Jayasuriya fastest spinner to 50-Test wickets

Sri Lanka's Prabath Jayasuriya became the fastest to take 50 wickets among spinners in Test cricket, on the final day of the second Test against Ireland. 

Playing in just his seventh Test, Jayasuriya, who took 5 for 174 in the first innings, claimed his 50th wicket when he had Paul Stirling caught at extra cover. 

Jayasuriya already has six five-wicket hauls to his name, having debuted only last year in the Test series against Australia.

Jayasuriya smashed a 71-year-old record  when he hit the 50-wicket mark in just his seventh Test to snatch the record from West Indies’ Alf Valentine as the spinner to reach the milestone in the fewest matches.

Valentine made an immediate impact following his debut in 1950 and was the leading wicket-taker with 33 scalps in four Tests as West Indies won a Test series in England for the first time.

The left-arm orthodox spinner then took his 50th wicket in the fourth Test of the West Indies tour of Australia in 1951/52, to achieve the feat in his eighth match and set a record that lasted for more the 71 years.