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Follow Us“What’s your dream summer?”
Ask any English bowler that question, and more often than not, the answer will be a five-wicket haul at Lord’s.
But how about going one better – taking a five-wicket haul AND SCORING A TEST CENTURY?
Now, we are talking about an elite club. A club that has only three names – Vinoo Mankad, Sir Ian Botham and now, GUESS WHO? There’s a very good chance that you wouldn’t have thought about him even if you had a lifetime to think.
Angus Alexander Patrick Atkinson.
Build the man a statue at Lord’s. At least you should after this once-in-a-lifetime kind of achievement from England’s new hero, Atkinson.
The right-hander smacked one of the most attractive centuries in the first innings, where he brought up his century in just 103 deliveries, smashing 11 fours and four sixes. If that wasn’t enough, Atkinson put on a show in the second innings with the ball, with a five-wicket haul.
Also Read: Gus Atkinson - too fast and furious for West Indies
"I couldn't have asked for much more, to get on both honours boards is incredible, will take a while to sink in, batting alongside Root was special in the first innings,” Atkinson said in the post-match presentation.
I mean, at this point, he’s already made a habit out of picking up five-wicket hauls at the home of cricket so much so that he has THREE, all in one summer.
If you are someone growing up watching cricket in the late 1990s, you might have heard about how Sir Ian Botham had caused terror at the venue. Maybe your dad would have definitely talked about Fred Trueman and Derek Underwood. Maybe, you will tell your son about one certain - James Anderson.
But what Atkinson has done is change the landscape of that storytelling, so much so that the protagonist now is none other than him. Just four innings later, he has three five-wicket hauls, with a staggering average of 10.94. You can look at the list of all the top bowlers at the venue, and he’s already there up amongst the best.
Atkinson is the first English player this century to take 30+ wickets in his first 5 Tests... Let that sink in.
“My first red-ball games at Lord's have gone my way, I enjoy bowling with the slope, long may it continue. The way we go about the game, we like to attack, and it's great to attack without worrying about runs,” he added.
Here’s the list of records that Atkinson broke during his display at Lord’s:
Fastest to three 5 wicket hauls at Lord's in Tests
4 innings - Ian Botham
4 innings - Gus Atkinson*
7 innings - Chris Woakes
7 innings - Derek Underwood
Players to score a 100 and take a five-wicket haul in the same Test at Lord's
Vinoo Mankad vs England in 1952
Ian Botham vs Pakistan in 1978
Gus Atkinson vs Sri Lanka in 2024*
Last five instances of a player scoring a 100 and taking a 5-fer in the same Test (recent first)
Gus Atkinson vs Sri Lanka in 2024*
Ravindra Jadeja vs England in 2024
Ravindra Jadeja vs Sri Lanka in 2022
Ravichandran Ashwin vs England in 2021
Roston Chase vs India in 2016
Most five-wicket hauls at Lord’s
8 - Ian Botham
7 - James Anderson
5 - Fred Trueman
4 - Derek Underwood
3 - Gus Atkinson*
England players to score a hundred and take a five-fer in the same Test
Ian Botham (5 times)
Tony Greig
Gus Atkinson*
Most wickets after 5 Tests for an Englishman
Nick Cook - 34
Gus Atkinson - 33*
Fred Trueman - 33
Tom Richardson - 33
Most wickets taken in the first 5 Tests by a pacer (since 2000)
Vernon Philander - 35
Gus Atkinson - 33*
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