Remembering the best hat-tricks
Fred Spofforth was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on Monday, marking his outstanding career achievements, which included becoming the first player to take a Test match hat-trick.
We asked some of the world's leading media to recall their favourite hat-tricks in international cricket. Here is what they said:
Harbhajan Singh v Australia, Kolkata, 2001
By Clayton Murzello
Group Sports Editor, MiD DAY, Mumbai, India
They say a brilliant catch can lift a team's morale to happy heights. How about a hat-trick then? Well, Sourav Ganguly's Indian team in the Kolkata Test of 2001 should know after they landed their first, meaningful counter attack on Steve Waugh's Australians on the opening day of the second Test in that epic series.
The bowler: Harbhajan Singh, who claimed four of the 10 Australian wickets to fall in the opening Test at Mumbai where Waugh's men triumphed by 10 wickets.
Harbhajan first trapped Ricky Ponting lbw for nine and within minutes of the noisy celebrations at the Eden Gardens, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne were gone for ducks. Gilchrist was adjudged lbw and Warne was gobbled up by Sadagoppan Ramesh at short leg trying to tap a full toss. I am not sure whether even half the crowd at the Eden realised it was India's first Test hat-trick. They didn't have to know. The triple blow tasted much sweeter than their sweet curd that day. I saw it, never mind if it was from a high press box from where the turf looked as far as India's turnaround. Yes, centurion Steve Waugh had done his rescue deed again - from 252 for five, Australia ended up with 445. The miracle came later.
A few years later, Tony Greig, who did commentary during that series, bought Harbhajan's hat-trick ball at a charity auction in Bangalore. It didn't cost much - only Rs 55,000 we are told.
Stuart Broad v India, Trent Bridge, 2011
By Richard Sydenham,
Freelance Cricket Writer (Reuters, Daily Star Sunday and others)
Although Harbhajan Singh's hat-trick in 2001 would be the one I wished I had seen, during that dramatic Test, the first I saw live was Shane Warne's at the MCG in 1994, as David Boon pouched a diving catch at short-leg off Devon Malcolm's bat.
Because that was a miserable moment on what was a miserable tour for England, the bias in me does not allow for an affectionate recollection, even if it was always entertaining to watch the great leg-spinner.
So my choice is a recent one - this summer's hat-trick by Stuart Broad at his home ground in Nottingham. The second of the three victims, Harbhajan, was lbw despite an inside edge, but who's interested in the fine print? It was the drama and momentum tilting in the match that grabbed my attention.
India were cruising at 267 for four and all out for 288 as Broad inspired a subsequent 319-run win
Andy Blignaut v Bangladesh, Harare, 2004
By Enock Muchinjo
Sports Editor, Daily News, Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe fast bowler Andy Blignaut's hat-trick in the second Test against Bangladesh in Harare in February 2004 is my favourite of all time, for two reasons.
Firstly because Blignaut is one of my favourite Zimbabwean cricketers of all time, and secondly for providing one of my best memories as a cadet sports reporter. That Test match at Harare Sports Club seven years ago was my first as a journalist, little over a year in the profession.
In a devastating spell of bowling, Blignaut became the first, and to date only Zimbabwean to take a Test hat-trick.
Blignaut removed Hannan Sarker for 10, then took Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfique Rahman first ball to leave the tourists on the brink of defeat on the fourth day. Bangladesh were eventually defeated by 183 runs on the final day.
I followed Blignaut's career keenly since he burst onto the international scene in 1999 and was greatly impressed by his genuine pace, control and aggression. He was also a stroke-playing middle-order batsman and a fine fielder.
Chetan Sharma v New Zealand, Nagpur, 1987
By David Leggat
Cricket Writer, New Zealand Herald
My favourite hat-trick happened to be the first I was lucky enough to witness as a reporter.
At the 1987 World Cup at Nagpur, and Indian bowler Chetan Sharma removed Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield, all bowled.
Sharma was a lively seamer and probably could not believe his luck when, after removing Rutherford and wicketkeeper Smith, he saw Chatfield striding out.
If Chatfield was not the world's poorest No 11 batsmen, he was in the grand final.
Certainly he helped win a test for New Zealand against Pakistan with some late innings defiance at Dunedin in 1985, and he had other days where he hung about effectively, but Chatfield's cricketing qualities lay with ball in hand.
This time Chatfield came in at No 10. Why depart from his usual place in the order? Perhaps a bet, or black dressing room humour. He had fellow medium pacer Willie Watson, himself no demon with the bat, to follow.
If ever a bowler figured he had been handed a royal chance of completing a hat-trick it had to have been Sharma that day.
He duly obliged, charging in and hitting Chatfield's leg stump, a signal for the fireworks to start.
India's nine-wicket win was also notable for the blazing batting of Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth. Gavaskar was angry that day, apparently having another row with the Indian board. He belted an unbeaten 103 off 88 balls; Srikkanth 75 off 58 deliveries. Between them, they struck 19 fours and six sixes. It prompted one of New Zealand cricket's more memorable quotes, attributed to the dry Watson: ''It was like bowling in the highlights.''
Waqar Younis v New Zealand, East London, 1994
By Telford Vice
Freelance cricket write, South Africa
Controlled fury was Waqar Younis' key weapon when he removed New Zealanders Chris Harris, Chris Pringle and Richard de Groen in a one-day international in East London on December 19, 1994.
All were clean bowled with the same fluid, high-torque action that did not seem to ask much of its owner. But the deliveries that undid them varied significantly.
Harris, a left-hander, had his off-stump nailed. Pringle, also a lefty, saw his leg-stump uprooted. The right-handed de Groen failed to prevent the next ball from clattering into the top of middle and off. The tailenders had little chance of staying alive against a bowler of Waqar's pace, and they had no answer to the wicked swing he generated with each of those deliveries.
Most impressive of all was Waqar's demure reaction to his first international hat-trick. He simply raised an arm, and turned around to prepare to do it all again.
Wasim Akram v Australia, Sharjah, 1990
By K.R. Nayar
Chief Cricket Writer
Gulf News
It was the final of the Austral-Asia Cup in Sharjah on May 4, 1990 and Pakistan's Wasim Akram produced one of the deadliest hat-tricks in One-day cricket against Australia.
Though it happened nearly 21 years ago, those deliveries still live fresh in my mind. He clean bowled Merv Hughes, Carl Rackemann and Terry Alderman, who all looked clueless to the deliveries.
Soon after Akram's spell, I rushed along with many journalists for Akram's comment and he revealed that he was in excruciating pain from his groin during his spell He took his first wicket with the third ball of his ninth over and gifted Pakistan a creditable 36 runs with the next two balls.
Pakistan had scored 266 for 7 and Sharjah wicket, which had a reputation of being a batsman's paradise, a run rate of 5.32 wasn't difficult. To make things easy for Australia, openers David Boon and Mark Taylor put on 62 runs before both got run out.
With 205 runs more to get, Steve Waugh hit a brilliant 64 runs. He fell when Australia needed only 60 runs to win but Akram tilted the match in Pakistan's favour.
Lasith Malinga v South Africa, Guyana, 2007
By Sa'adi Thawfeeq
Sports Editor,
The Nation, Colombo, Sri Lanka
My favourite hat-trick of all time is that sensational spell of fast bowling by Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga in the 2007 World Cup match against South Africa at Guyana where he nearly turned a losing game into a winning one for his country.
Malinga took four wickets in four balls when South Africa needed just four runs to win with five wickets in hand and they eventually got there by one wicket.
Malinga's extraordinary bowling was spread over two overs in the 45th and 47th where he got rid of Shaun Pollock with a slow ball and then followed it up with a searing yorker to get rid of Andrew Hall. Off the first two balls of the 47th over Malinga gets his hat-trick when Jacques Kallis edges one behind the wicket. Another screaming yorker gets rid of Makhaya Nitini off the next and Malinga has four out of four - the first bowler in cricket history to do so.
Irfan Pathan v Pakistan, Karachi, 2006
By Abdul Majid Bhatti
Senior Cricket Correspondent
Jang Group, Karachi, Pakistan
This was a very interesting hat-trick because it happened at Karachi and that too in the first over. Pakistan were struggling at 46 for six at one stage and the curator Agha Zahid was worried that he will be pulled up for preparing a bad pitch. But Pakistan suddenly staged a comeback through Kamran Akmal's hundred in the first innings. India took a lead but Mohd Yousuf and Younus Khan scored hundreds to put Pakistan in control of the match. Asif then bowled brilliantly to lead Pakistan to a win. But the reason why Irfan's effort was special was because I had never seen someone create so many problems - that too in the first 30 minutes of a Test match. Pakistan had never been troubled this way in a long time that too at home. They had done well against all sides including Australia, West Indies and even India. I have seen Wasim Akram, Lasith Malinga take a hat-trick, but nothing compares the amazing effort of Irfan. He was bowling very well at that stage. If India had a captain like Dhoni at that stage they would have probably won that game. India lost an opportunity to win a Test in Pakistan.