During a 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup match against the West Indies, South African skipper Dane van Niekerk became the first bowler in men or women’s cricket to take four wickets without conceding a single run, in limited-overs cricket. The following year, during a Women’s World T20 match against Sri Lanka, when she and her spouse Marizanne Kapp (a record-holding cricketer) batted together, they became the first-ever married pair to bat together in the history of ICC tournaments.
Another quirky coincidence is the fact all three previous occasions featured Ireland. New Zealand’s Debbie Hockley finished with figures of 0/1 in 6 overs in 1988 and England’s Gill Smith picked up 0/2 in 5 overs in 1990 and both of them came against Ireland. The only other time before van Niekerk’s superhuman effort was when Ireland’s Lara Molins finished with figures of 0/1 in 5 overs against Scotland in 2001.
Although a bowler has picked up a wicket without conceding a run on 66 occasions, this was only the fifth time a bowler had picked up more than one wicket and still failed to concede a run in the innings and the first South African to do so.
Picture Credit : Google
