Hat-trick
Encyclopedia
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport
is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket
to describe HH Stephenson
's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he was presented with a hat bought with the proceeds. The term was used in print for the first time in 1878.
The term was eventually adopted by many other sports including association football, water polo
, and team handball
, but didn't become popular in North America until the mid 1940s (in the National Hockey League
and then baseball
(three strikeouts or hits)).
Players achieving hat-tricks are usually rewarded by being given the match ball to keep. The fastest time to score a hat-trick is 90 seconds, a record set by Tommy Ross playing for Ross County
against Nairn County
on November 28 1964. The only hat trick scored in the FIFA World Cup Final was by Geoff Hurst
, playing for England
in the 1966 final
. A "perfect" or "golden" hat-trick is said to have been scored if the player scores with the left foot, right foot and head.
with consecutive deliveries. The deliveries may be interrupted by an over
bowled by another bowler from the other end of the pitch
or the other team's innings
, but must be three consecutive deliveries by the individual bowler. Only wickets attributed to the bowler count towards a hat-trick; run outs do not count.
Hat-tricks are very rare and as such are treasured by bowlers. In Test cricket
history there have been just 39 hat-tricks
, the first achieved by Fred Spofforth
for Australia
against England
in 1879. In 1912, Australian Jimmy Matthews
achieved the feat twice in one game against South Africa
. The only other players to achieve two hat-tricks are Australia's Hugh Trumble
, against England in 1902 and 1904, and Pakistan
's Wasim Akram
, in separate games against Sri Lanka
in 1999.India's Harbhajan achieved this feat in Kolkata in 2001.
In One Day International cricket there have been 27 hat-tricks up to 22 August 2011, the first by Jalal-ud-Din for Pakistan against Australia in 1982, and the most recent by Lasith Malinga
for Sri Lanka cricket team against Australia
on August 22nd, 2011 in the last match of the five-ODI series played in Colombo. With this last hat-trick Lasith Malinga
became the first and only bowler to take three hat-tricks in any form of international cricket. Four players have taken at least two One Day International hat-tricks in their careers: Wasim Akram
and Saqlain Mushtaq
of Pakistan
and Chaminda Vaas
and Lasith Malinga
of Sri Lanka
. (Akram
therefore has four international hat-tricks in total).
In Twenty20 International
Cricket, Brett Lee
of Australia had a hat-trick against Bangladesh in the Super Eight of the Twenty20 World Cup on 16 September 2007 in South Africa. Jacob Oram
of New Zealand made a hat-trick against Sri Lanka on 2 September 2009 in Colombo, And Tim Southee, also from New Zealand, made a hat-trick against Pakistan, and ended up with a 5-For at the end of the match.
Taking two wickets in two consecutive deliveries is occasionally known as a brace, or (more commonly) being on a hat-trick. This is only a run-up to the hat-trick. If a hat-trick is not achieved, it is not called a brace.
Four wickets in four balls is referred to in cricket literature and record books as four in four but the term double hat-trick has also been used in the media, as it will contain two different, overlapping sets of three consecutively dismissed batsmen. It has occurred only once in international one-day cricket, in the 2007 World Cup
, when Sri Lanka's
Lasith Malinga
managed the feat against South Africa
by dismissing Shaun Pollock
, Andrew Hall
, Jacques Kallis
and Makhaya Ntini
, though it has occurred on other occasions in first-class cricket
. Kevan James
of Hampshire
took four wickets in four balls and scored a century in the same county game against India in 1996. The Cricinfo
report on the game claimed that this was unique in cricket.
Chaminda Vaas
of Sri Lanka
is one of the two bowlers, the other one being Wasim Akram of Pakistan against Bangladesh as well to achieve a hat-trick in the first three balls of any form of international cricket. Chaminda Vass did so in their pool B ODI world cup qualifier against Bangladhesh on 14 February 2003 at City Oval, Pietermaritzburg. He took his fourth wicket with the fifth ball of the same over and missed the double-hat-trick.
Albert Trott
and Joginder Rao
are the only two bowlers credited with two hat-tricks in the same innings in first class cricket. One of Trott's two hat-tricks, for Middlesex against Somerset at Lords in 1907, was a four in four.
While all hat-tricks are rare and prized, some examples are particularly extraordinary. On 2 December 1988, Merv Hughes
, playing for Australia, dismissing Curtly Ambrose
with the last ball of his penultimate over and Patrick Patterson
with the first ball of his next over, wrapping up the West Indies first innings. When Hughes returned to bowl in the West Indies second innings, he trapped Gordon Greenidge
lbw with his first ball, completing a hat-trick over two different innings and becoming the only player in Test cricket
history to achieve the three wickets of a hat-trick in three different overs.
In 1844, underarm bowler William Clark, playing for "England" against Kent, achieved a hat-trick spread over two innings, dismissing Kent batsman John Fagge twice within the hat-trick. Fagge batted at number 11 in the first innings and at number 3 in the second. This event is believed to be unique in first-class cricket.
The most involved hat-trick was perhaps when Melbourne club cricketer Stephen Hickman, playing for Power House, achieved a hat-trick spread over three overs, two days, two innings, involved the same batsman twice, and was observed by the same non striker, with the hat-trick ball being bowled from the opposite end to the first two. In the Mercantile Cricket Association C Grade semi final at Fawkner Park South Yarra in Melbourne, Gunbower United Cricket Club were 8 for 109 when Hickman came on to bowl his off spin. He took a wicket with the last ball of his third over and then bowled number 11 batsman Richard Higgins with the first ball of his next over to complete the Gunbower innings, leaving Chris Taylor the not out batsman. Power House scored 361 putting the game out of reach of Gunbower. In the second innings opener Taylor was joined by Higgins at the fall of the fourth wicket as Hickman returned to the attack. With his first ball, observed by an incredulous Taylor at the non-strikers end, he clean bowled Higgins leaving Higgins with a pair of golden ducks
.
One of the most unlikely of hat-tricks occurred in 2009. Representing City Eagles in Christchurch, New Zealand, David Crocker (a former wicket-keeper batsman turned surprised bowler) took 3 wickets to secure a hat-trick with the first 3 deliveries he bowled in Suburban Cricket. It is unknown if this has occurred before with the very first deliveries a bowler would bowl in a competition claiming wickets. David also scored 118 against the same team.
At least two triple hat-tricks have been achieved. The first was by Scott Babot of Wainuiomata Cricket Club playing in the Senior 3 competition in New Zealand in 2008. It consisted of five wickets in five balls, across two innings and separated by seven days, as the match took place on consecutive Saturdays. The second was in an Ireland club U13 youth game in 2011, achieved by David Delany of Clontarf Cricket Club playing in an All-Ireland final against Bready Cricket Club. Bready needed 19 runs to win with 6 wickets in hand, when Delany took five wickets in five balls, with all five batsmen being dismissed bowled. Clontarf won the game.
and ice hockey
, a hat trick occurs when a player scores three goals in a single match. A hat trick, as it is known in its current form, culminates with fans throwing hats onto the ice from the stands. The tradition is said to have begun among fans in the National Hockey League
around the 1950s.
and Bobby Hull
from the Chicago Black Hawks
, Syl Apps
and Charlie Conacher
from the home-town Toronto Maple Leafs
, Norm Ullman
from the Detroit Red Wings
, and many others.
In another account, the origins of a hat being awarded for scoring three goals occurred in Toronto
when a local businessman, Sammy Taft, was approached by the Chicago Black Hawks
forward Alex Kaleta
. According to legend, Kaleta entered Taft's shop to purchase a new hat but did not have enough money. Taft arranged a deal with Kaleta stipulating that if Kaleta scored three goals as he played the Toronto Maple Leafs
that night, he would give him a free hat. That night, on January 26, 1946, Kaleta scored four goals against the Maple Leafs and Taft made good on his offer.
While this account is credited by the Hockey Hall of Fame
as the hat trick's origin in the NHL, there exists yet another competing story in Guelph
, Ontario
. In the 1950s, the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters
of the Ontario Hockey Association
(OHA), who were then a farm team of the National Hockey League
(NHL)'s New York Rangers
, were sponsored by Guelph-based Biltmore Hats, a leading manufacturer of hats with North America
n dominance. The sponsor would award any Madhatters player who scored three goals in a game with a new fedora.
in 1952 for the Chicago Black Hawks. Wayne Gretzky
holds the NHL record for most natural hat tricks in a career by 50.
by scoring a goal, getting an assist, and getting in a fight, all in the same game (Howe himself only recorded two in his career). While this description has remained popular, it does not satisfy the conditions of a hat trick.
In December 1995, Florida Panthers
captain Scott Mellanby
scored a rat trick
, a term dubbed by teammate John Vanbiesbrouck
after ridding the locker room of an unwanted rat with his stick, and scoring a pair of goals later that night. When Mellanby scored a hat trick in a later game, some fans threw plastic rats on the ice, a tradition that continued for all Panthers' goals throughout the 1996 playoffs
. Because of the resulting game delays, the league eventually banned this activity and modified Rule 63 to impose a minor penalty against the home team for a violation.
(rugby union
and rugby league
) a hat-trick is scored if a player scores three or more tries
in a game. In rugby union, a related concept is that of a "full house" (scoring a try, conversion, penalty goal
, and drop goal) in a single game. When a player scored two tries, this is often referred to as a "brace".
As with association football, it is common for the player to be awarded the match ball after scoring a hat-trick.
In 2004, Colorado Mammoth
public address announcer Steve Meade (a local radio broadcaster known as "Willie B") used the phrase "sock-trick" to describe a player scoring six
goals in a game. When Mammoth superstar Gary Gait
scored six in a game against the Anaheim Storm
, fans threw socks onto the playing surface, earning a delay of game penalty to Colorado (served by Gait himself).
, also known as the Alan Evans shot after Alan Evans
who scored three bulleyes during a match on numerous occasions.
play is sometimes referred to as a hat-trick and is incredibly rare. It is a much more frequent occurrence in online poker games, given the faster and greater number of hands played in online tournaments and the continuing presence of multiple "all-in" players during the early stages of tournament play as players look to build large chip stacks quickly and early.
, sets the fastest lap and wins the race.
In Formula One
, a 'Grand Chelem' or perfect weekend is pole, fastest lap, win and also leading every lap.
, a hat-trick occurs when a player plays three consecutive bingo
s.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
to describe HH Stephenson
HH Stephenson
Heathfield Harman "HH" Stephenson was a famous English cricketer during the game's roundarm era....
's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he was presented with a hat bought with the proceeds. The term was used in print for the first time in 1878.
The term was eventually adopted by many other sports including association football, water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, and team handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, but didn't become popular in North America until the mid 1940s (in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
and then baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(three strikeouts or hits)).
Origin
According to the Extended Oxford English Dictionary 1999 Edition, the term "came into use after HH Stephenson took three wickets in three balls for the all-England eleven against the twenty-two of Hallam at the Hyde Park ground, Sheffield in 1858. A collection was held for Stephenson (as was customary for outstanding feats by professionals) and he was presented with a cap or hat bought with the proceeds."Football (Association football)
A hat-trick occurs in association football when a player scores three goals in a single game. In common with other official record-keeping rules, goals in a penalty shootout are excluded from the tally.Players achieving hat-tricks are usually rewarded by being given the match ball to keep. The fastest time to score a hat-trick is 90 seconds, a record set by Tommy Ross playing for Ross County
Ross County F.C.
Ross County Football Club are a Scottish professional football team from the town of Dingwall, Ross and Cromarty. Founded in 1929 they currently compete in the Scottish Football League First Division and play their home matches at Victoria Park. Prior to the 1994–95 season they played in the...
against Nairn County
Nairn County F.C.
Nairn County F.C. are a senior football club who currently play in the Highland Football League.They were founded in 1914 and play at Station Park, Nairn.As a senior team they can play in the Scottish Cup....
on November 28 1964. The only hat trick scored in the FIFA World Cup Final was by Geoff Hurst
Geoff Hurst
Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst MBE is a retired England footballer best remembered for his years with West Ham. He made his mark in World Cup history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. His three goals came in the 1966 final for England in their 4–2 win over West...
, playing for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in the 1966 final
1966 FIFA World Cup Final
The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth football World Cup. The match was contested by England and West Germany on 30 July 1966 at Wembley Stadium in London, and had an attendance of 98,000. England won 4–2 after extra time to win the Jules Rimet...
. A "perfect" or "golden" hat-trick is said to have been scored if the player scores with the left foot, right foot and head.
Cricket
A hat-trick occurs in cricket when a bowler dismisses three batsmenBatting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
with consecutive deliveries. The deliveries may be interrupted by an over
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
bowled by another bowler from the other end of the pitch
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
or the other team's innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
, but must be three consecutive deliveries by the individual bowler. Only wickets attributed to the bowler count towards a hat-trick; run outs do not count.
Hat-tricks are very rare and as such are treasured by bowlers. In Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
history there have been just 39 hat-tricks
Test cricket hat-tricks
This is a list of all hat-tricks in Test cricket; that is, the occasions when a bowler has taken three wickets in consecutive deliveries in Test cricket matches. As of 30 July 2011, a hat-trick has been taken 39 times since the first Test match in 1877, most recently by English fast-medium bowler...
, the first achieved by Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
for Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
against England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
in 1879. In 1912, Australian Jimmy Matthews
Jimmy Matthews
Thomas James Matthews was an Australian Test cricketer. He bowled leg breaks...
achieved the feat twice in one game against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
. The only other players to achieve two hat-tricks are Australia's Hugh Trumble
Hugh Trumble
Hugh Trumble was an Australian cricketer who played 32 Test matches as a bowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. He captained the Australian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wickets in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of...
, against England in 1902 and 1904, and Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
's Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
, in separate games against Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
in 1999.India's Harbhajan achieved this feat in Kolkata in 2001.
In One Day International cricket there have been 27 hat-tricks up to 22 August 2011, the first by Jalal-ud-Din for Pakistan against Australia in 1982, and the most recent by Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga"...
for Sri Lanka cricket team against Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on August 22nd, 2011 in the last match of the five-ODI series played in Colombo. With this last hat-trick Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga"...
became the first and only bowler to take three hat-tricks in any form of international cricket. Four players have taken at least two One Day International hat-tricks in their careers: Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
and Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq is a Pakistani cricketer, regarded as one of the finest off spin bowlers of all time.He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", which he employed to great effect during his career...
of Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
and Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
and Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga"...
of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
. (Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
therefore has four international hat-tricks in total).
In Twenty20 International
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International is a form of cricket which is played over 20 overs per side between two national cricket teams. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket...
Cricket, Brett Lee
Brett Lee
Brett Lee is an Australian cricketer.After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket...
of Australia had a hat-trick against Bangladesh in the Super Eight of the Twenty20 World Cup on 16 September 2007 in South Africa. Jacob Oram
Jacob Oram
Jacob David Philip Oram is a New Zealand cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. His abilities with both bat and ball has made him a regular fixture in the current New Zealand International sides...
of New Zealand made a hat-trick against Sri Lanka on 2 September 2009 in Colombo, And Tim Southee, also from New Zealand, made a hat-trick against Pakistan, and ended up with a 5-For at the end of the match.
Taking two wickets in two consecutive deliveries is occasionally known as a brace, or (more commonly) being on a hat-trick. This is only a run-up to the hat-trick. If a hat-trick is not achieved, it is not called a brace.
Four wickets in four balls is referred to in cricket literature and record books as four in four but the term double hat-trick has also been used in the media, as it will contain two different, overlapping sets of three consecutively dismissed batsmen. It has occurred only once in international one-day cricket, in the 2007 World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
, when Sri Lanka's
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga"...
managed the feat against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
by dismissing Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock
Shaun Maclean Pollock is a retired South African cricketer who is considered a bowling all-rounder. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and Warwickshire. He was also chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in...
, Andrew Hall
Andrew Hall
Andrew James Hall is a South African cricketer and a former member of the South African cricket team . He is an all-rounder who bowls fast-medium pace, and has been used as both an opening batsman and in the lower order. Prior to making it on the South African first class cricket scene he played...
, Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis
Jacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 12,000 runs and 250 wickets in both...
and Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini is a former South African cricketer who was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team. A fast bowler, he tends to bowl from wide of the crease with brisk, although not express, pace...
, though it has occurred on other occasions in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
. Kevan James
Kevan James
Kevan David James was educated at the Edmonton County School, in the London Borough of Enfield.James was an English first-class cricketer for 19 years...
of Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
took four wickets in four balls and scored a century in the same county game against India in 1996. The Cricinfo
Cricinfo
ESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
report on the game claimed that this was unique in cricket.
Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
is one of the two bowlers, the other one being Wasim Akram of Pakistan against Bangladesh as well to achieve a hat-trick in the first three balls of any form of international cricket. Chaminda Vass did so in their pool B ODI world cup qualifier against Bangladhesh on 14 February 2003 at City Oval, Pietermaritzburg. He took his fourth wicket with the fifth ball of the same over and missed the double-hat-trick.
Albert Trott
Albert Trott
Albert Trott was a Test cricketer for both Australia and England. He was named as one of Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1899. He remains the only batsman who has struck a ball over the top of the Lord's pavilion...
and Joginder Rao
Joginder Rao
Joginder Singh Rao was an Indian cricketer: a right-arm medium pace bowler who played only five first-class games, all for Services in the 1963-64 Ranji Trophy, but who is notable for having not only taken a hat-trick on debut, but for following that up with two more in the same innings of his...
are the only two bowlers credited with two hat-tricks in the same innings in first class cricket. One of Trott's two hat-tricks, for Middlesex against Somerset at Lords in 1907, was a four in four.
While all hat-tricks are rare and prized, some examples are particularly extraordinary. On 2 December 1988, Merv Hughes
Merv Hughes
Mervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in...
, playing for Australia, dismissing Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose is a former West Indian cricketer. His skill was as a right-arm fast bowler, especially in partnership with Courtney Walsh...
with the last ball of his penultimate over and Patrick Patterson
Patrick Patterson
Balfour Patrick Patterson is a former fast bowler for the West Indian cricket team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Early life:...
with the first ball of his next over, wrapping up the West Indies first innings. When Hughes returned to bowl in the West Indies second innings, he trapped Gordon Greenidge
Gordon Greenidge
Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge MBE is a former member of the West Indies cricket team.Greenidge was an opening batsman for the West Indies. He began his Test career against India at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in 1974 and continued playing internationally until 1991. He was half of the West...
lbw with his first ball, completing a hat-trick over two different innings and becoming the only player in Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
history to achieve the three wickets of a hat-trick in three different overs.
In 1844, underarm bowler William Clark, playing for "England" against Kent, achieved a hat-trick spread over two innings, dismissing Kent batsman John Fagge twice within the hat-trick. Fagge batted at number 11 in the first innings and at number 3 in the second. This event is believed to be unique in first-class cricket.
The most involved hat-trick was perhaps when Melbourne club cricketer Stephen Hickman, playing for Power House, achieved a hat-trick spread over three overs, two days, two innings, involved the same batsman twice, and was observed by the same non striker, with the hat-trick ball being bowled from the opposite end to the first two. In the Mercantile Cricket Association C Grade semi final at Fawkner Park South Yarra in Melbourne, Gunbower United Cricket Club were 8 for 109 when Hickman came on to bowl his off spin. He took a wicket with the last ball of his third over and then bowled number 11 batsman Richard Higgins with the first ball of his next over to complete the Gunbower innings, leaving Chris Taylor the not out batsman. Power House scored 361 putting the game out of reach of Gunbower. In the second innings opener Taylor was joined by Higgins at the fall of the fourth wicket as Hickman returned to the attack. With his first ball, observed by an incredulous Taylor at the non-strikers end, he clean bowled Higgins leaving Higgins with a pair of golden ducks
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
.
One of the most unlikely of hat-tricks occurred in 2009. Representing City Eagles in Christchurch, New Zealand, David Crocker (a former wicket-keeper batsman turned surprised bowler) took 3 wickets to secure a hat-trick with the first 3 deliveries he bowled in Suburban Cricket. It is unknown if this has occurred before with the very first deliveries a bowler would bowl in a competition claiming wickets. David also scored 118 against the same team.
At least two triple hat-tricks have been achieved. The first was by Scott Babot of Wainuiomata Cricket Club playing in the Senior 3 competition in New Zealand in 2008. It consisted of five wickets in five balls, across two innings and separated by seven days, as the match took place on consecutive Saturdays. The second was in an Ireland club U13 youth game in 2011, achieved by David Delany of Clontarf Cricket Club playing in an All-Ireland final against Bready Cricket Club. Bready needed 19 runs to win with 6 wickets in hand, when Delany took five wickets in five balls, with all five batsmen being dismissed bowled. Clontarf won the game.
Hockey
In both field hockeyField hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, a hat trick occurs when a player scores three goals in a single match. A hat trick, as it is known in its current form, culminates with fans throwing hats onto the ice from the stands. The tradition is said to have begun among fans in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
around the 1950s.
Origins in hockey
There are several conflicting legends of how the "hat trick" was popularized in professional hockey. In the 1940s, a Toronto haberdasher used to give Maple Leaf hockey players free hats when they scored three goals in a game, which brought the "Hat Trick" expression into the world of hockey. The list of winners includes the legendary players such as Stan MikitaStan Mikita
Stanislav "Stan" Mikita , is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 1961, he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played his entire career.-Early life:Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic...
and Bobby Hull
Bobby Hull
Robert Marvin "Bobby" Hull, OC is a former Canadian ice hockey player. He is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time and perhaps the greatest left winger to ever play the game. Hull was famous for his blonde hair, blinding skating speed, and having the hardest shot, earning...
from the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
, Syl Apps
Syl Apps
Charles Joseph Sylvanus Apps, CM of Paris, Ontario, was a Canadian pole vaulter and professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948 and a Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario.-Athletic career:Apps was a strong athlete, 6 feet tall, weighing 185 pounds,...
and Charlie Conacher
Charlie Conacher
Charles William "The Big Bomber" Conacher, Sr. was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and New York Americans in the National Hockey League. An early power forward, Conacher was nicknamed "The Big Bomber," for his size, powerful...
from the home-town Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Norm Ullman
Norm Ullman
Norman Victor Alexander Ullman is a former ice hockey forward.-Playing career:Norm Ullman began his career with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WCJHL, before moving to the Edmonton Flyers of the WHL...
from the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
, and many others.
In another account, the origins of a hat being awarded for scoring three goals occurred in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
when a local businessman, Sammy Taft, was approached by the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
forward Alex Kaleta
Alex Kaleta
Alexander "Killer" Kaleta was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers and is best known for his part in originating hockey's hat trick tradition.-Playing career:After playing in the Alberta Senior Hockey...
. According to legend, Kaleta entered Taft's shop to purchase a new hat but did not have enough money. Taft arranged a deal with Kaleta stipulating that if Kaleta scored three goals as he played the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
that night, he would give him a free hat. That night, on January 26, 1946, Kaleta scored four goals against the Maple Leafs and Taft made good on his offer.
While this account is credited by the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
as the hat trick's origin in the NHL, there exists yet another competing story in Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
Guelph is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Waterloo and west of downtown Toronto at the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 7. It is the seat of Wellington County, but is politically independent of it...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. In the 1950s, the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters
Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters
The Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1940 to 1942, and 1947 to 1960. The team was often known as the "Biltmores" and sponsored by the Guelph Biltmore Hat Company, and played home games at the Guelph Memorial Gardens.- History :The...
of the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
(OHA), who were then a farm team of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL)'s New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, were sponsored by Guelph-based Biltmore Hats, a leading manufacturer of hats with North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n dominance. The sponsor would award any Madhatters player who scored three goals in a game with a new fedora.
Natural Hat Trick
A natural hat trick is when a player scores three consecutive goals in the same game, uninterrupted by any other scoring. The NHL record for fastest natural hat trick is 21 seconds, set by Bill MosienkoBill Mosienko
William Mosienko was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks. He is best noted for recording the fastest hat trick in NHL history...
in 1952 for the Chicago Black Hawks. Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
holds the NHL record for most natural hat tricks in a career by 50.
Other Variations
A player accomplishes a Gordie Howe hat trickGordie Howe hat trick
In ice hockey, a Gordie Howe hat trick is a variation on the hat-trick, wherein a player scores a goal, records an assist, and gets in a fight all in one game. It is named after Gordie Howe, well known for his skill at both scoring and fighting....
by scoring a goal, getting an assist, and getting in a fight, all in the same game (Howe himself only recorded two in his career). While this description has remained popular, it does not satisfy the conditions of a hat trick.
In December 1995, Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
captain Scott Mellanby
Scott Mellanby
Scott Edgar Mellanby is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He primarily played right wing throughout his career, on occasion shifting over to the left side. He is the son of former Hockey Night in Canada producer Ralph Mellanby. He is currently the assistant coach of the St...
scored a rat trick
Rat trick
The rat trick was a gimmick popularized by fans of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League during their 1995–96 season and trip to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals...
, a term dubbed by teammate John Vanbiesbrouck
John Vanbiesbrouck
John "Beezer" Vanbiesbrouck is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender, who was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. He played in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils...
after ridding the locker room of an unwanted rat with his stick, and scoring a pair of goals later that night. When Mellanby scored a hat trick in a later game, some fans threw plastic rats on the ice, a tradition that continued for all Panthers' goals throughout the 1996 playoffs
1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship of the National Hockey League , began in April, 1996. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then the conference champions played a...
. Because of the resulting game delays, the league eventually banned this activity and modified Rule 63 to impose a minor penalty against the home team for a violation.
Rugby
In both codes of rugby footballRugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
(rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
) a hat-trick is scored if a player scores three or more tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
in a game. In rugby union, a related concept is that of a "full house" (scoring a try, conversion, penalty goal
Penalty (rugby)
In rugby football, the penalty is the main disciplinary sanction available to the referee to penalise players who commit deliberate infringements. The team who did not commit the infringement are given possession of the ball and may either kick it towards touch , attempt a place kick at goal, or...
, and drop goal) in a single game. When a player scored two tries, this is often referred to as a "brace".
As with association football, it is common for the player to be awarded the match ball after scoring a hat-trick.
Lacrosse
A hat-trick in lacrosse is when a player scores three goals in one game. However, since lacrosse is more of a high-scoring game than hockey or soccer, the accomplishment is not as rare as in hockey or soccer, and good players may pick up hat-tricks easily.In 2004, Colorado Mammoth
Colorado Mammoth
The Colorado Mammoth are a member of the National Lacrosse League. They have played at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, United States, since the 2003 season....
public address announcer Steve Meade (a local radio broadcaster known as "Willie B") used the phrase "sock-trick" to describe a player scoring six
goals in a game. When Mammoth superstar Gary Gait
Gary Gait
Gary Charles Gait is widely regarded as the best lacrosse player of all time, just above his twin brother Paul. He has starred at the NCAA level at Syracuse University, at the professional level in the National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse, and at the international level for the...
scored six in a game against the Anaheim Storm
Anaheim Storm
The Anaheim Storm was a member of the National Lacrosse League. They played at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. They were the New Jersey Storm from the 2002 season to 2003. Starting for the 2004 season the team relocated to Anaheim, California...
, fans threw socks onto the playing surface, earning a delay of game penalty to Colorado (served by Gait himself).
Darts
A hat-trick in darts is a score of three consecutive bullseyesBullseye (target)
The bullseye, or bull's-eye, is the centre of a target , and by extension the name given to any shot that hits the bullseye...
, also known as the Alan Evans shot after Alan Evans
Alan Evans (darts player)
David "Alan" Evans was a Welsh professional darts player who competed in the 1970s and 1980s.Evans was one of the early faces of television darts and had some tournament success in the 1970s...
who scored three bulleyes during a match on numerous occasions.
Poker
Eliminating three players from a table with one hand in live pokerPoker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
play is sometimes referred to as a hat-trick and is incredibly rare. It is a much more frequent occurrence in online poker games, given the faster and greater number of hands played in online tournaments and the continuing presence of multiple "all-in" players during the early stages of tournament play as players look to build large chip stacks quickly and early.
Motor Racing
A hat trick in motor racing is deemed as three successive race wins, winning the same event three times in a row, or when a driver secures pole positionPole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
, sets the fastest lap and wins the race.
In Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, a 'Grand Chelem' or perfect weekend is pole, fastest lap, win and also leading every lap.
Scrabble
In ScrabbleScrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
, a hat-trick occurs when a player plays three consecutive bingo
Bingo (Scrabble)
Bingo is a slang term used in Scrabble when a player uses all seven of their own letters in one play. This also applies to use 8 or 9 tiles in a turn of 9-tile scrabble. Any player who does this receives an extra 50 points on top of what the word would normally score...
s.
See also
- Hitting for the cycleHitting for the cycleIn baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...
- Nap handNap handNap hand refers to a series of five winning points or five victories in a game or sport.Possibly derived from the card game Nap or Napoleon....
- TrifectaTrifectaIn horse racing terminology, a trifecta is a parimutuel bet in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third in exact order. The word comes from the related betting term, "perfecta". A trifecta is known as a tiercé in France and Hong Kong and as a tris in Italy.It...
- Triple Crown
- Turkey (bowling)