Nineteen-year-old Archie Vaughan has joined the ranks of cricket greats like Narendra Hirwani, Ravi Shastri, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Rashid Khan, and Tim Southee.
He struggled in the first innings but came alive with the ball in the second innings, claiming an impressive six wickets — a remarkable achievement for the young spinning all-rounder.
Archie, son of former England captain Michael Vaughan, achieved this feat playing for England Under-19s against India Under-19s in their first Youth Test.
At Beckenham, in the first innings, Archie took 2 wickets for 108 runs in 17 overs as India posted 540. In the second innings, he shone with 6 wickets for 84 runs in 25 overs, bowling out the visitors for 248.
This was the second time in four Youth Tests that Archie took six wickets in an innings. Earlier, in February at Cape Town, he captained England U-19s against South Africa U-19s and took 6 wickets for just 19 runs in 16 overs, also in the second innings.
Among English cricketers, only Graeme Swann had previously taken six wickets in an innings twice in Youth Tests. Swann later became England’s most successful off-spinner in Test history.
In August 1998, Swann took 6 wickets for 46 runs and 8 wickets for 118 runs in back-to-back Youth Tests against Pakistan.
The record for most six-wicket hauls in a Youth Test innings is held by Pakistan’s Abdul Razzaq with three. Ten other players, including stars like Narendra Hirwani, Ravi Shastri, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Rashid Khan, and Tim Southee, have taken six wickets twice in an innings, just like Archie.
Like his father, Archie is a top-order batsman who also bowls off-spin. However, he struggled with the bat in both innings against India, scoring 2 and 3.
Archie came into the spotlight last May after signing his first professional contract with Somerset. In 10 first-class matches so far, he has scored 545 runs and taken 22 wickets. In September last year, he achieved five-wicket hauls in both innings against Surrey.
