EP cricketer makes history

Cape Town - Eastern Province cricketer Kelly Smuts made history during a Sunfoil 3-Day Cup match against Boland in Paarl this past weekend.

According to the HeraldLIVE website, Smuts eclipsed an 88-year-old world record for a collective individual first-class performance.

Smuts, whose older brother Jon-Jon plays for the Warriors, produced a remarkable effort with both bat and ball to ensure his name will remain etched in the annals of cricket statistics.

The 26-year-old took seven wickets for 36 runs in Boland’s first innings of 205. He then scored 108 in EP’s first innings of 442, before taking six second-innings wickets, four of which came off consecutive deliveries to give him a hat-trick.

In the process Smuts became the first player to score a century and take 13 wickets in a first-class match in South Africa, and the 25th overall in the world.

He is also the second player worldwide to score a century and take four wickets in four balls in first-class cricket after Kevan James (Hampshire v India in Southampton in 1996).