In the wake of Peter Siddle's spectacular hat-trick in the 1st Ashes test at the Gabba yesterday, we are reminded of some of the other iconic Australian hat-tricks, often invariably against the English and with a quite uncanny regularity at the MCG.
Fred Spofforth - Test Match vs England @ MCG, 1879
Notable primarily as the first hat-trick in Test history. The honour of such a landmark was deserved by no man above "The Demon" Spofforth, the first truly great fast bowler in the Test age and the first to 50 test wickets. In just the 3rd Test match , 2 years after the game had debuted in Melbourne, Spofforth clean bowled English middle order batsman Vernon Royle and Francis McKinnon before Tom Emmett was caught by Tom Horan. The trio of wickets left England at a paltry 7/26 and they did well just to reach 113. Australia still emphatically won by 10 wickets, Spofforth going to take 13 wickets in the match and making a valuable 39 with the bat.
Hugh Trumble - Test Match vs England @ MCG, 1904
When Australia's premier off spinner at the turn of the century, Hugh Trumble, dismissed Bernard Bosanquet, Plum Warner and Dick Lilley amidst a match-winning 7/28, he became the first of only three bowlers in Test history to achieve his two hat-tricks in his career. Trumble had achieved his first three peat at the same ground against the same opposition and in the final test series of his long career, the follow-up served as a fitting bow on a glittering career.
Jimmy Matthews (x2) - Test Match vs South Africa @ Old Trafford, 1912
Wily leg-spinner Jimmy Matthews played just eight tests for Australia, all within a 12 month period. But he forever holds a place in the annals of cricket for a feat surely never to be repeated for all of Test cricketing eternity. In the curious Test Triangular Tournament between England, Australia and South Africa in 1912, Matthews took two hat-tricks. This alone is a feat only matched twice in Test history but this is not the reason for its magnificence. Matthews pair came in the same match, and more than that, on the same day. After a big firsts innings from Australia, Matthews took the last three South African wickets consecutively midway through the 3rd day to enforce the follow on. Within the next two hours he took the 5th, 6th and 7th South African wickets with three balls. Completing his stunning achievement was the fact that they were his only six wickets of the match, all six required no fielding assistance (2 bowled, 2 LBW and 2 caught and bowled) and South African wicket keeper Tommy Ward had the misfortune to be the 3rd wicket in both hat-tricks.
Mervyn Hughes - Test Match vs West Indies @ Perth, 1988
The people's favourite, big bustling Merv Hughes became the first Australian to take a Test hat-trick since Lindsay Kline three decades earlier against the dominant West Indians of the 1980s. What made his hat-trick all the more remarkable however, was that it remains the only Test hat-trick ever to be achieved over three different overs. Hughes had Curtly Ambrose caught behind off the final ball of his 36th first innings over, then after off spinner Tim May went for nine runs at the other end, Hughes came back to finish the innings by having No.11 Patrick Patterson caught, completing a five wicket haul. The in-form Hughes was handed the new ball if the 2nd innings and promptly trapped legendary opener Gordon Greenidge with the first cherry.
Damien Fleming - Test Match vs Pakistan @ Rawalpindi, 1994
Australia's 90s swing king Damien Fleming became only the third bowler in history, and only Australian, to take a hat-trick on his test debut in Pakistan in 1994. Fleming had impressed in the first innings of the series opener with 4/75 but Pakistan had fought back from the brink to sure up a draw on the back of a majestic double century from their star batsman and would be disgraced drug cheat Saleem Malik. At a nauseating 3 for 469, Fleming finally got the breakthrough when he had Aamer Malik (no relation) caught at mid wicket by Michael Bevin for 65. Inzamam-ul-Haq was LBW next ball and after the tension of waiting a full over for his chance, wrote himself into history not just for a hat-trick on debut but legitimised his feat as one of true significance by having the immovable Saleem caught behind for 237.
Shane Warne - Test Match vs England @ MCG, 1994
England typified their 90s ineptitude in the 2nd Ashes test at Melbourne when they threw away a potentially competitive position and collapsed to 6 for 91 in the final innings. Backing up a mesmerising 6/64 in the first innings, Australia's newest sporting hero Shane Warne came on and trapped Philip DeFreitas LBW for 0 before Darren Gough edged to wicket keeper Ian Healy next ball. Batting tragic Devon Malcolm came in at No.10, and lunged his burly body forward in an ungainly manner to a ripping wrong'un. The inside edge was caught and David Boon, on his 34th birthday showed the exuberance of youth to make a spectacular diving snatch low to the ground, and help to etch another ironic memory into the Warne folklore.
Anthony Stuart - One-Day International vs Pakistan @ MCG, 1997
This hat-trick makes the cut more because of my own nostalgic bias. It was the first hat-trick I ever witnessed on TV and as a 6 year old boy I was mesmerised by the drama. Stuart was a little remembered but hard working New South Wales fast bowler who never played a Test and featured for Australia only really during this 1996-97 summer of ODIs. With good old honest fast seam bowling, Stuart had Ijaz Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim edging to Healy behind then Moin Khan to Taylor at first slip. The joyous enthusiasm of his celebration was infectious.
Glenn McGrath - Test Match vs West Indies @ Perth, 2000
Perhaps the most memorable and sensational of all Australian hat-tricks (though Warnie would have a case to argue), McGrath ran through a typically hapless West Indian top order during Australia's 5-0 whitewash of a frankly woeful opposition. McGrath came to Perth on 298 Test wickets with much anticipation surrounding his joining of Dennis and Lillee and Shane Warne as the only Australians with 300 Test wickets. In the press before the match McGrath joked about the perfect script being the removal of stubborn opener Sherwin Campbell for wicket no.299, then McGrath's old nemesis and batting legend Brian Lara for No.300. Two beautiful seaming balls on the off stump line fulfilled this perfect prophecy as both Campbell and Lara edged helplessly into the slip cordon. But not even McGrath could have hoped for the bonus that came from Jimmy Adams popping the next ball, an off target short delivery, straight to Justin Langer at bat pad.
Brett Lee - One-Day International vs Kenya @ Durban, 2003
There is no greater example of the power and ferocity of Australia's great contemporary super speedster than the way he rattled the bones, in one case literally, of an outclassed Kenyan top order during a preliminary match at the 2003 world cup. In the 4th over of the match, with Kenya 0/3, Lee banged in a rip snorting bouncer which cannoned into the elbow of opener Kennedy Otieno and cruelly ricocheted onto the stumps. Celebration for the wicket quickly gave way to concept for Otieno however when it became quickly clear that he was a considerable amount of distress. After writing in pain at the edge of the pitch, Otieno was helped from the ground by team-mates, his badly broken arm being gingerly supported. But it takes more than a pulverised forearm to scare Lee off his trade. His next ball was even faster and No.3 Brijal Patel had no idea, snicking it straight to Ponting, and the next ball was faster still, a violent yorker which easily beat a hapless David Obuya and bowled him neck and crop.
Peter Siddle - Test Match vs England @ Brisbane, 2010
With ten years since McGrath took Australia's last Test hat-trick, and seven years since Lee's effort, Australian cricketing fans had forgotten the joy that comes with a dramatic spectacular hat-trick. Siddle's effort could scarcely have been more dramatic, even including the first Decision Review of a wicket in a Test hat-trick. Although Siddle is not the pace of Lee and did not cause any physical damage to the English batsmen, his hat-trick is reminiscent of the awesome toe crushing power of Lee's. Let's hope we have to wait a shorter amount of time for the next hat-trick (Doherty in the 2nd innings anyone?).
No comments:
Post a Comment