- Started his over with his side under pressure
- Turned the match on its head with a shock display
A hat-trick is every cricket player’s dream, but an Aussie bowler has etched his name into the record book by taking five wickets with five balls in a spell that might never be repeated.
Glen Parker was playing for Brighton in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association when his side started leaking early runs against Hoopers Crossing last Saturday.
Parker strode to his end, determined to not get whacked for 10 runs like he had in his previous over and began his run-up.
Then the unthinkable happened. Parker claimed an incredible five wickets in five consecutive deliveries, all in the same over – a feat that has never been achieved in the 116-year history of the association.
‘Pete [captain-coach Pete Cassidy] said the same thing against Port Melbourne, ‘you know your best ball, try sneak one through the gate’,’ Parker told News Corp.
‘He said the same advice this time around and fortunately I landed it exactly where I wanted to, snuck it through the gate and managed to bowl him.
‘Last year was my first one where this year it was more a bit of fun, if you’re fortunate enough to get it then happy days, if not, you never really expect it to happen.
‘I think I was a bit more relaxed this time around.’
Brighton bowler Glen Parker (right) holds the match-winning ball with skipper Peter Cassidy after taking five wickets with five consecutive deliveries in one over
Parker’s amazing spell included an incredible four golden ducks as he ripped through the order
Parker celebrates one of his five wickets as he completely turned the match on its head
The rare triple hat trick is an achievement that has never been seen in first class cricket.
New Zealand bowler Neil Wagner has taken 5 in an over against Wellington in 2011, the first and only time this has happened in first-class cricket, but they weren’t all in consecutive balls.
Remarkably, there has been another triple hat trick in Australian cricket – and it was in Victoria as well.
Yallourn North’s Nick Gooden achieved the feat against Latrobe in the Central Gippsland competition in 2017.
And what makes his triple hat trick even more special is the fact that he had already taken a hat trick in his previous spell, taking eight wickets in a blistering 10-ball spell.
‘There’s nothing special about it — there’s definitely no pace involved,’ Gooden told Weekend Sunrise at the time.
‘The general plan when we got out there was just to get off as quick as we could so we could get on the frothies,’ he said.
‘I said to the boys ‘let’s just roll through these guys and get off and have a beer’. I think we were having a beer at about three o’clock.’
Yorkshire slow left-armer Hedley Verity has the record for the best bowling figures in first class cricket with 10 for 10 against Nottinghamshire in 1932, but it took him a staggering 118 deliveries to take those poles.
Tim Wall holds the record for Australia, claiming all 10 wickets for South Australia in a Shield match against New South Wales in 1933. His 10-36 in the first innings came off a more miserly 12.4 overs and included the wicket of the great Donald Bradman for 56.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk