The Devil's Dictionary of Cricket defines a hat trick as three wickets taken in successive balls. Sounding a trifle bit squeamish the dictionary admits that this cricketing term could perhaps be a debasement of the coinage. But it has a valid reason to feel so: "These days a bowler may be credited with a hat-trick even if an over from another bowler - or even his own side's innings - comes between two of his three wickets". Here is a lowdown on the instances of hat-tricks in cricketing history..
- The first-ever hat-trick in Test match cricket took place over a hundred years ago in January 1879 at Melbourne when Australia's immortal FR Spofforth clean-bowled Vernon Royle and Francis Mackinnon and had Tom Emmett caught off three successive balls to reduce England to an appalling 26 for 7.
- England's W. Bates was the second bowler to perform this feat. He achieved this feat against Australia at Melbourne in 1882-83 by dismissing P.S. McDonnell, G. Giffen and G.J. Bonnor in the first innings.
- In the 1891-92 series against Australia, England's J. Briggs performed the third hat-trick of the Test cricket. He ended Australia's second innings with this hat-trick dismissing W.F. Giffen, S.T. Callaway and J.M. Blackham.
- G.A. Lohmann of England recorded the fourth hat-trick in Test cricket against South Africa at Port Elizabeth in 1895-96. He ended the match on the second day with a hat-trick. F.J. Cook, J. Middleton and J.T. Willoughby were his victims.
- The fifth bowler to perform a hat-trick in Test cricket was England's J.H. Hearne. When in Australia's second innings at Leeds in 1899 he dismissed C.Hill, S.E. Gregory and M.A. Noble for 'ducks'.
- The first bowler in the 20th century to record the hat-trick in Test cricket. Trumble performed this against England at Melbourne in l901-02 series by dismissing A.O. Jones, J.R. Gunn and S.F. Barnes. Thus becoming the sixth.bowler to do so.
- On his final appearance against England at Melbourne in l903-04, Trumble performed his second hat-trick dismissing B. Bosanquet, P. Warner and A. Lilley in England's second innings, thus accounting for the seventh hat-trick.
- The most memorable hat-trick performance in Test history was that of Australia's Thomas Matthews (the seventh bowler) against South Africa in the Old Trafford Test in May 1912 when he created a unique record by achieving a hat-trick in each innings of the same Test - and that too on the same day, and without the help of any fielders, clean-bowling two victims, having two more trapped lbw, and catching two off his own bowling. These were hat-tricks numbered 8 and 9.
- The eighth bowler to perform a hat-trick in Test cricket was England's Maurice Allom. Playing in his first Test match against New Zealand at Christchurch in 1929-3O series, he took four wickets in five balls including a hat-trick in his eighth over on his first day of Test cricket. Allom's hat-trick victims were T.C. Lowry, K.C. James and F.T. Badcock. (Hat-trick # 10)
- Englishman T.W.J. Goddard was the ninth bowler to perform a hat-trick. He achieved this feat by dismissing A. Nourse, N. Gordon and W. Wade in South Africa's first innings at Johannesburg in 1938-39 series. It was 11th hat-trick in the history of Test cricket.
- In l957 series against West Indies at Leeds, Peter Loader dismissed J.D.C. Goddard, S. Ramadin and R. Gilchrist in the first innings to complete the first hat-trick for England in a home Test since 1899. (10th. bowler and 12th. hat-trick)
- Slow left arm unorthodox Lindsay Kline of Australia was the 11th bowler to enter this elite club. He did the hat-trick, dismissing E. Fuller, H. Tayfield and N. Adcock in South Africa's second innings at Cape Town in 1957-58.(Hat-trick # 13)
- The first West Indian to take a hat-trick in Test cricket was Wesley Hall (12th. bowler, # 14). Hall dismissed Mushtaq Mohammed, Fazal Mahmood and Nasim ul Ghani in Pakistan's first innings at Bagh-i-Jinnah, Lahore in l958-59 to perform the same.
- Geoff Griffin was the first South African (13th. bowler, #15) to take a hat-trick.
- Lance Gibbs was the second West Indian to achieve a hat-trick in a Test match. Gibbs dismissed R.D. Mackay, A.T.W. Grout and F.M. Misson in Australia's first innings at Adelaide in 1960-61 (14th. bowler, # 16)
- The second bowler to record a hat-trick on his debut was New Zealand's off spinner P.J. Petherick. Petherick dismissed debutante Javed Miandad, Wasim Raja and Intikhab Alam in successive balls in Pakistan's first innings at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore in 1976-77 series (15th. bowler, # 17)
- West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh performed the hat-trick in 1988-89 by dismissing Tony Dodemaide to end the Australian first innings and then got rid of Mike Velletta and Graeme Wood with his first two deliveries in the second innings.(16th. bowler, #18)
- The most unusual hat-trick in Test records took place when Australia's Merv Hughes captured three wickets with three successive deliveries in three different overs spread over more than 24 hours. On December 3, about 45 minutes before tea on the second day of the Perth Test, Hughes dismissed Curtly Ambrose with the last ball of his 36th over. It was the eighth wicket to fall. Then Tim May had Gus Logie caught to bring the ninth wicket down. Hughes got rid of Patrick Patterson with the first ball of his 37th over to end the West Indies first innings.
The next day, just a few minutes before 'stumps' when West Indies commenced their second innings, Hughes trapped Gordon Greenidge with his very first ball to complete an amazing and unprecedented Test hat-trick.
(17th. bowler, # 19) - The third player to take a hat-trick on debut was Australian Damien Fleming in 1994-95. He achieved this feat by dismissing Aamer Malik, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Salim Malik in Pakistan's second innings at Rawalpindi in 1994-95 series. (18th. bowler, # 20)
- Shane Warne was the 19th bowler to perform a hat-trick in Test cricket in the 1994-95 series against England. Warne achieved this by dismissing Darren Gough, Philip DeFreitas and Devon Malcolm in England's second innings at Melbourne in 1994-95 Ashes series.(19th. bowler, # 21)
- Then it was England's Dominic Cork's turn to join this elite club. Bowling from the Stretford End at Manchester in 1995, Cork picked off Richie Richardson, Junior Murray and Carl Hooper to become only the eighth England bowler to do the hat-trick, the first since Peter Loader surprised West Indies at Headingley in l952 (20th. bowler, # 22)
- England's Darren Gough was the next bowler to take a hat-trick. His hat trick at Sydney Cricket ground in 1998-99 was also the first hat-trick for England against Australia in the last century. Gough first dismissed Ian Healy, caught by Hegg, and then clean bowled Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller with lethal yorkers to become the ninth Englishman to get a hat trick in the history of Test cricket. (21st. bowler, #23)
- Wasim Akram is the first bowler to claim hat-tricks in two consecutive Tests against Sri Lanka at Lahore and Dhaka in 1998-99 (22nd bowler, # 24 & 25). He's also the only captain to take a hat-trick.
- Sri Lankan Nuwan Zoysa holds the record of taking a hattrick from his first three balls that he bowled in a test match, against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1999-2000. (23 rd. bowler, # 26)
- Pakistan all rounder Abdur Razzaq has the dictinction of being the youngest bowler in Test cricket to take a hat-trick. He was 19 years 201 days when he performed this feat against Sri Lanka in 2000-2001 only a few months younger than South Africa's Geoff Griffin was when he took a hat-trick against England at Lord's in 1960. (24th. bowler, #27)
- Australian Glenn McGrath comes next against the West Indies at the WACA in Perth, 2000. He also went past 300 Test wickets in the middle of his hat-trick (25th. bowler, #28)
- Harbhajan Singh was the second youngest cricketer in the world to take a hat-trick. He was 20 years, eight months and eight days on Sunday, 11 March, 2001 (26th. bowler, #29)
