Neil Wagner registers the best figures for the left-arm pacers in New Zealand

New Zealand left-arm pacer Neil Wagner wreaked havoc in Windies camp in Wellington on Friday and returned with the figures of 7/39. The visitors were bundled out for just 134 after being 59/0 at one stage courtesy the fierce spell from the fast bowler. Fittingly, he also took the last wicket of the innings which was his seventh and registered best figures by a left-arm pace bowler in New Zealand. However, his figures were also the fourth-best for his country in Test cricket with Sir Richard Hadlee leading the way with 9/52.

Hadlee also has the second-best returns in the list with 7/23 against India in 1976 when an over was comprised of eight balls. The cricketers like Tim Southee who is missing the ongoing Test match, Chris Cairns and Simon Doull also make it to the list when they had bamboozled the opposition batsmen with their stupendous bowling efforts. Wagner also broke a 5-year drought with Southee being the last Kiwi bowler to pick a seven-wicket haul in whites.

Best figures for New Zealand

Second-best figures in last 20 years

Neil Wagner’s 7/39 are also the second-best figures in the World cricket in last 20 years in the opening innings of a Test match. Stuart Broad holds the record of the most wickets in the first innings of a match when he picked 8/15 against Australia in the Ashes. The 31-year-old surpassed Ryan Sidebottom who held the previous record of best figures (7/47) for a left-arm pacer in New Zealand.

Best Figures by left-arm pacers

However, he was the first left-arm pacer for New Zealand to pick a seven-wicket haul in an innings. He stands sixth in the list of best figures for the left-arm fast bowlers in the history of Test cricket with Mitchell Johnson leading the way with 8/61. As far as best figures in New Zealand in Tests in concerned, EAS Prasanna from India is leading the charts who had scalped 8/76 against the Kiwis in 1976 in Auckland. The South Africa born Wagner is fifth in that list only behind the legendary West Indian Courtney Walsh.

Best figures in New Zealand