnessed a player taking all 10 wickets in a single innings. He was bowling fast, swinging, seaming deliveries from his first ball,” Weighell told The Times of India.

“He bowled a three-over period where he took seven wickets. I was standing at the second slip and felt every ball was going to be a wicket during that spell! It was a frighteningly good spell and I was very happy to be at slip and not batting for the other side. Congratulations to Shree, it was well and truly deserved,” he added.

Wagh has been very impressive this season. So far, he has taken 33 wickets at an impressive average of 11.49 and a strike rate of 24.76.

“It’s a great achievement. To take ten wickets in any form of the game at any level is a very big thing. These things don’t happen every day. He should be proud of this and keep working hard to achieve bigger things,” former Indian pacer Subroto Bannerjee, who was Vidarbha’s bowlng coach last year, told the media.

Wagh will be hoping that his performance would help him regain his place in the Vidarbha side that won their maiden Ranji Trophy last season. Wagh, an automatic choice in the team not very long ago, fell down the pecking order due to several injuries.