Siraj breathes fire in Birmingham; claims five-fer for Warwickshire vs Somerset

It was the first day for Mohammed Siraj in English County Cricket and the RCB quick was already breathing fire as he rattled a star-studded Somerset, claiming four crucial wickets on his debut. Not only was it an imperious display of dominion but Siraj’s hard-hitting lengths and relentless attacking the line of the stumps left the Somerset batters gasping for breath on a surface that was perilously conjuring movement like none other.

It was in the 10th over of the first innings where the Indian express bowler tasted his maiden county success in the form of Imam-ul-Haq. Steaming in by a good deal, he made fine use of the rough surface as he bowled one angling away from the southpaw. Trying to dash outside the off-stump, Haq ended up nicking to Burgess, imparting Mohammed Siraj his maiden county scalp.

Siraj struck in quick succession as he bagged the big fish of George Bartlett with the latter being bamboozled by Siraj’s late wobble and even before he could refrain from his stroke, Burgess had already pouched a sitter, with Warwickshire riding high on the young Indian’s raw pace and some menacing movement. Siraj was in no mood to hold back his punches as he claimed James Rew in the following delivery as another late swinger caught the latter completely off-guard and halfway into his stroke as he was on his way back to the pavilion with Siraj prancing in exhilaration.

It took a while for Miyan to bag his fourth wicket but it was sweeter nonetheless as he clinched the crucial digit of Josh Davey who was set for a while and was trying to broker peace in front of a marauding Siraj. The latter hit the deck hard and the ball went onto skid into Davey’s pads as it hurtled at a good 140 plus clicks, leaving Davey startled.

Miyan's final haul of the innings was the set Lewis Gregory, who was bamboozled by the late wobble again and in an attempt to let it fly, he ended up nicking it late as Burgess comfortably pouched another simple take to make it a memorable debut for Siraj on his very debut in Country cricket.

Siraj was in prime spirits after bagging four crucial wickets on Day 1 of the First-class game, hoping to find an outlet for his brilliance in the longer versions.