Flashback: The first bowler to pick 100 wickets in Test cricket

Reaching a landmark of 100 wickets is a special feat with bowlers dreaming of achieving such milestones in their respective careers irrespective of the format. To reach it first gives more pride to a bowler and England’s Johnny Briggs is one such man who was the first one to scalp 100 wickets in Tests.

Former England player late Johnny Briggs holds a special record to his name. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler was the first cricketer to reach the landmark of 100 wickets in the history of Test cricket. He got to the feat in the fourth of the five-match Ashes series against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney in the year 1895. Briggs took figures of 4/65 in 22 overs which included four maidens in the first innings.

Born on October 03, 1862, in Nottinghamshire, Briggs played 33 Test matches for England and took 118 wickets at an average of 17.75 and a strike rate of 45.1. His best bowling figures were 8/11 and match figures 15/28. Nine times Johnny took a five-wicket haul and four times he achieved ten wickets in a game. His debut had come against Australia in Adelaide in December 1884.

His spell of 8/11 against South Africa in Cape Town in the year 1889 is still the third-best figures by an England spinner in Test cricket. He played county cricket for Lancashire for a period between 1879 and 1900.

In 535 first-class games, Briggs took 2221 wickets at an average of 15.95. He held the record for most wickets in Test cricket on two occasions, the first in 1895 and against from 1898 until 1904, when he was succeeded by Australian spin bowler Hugh Trumble. On January 11, 1902, Johnny took his last breath in Cheshire as he died aged 39y 100d.

Though a lot of cricketers have crossed the 100-wicket mark over the years in the longest form of the game, Johnny Briggs’ name will always be etched in the history of the sport.