Hat-Tricks in Cricket: Definition, History and Famous Examples
Everything about hat-tricks in cricket — the definition, origin of the term, rarest hat-tricks across formats, and why Lasith Malinga is the only bowler to achieve the feat in all three international formats.
What Is a Hat-Trick?
A hat-trick in cricket means a bowler takes three wickets with three consecutive legal deliveries. The three deliveries do not have to be in the same over — the last ball of one over and the first two of the next count. The term originated in cricket in the 1850s: when a bowler took three consecutive wickets, the club presented them with a new hat as a reward.
Most Famous Test Hat-Tricks
Wasim Akram took two hat-tricks at the 1999 World Cup (vs Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) — unprecedented. Irfan Pathan dismissed three Pakistan batsmen with the first three balls of a Test match (2006) — the only such instance. Lasith Malinga dismissed four batsmen in four consecutive balls at the 2007 World Cup vs South Africa, combining a hat-trick with a 'double-wicket maiden'.
Frequently asked questions
Are hat-tricks rare in Test cricket?
In the entire history of Test cricket (since 1877), approximately 45 hat-tricks have been taken — roughly one every three years. T20 cricket produces them more frequently because batsmen take more risks. The IPL alone has seen over 20 hat-tricks since 2008.