Chad Laycock becomes first South African to take five wickets in a single T20 over

South African fast bowler Chad Laycock became the first South African to take five wickets in a single over in men's T20 cricket on Tuesday, October 13, during the CSA T20 Challenge at the Pietermaritzburg Oval. He finished with career-best figures of 6 for 26 in four overs, but his side lost by 21 runs.

Laycock is the fourth bowler known to have taken five wickets in one over in men's T20s, joining Al-Amin Hossain, Abhimanyu Mithun and Gede Priandana. Al-Amin accomplished the feat for UCB-BCB XI against Abahani Limited in the 2013-14 Victory Day T20 Cup, Mithun did so for Karnataka against Haryana in the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy semi-final, and Priandana achieved it against Cambodia in December 2025, becoming the first bowler to take five wickets in an over in a T20 international in either men's or women's cricket.

The Titans were 193 for 4 after 18 overs when Laycock returned to bowl the penultimate over. Having already claimed a wicket earlier, he first bowled Leus du Plooy, then saw Dayyaan Galiem pick up two runs off the next delivery before Galiem was caught in the deep. Laycock then removed Aphiwe Mnyanda, Janco Smit and Esosa Aihevba with successive deliveries, the four consecutive dismissals following du Plooy's wicket completing the five-wicket haul in that over.

The Titans were eventually bowled out for 204 in 19.5 overs. Lhuan-dre Pretorius top-scored with 81 off 36 balls, Sinethemba Qeshile made 46 off 29 and Dewald Brevis scored 33 off 24.

"Chad Laycock With A FIVE-WICKET Penultimate Over! The Tuskers fast bowler produced an unbelievable spell of 6/26 in just four overs against the Momentum Multiply Titans in yesterday’s YesPlay Pro20 Cup match, including a staggering FIVE WICKETS IN A SINGLE OVER in the 19th over of the first innings! An extraordinary performance that will be remembered for a long time! #Unbreakable #DCSA #YesPlayPro20Cup— Domestic Cricket South Africa (@DomesticCSA) October 14, 2026"

Laycock's rise came from a relatively modest senior profile before the match; he is a product of KwaZulu-Natal cricket and began developing at Glenwood High School in Durban, showing promise with both bat and ball while still in Grade 10. In 2019 he represented Railway Union Cricket Club in Ireland as part of a cricket exchange programme, scoring 341 runs and taking 18 wickets for the club's first XI, and he recorded centuries for the club's Under-17 and Under-19 teams while also once hitting six sixes in an over. Those performances earned him selection for the KwaZulu-Natal Under-17 team.

He has since progressed to senior domestic cricket, representing KwaZulu-Natal Inland, also known as the Tuskers.