Anrich Nortje claims maiden T20 fifer 13 years after debut, wreaks havoc vs Maxwell's team

South Africa’s injury-prone and out-of-favour pacer Anrich Nortje has registered his first five-wicket haul of his T20 career in 13 years. 32-year-old Nortje became the second bowler to take a fifer in European T20 Premier League 2026 after Edinburgh Castle Rockers' Trent Boult..

Nortje marked his returned to the field in the ETPL T20's inaugural season. He had last played for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on April 1. He got injured and was ruled out of the remainder of the season.

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In his comeback match, he had taken a couple of wickets for Rotterdam Dockers against Amsterdam Flames in the league opener. In the second match, he dismantled Belfast Wolves batting lineup at Sportpark Duiversteijn, Voorburg, on August 29.

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Nortje’s economical fifer

Belfast Wolves skipper Glenn Maxwell had won the toss and opted to bat first. Nortje was introduced into the attack in the fifth over and he delivered with Tim Tector's wicket. Skipper Faf du Plessis took the catch.

In the ninth over, he returned to break the partnership. Devon Conway fell to a short delivery as he was caught at fine leg by Jai Moondra. He departed after scoring 41 runs from 29 balls. On the next ball, Lorcan Tucker was dismissed caught behind. He conceded just four runs from two overs and bagged three wickets.

Nortje was reintroduced into the attack in the 17th over. He knocked over Maxwell who attempted a wild slog. On the last ball of the over, Harry Manenti attempted an upper cut and was caught by Moondra. He bowled the penultimate over as well and conceded just four runs against Chris Jordan and Mark Adair. The pacer conceded just 11 runs from his quota of four overs. 

Match abandoned 

The rain got heavier towards the end of Wolves' innings. In the last over, David Wiese dismissed Adair and Jordan whereas Matthew Humphreys got run out on the final delivery. Wolves managed to post 156/9.

After the rain interruption, Rotterdam Dockers got a revised target of 121 from 14 overs. After one over, Dockers were 5 for no loss. The rain got heavier again and Dockers, Wolves shared points.