Lasith Malinga spearheads list of bowlers with a double hat-trick in cricket

West Indies’ Jason Holder became the latest player to take a double hat-trick in cricket when he took four wickets in four balls in the fifth T20I against England on Monday, January 31.

With England needing 20 runs from the last over to chase a target of 180, Holder dismissed the quartet of Chris Jordan, Sam Billings, Adil Rashid and Saqib Mahmood in consecutive deliveries to become the fourth T20I bowler and fifth overall to take a double hat-trick in cricket.

While a double hat-trick might generally suggest six wickets in six balls, a double hat-trick in cricketing terminology refers to when a bowler dismisses four batters in consecutive balls in the same match.

Lasith Malinga was the first bowler to register a double hat-trick in international cricket, achieving the feat in a 2007 Cricket World Cup match against South Africa. To date, no bowler has managed to match the Sri Lankan pace icon’s feat in ODI cricket.

With the Proteas needing four runs off 32 balls, the Sri Lankan pace legend dismissed Shaun Pollock (44.5 overs) and Andrew Hall (44.6 overs) in the last two deliveries of the 45th over.

Upon returning to bowl his final over, Malinga notched the wickets of Jacques Kallis (46.1 overs) and Makhaya Ntini (46.2 overs) to complete a sensational double hat-trick in cricket. However, Sri Lanka still lost the game by one wicket and with 10 balls to spare.

Lasith Malinga replicated his 2007 feat again in the T20I format in 2019. This took place in a 20-over contest at Pallekele when New Zealand - chasing 126 - were reduced to 15/4 by the end of the third over.

Malinga first dismissed Colin Munro, making the Sri Lankan pacer the first bowler to take 100 T20I wickets. He followed that up with the wickets of Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor in the next three balls to become the first and only bowler in cricket history to record a double hat-trick in cricket twice.

Afghanistan star Rashid Khan is credited as the first T20I bowler to take a double hat-trick in cricket having achieved the feat during a T20I series against Ireland in India in 2019.

Ireland’s Curtis Campher recently became the first bowler to register a double hat-trick in a T20 World Cup match with his incredible effort against Netherlands in 2021.

In the 10th over of the fixture, Campher bagged the wickets of Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate and Scott Edwards to become the only second bowler after Brett Lee to complete a hat-trick in an ICC T20 World Cup match.

After Roelof van der Merwe fell for a golden duck on Campher’s fourth delivery, the Irish all-rounder wrote his name into the record books for taking four wickets in four balls in international cricket.

Bowlers with double hat-trick in cricket

Author: William Paul

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Featured photo: AFP / RODGER BOSCH