Some cricket records fall to a young prodigy in a marquee fixture. This one fell to a 51-year-old off-spinner from the Isle of Man, in a T20I against Greece Women at the Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground in Romania. Joanne Hicks returned figures of 5/10, and in doing so became the oldest bowler — man or woman, in any format of international cricket — to take a five-wicket haul.
The mark Hicks broke belonged to Australia's Bert Ironmonger, who took a five-for against South Africa in 1932 aged 49 years and 314 days. It had stood since before the Second World War. Hicks claimed her five wickets at 51 years and 173 days — comfortably clearing a record that had survived nearly a century of international cricket, including the entire white-ball era and its explosion of specialist bowling talent.
The 5/10 was also a career-best return for Hicks, whose own story is unusual by international cricket's normal timeline: she made her debut for the Isle of Man at 47, an age at which most contracted internationals have long since retired. That she is still adding to her wicket tally, and still producing her best figures, four years into an international career most players would consider over by that point, is as much a part of the story as the record itself.
Associate and affiliate cricket rarely gets attention outside of ICC qualifying events, but records like this one are a reminder of how much depth and how many genuine stories exist below the Full Member game. Hicks's feat also sits inside a broader pattern this year of milestones in the women's game — from record wicket tallies in the Women's Asia Cup to landmark performances across bilateral series — underlining how much competitive cricket, at every age and every level, is happening in parallel to the headline tournaments.
For more on the records being set and chased across the current cricket calendar, browse SportGod's blog, and track live scores and stats from ongoing series on the matches page.
Age, figures and record details verified against same-day reporting of Joanne Hicks's five-wicket haul, August 29, 2026.
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