London, May 28: Derbyshire all-rounder Martin Andersson produced one of the greatest all-round displays in T20 cricket history after smashing a rapid half-century, claiming six wickets and taking two catches in a dominant victory over Leicestershire.
Opening the batting, Andersson blasted 57 off just 29 deliveries to lay the foundation for Derbyshire’s massive total of 230/5, their second-highest score in T20 cricket. He then starred with the ball, returning sensational figures of 6/23 from four overs as Derbyshire cruised to an 85-run win.
The performance placed Andersson in an exclusive club as only the second cricketer ever to score a fifty, take six wickets and grab two catches in a T20 match. Namibia’s JJ Smit was the first to achieve the feat during a T20I against Uganda in 2022, but Andersson became the first player to do so in a non-international fixture.
The Derbyshire star also became only the sixth player in T20 history to register both a half-century and a six-wicket haul in the same game. Former South Africa all-rounder Andrew Hall was the first to accomplish the feat in 2008, followed by Shakib Al Hasan, Ravi Bopara, JJ Smit and Venkatesh Iyer.
Andersson received solid support with the bat from Aneurin Donald, who fell agonisingly short of a half-century on 49, while Caleb Jewell remained unbeaten on 58 off 35 balls. Matthew Montgomery and Amrit Basra provided a late flourish to push Derbyshire close to their all-time T20 record total.
Leicestershire’s chase began disastrously as Jack Morley and Ben Aitchison reduced them to 6/3 early on. Ashton Turner smashed 53 off 22 balls and Ben Cox added 34 from 21 deliveries to revive the innings with a quickfire partnership, but Andersson turned the match decisively in Derbyshire’s favour.
The all-rounder dismissed both Turner and Cox in the ninth over before removing Liam Trevaskis and Ben Green.
He then wrapped up his remarkable spell with consecutive caught-and-bowled dismissals of Ian Holland and Josh Hull to become the first Derbyshire bowler to take six wickets in a T20 innings.
The match also marked Andersson’s maiden five-wicket haul in T20 cricket and his fifth T20 half-century.
Having made his T20 debut for Middlesex in 2018, the 27-year-old joined Derbyshire ahead of the 2025 season after a previous loan spell with the club.So far in his T20 career, Andersson has scored 818 runs in 62 matches at a strike-rate of 127.81 while also taking 40 wickets. (Agencies)
