Jayden Seales becomes youngest West Indian to take five-wicket haul, breaks 71-year-old record

Trinidad and Tobago fast bowler Jayden Seales became the youngest West Indian to take a five-wicket haul in Test cricket when he got Pakistan’s Hasan Ali caught at deep fine leg to get the visitors all out in their second innings of the first Test at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. 

With this five-wicket haul, his first in international cricket or any kind of First-Class cricket, the 19 years and 339 days old pacer became the youngest pacer to achieve this feat for West Indies, breaking the 71-year-old record held by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Alfred Valentine, who had taken a five-wicket haul at the age of 20 in 1950. 

Seales, who had started the fourth day with two wickets in his kitty during the second Pakistan innings, picked the wickets of Yasir Shah and Shaheen Afridi, before finally getting Ali caught off a bouncer. These three wickets added to the two wickets of Fawad Alam and Abid Ali that he had already taken. The pacer is playing only his third Test. 

Ali was also the last man to get out for the visitors who could add only 43 runs to their overnight score of 160-5. By getting bundled out for 203, the Babar Azam led side set a target of 168 for the hosts to chase and register their first-ever win against the former in the last 41 years.