William O’Rourke's 9-Wicket Haul vs SA Puts Him On Top Of 'This' Legendary List

image-lsn1jq1nWilliam O’Rourke celebrating a SA wicket in second Test (x.com)

New Zealand fast bowler and debutant William O’Rourke shattered South Africa’s batting line-up twice in three days in the second Test match between the two sides at Hamilton.

The 22-year-old paceman removed Proteas skipper Neil Brand with the new-ball on Day 1 before mopping up the visitor’s tail the following morning.

At a time when South Africa reached a commanding 202-4 in the second innings, the right-arm speedster ensnared five more victims to finish with astonishing figures of 5-34 from 13.5 overs. Remarkably, William’s second innings burst tilted the tide back in New Zealand’s favour as the series now heads towards a potential cracking finale.

As it turned out, William’s spell also helped him scale a huge record as a New Zealand debutant, as he broke a decade-long record previously held by Mark Craig.

William O’Rourke achieves huge NZ record

With a four-fer and a five-wicket haul to his name, William O’Rourke claimed a staggering match haul of 9-93 in his debut Test. His performance now marks the best by any New Zealand men’s bowler in his maiden Test, thus bettering Mark Craig’s 2014 effort (8-188) against West Indies.

The Test match, however, is still up for grabs for both sides as New Zealand reached 40-1 by stumps on Day 3. The hosts now require 227 more runs to pull off a sensational run-chase and to seal the two-match series 2-0.

Earlier this month, New Zealand trounced South Africa by 281 runs at the Bay Oval, with senior man Kane Williamson plundering twin centuries and breakout star Rachin Ravindra unleashing his career-best 240.