Colin Ackermann sets T20 record with 7-18

LONDON: Leicestershire captain Colin Ackermann, a batting all-rounder, spun webs around the Birmingham Bears batsmen to register the first seven-wicket haul in Twenty20 cricket, in a T20 Blast game in Leicester.

Ackermann created history with his off-breaks that accounted for seven Birmingham batsmen for the cost of just 18 runs on Wednesday night.

The South African introduced himself into the attack in the third over of Birmingham’s chase of 190, and made an immediate impact by getting rid of Michael Burgress for 10, but his real heroics came in the 14th and 16th overs of the game, when he snared six wickets to send the visiting side crashing from 118-3 to 134-9.

His seventh wicket helped him surpass Malaysia’s Arul Suppiah, the previous record-holder for the best figures in T20 cricket, who took 6-5 for Somerset against Glamorgan in 2011.

“Never in a million years [did I expect to set a bowling record] – I’m a batting all-rounder,” he exclaimed after his side wrapped up a 55-run win.

Jeetan Patel, the opposition captain and an experienced off-spinner himself, heaped praise on Ackermann. “It was a fantastic performance,” Patel said.