Somerset seamier Alfonso Thomas became the first player since 2000 to take four wickets in four balls in the County Championship, on day three of their game against Sussex at Taunton.
The 37-year-old bowled James Anyon, trapped Rory Hamilton-Brown lbw and had Ed Joyce caught behind for a hat-trick.
He then bowled Matt Machan with the first delivery of his next over after Peter Trego dismissed Chris Nash (12).
It meant Sussex slumped from 33-0 to 33-5 in the space of 10 balls.
The last player to take four wickets in successive balls during a Championship match was Gary Butcher, for Surrey against Derbyshire. Thomas is only the 18th to do so.
Charl Willoughby was the last South African to achieve the feat in a first-class match, for Cape Cobras against Dolphins at Durban during the 2005-06 season.
Having trailed by 75 after the first innings, Sussex were left facing an uphill struggle to avoid what would be only their second Championship defeat of the summer.
In Joyce, they lost the second-highest scorer in the Championship this year. His 667 runs has included four centuries, the most recent of which came earlier in the game.
Sussex eventually reached lunch on 79-5, with Ben Brown 25 not out and Luke Wright unbeaten on 16.
Source: BBC