5 players who took a rare hat-trick on international debut

A hat trick remains one of the exceptional achievements in the game of cricket and as the game has become more and more biased towards batsmen, the hat trick remains a feat of glory for the handful of bowlers who manage the spectacularly difficult job of taking 3 wickets in 3 successive deliveries. There have been

There have been several interesting variations in the ways of the hat trick over the years but a hat trick on international debut remains one of the crowning glories, more so as so few cricketers have ever managed to achieve this. It is a definitive way to announce your arrival into the cricketing fraternity and provides a boost both for the self-esteem of the bowler and the expectations from the supporters.Here is an exclusive list of 5 cricketers with hat tricks on international debut.

1. Maurice Allom

Maurice Allom became president of the MCC in his post-retirement years

Maurice James Carrick Allom has an enviable record in cricket history. He is the first bowler to pick up a hat-trick on Test Debut, though he played only 5 Test matches, the English right-arm medium pace bowler ran through New Zealand’s middle order in the first innings at Lancaster Park, Christchurch in 1929-30. His victims were Tom Lowry (LBW), Ken James (caught behind) and Ted Badcock (bowled).

Allom’s height allowed him to swerve the ball sharply in the windy weather and the 6 feet 6 inches tall bowler scalped 4 wickets from 5 balls in his 8th over on his first day, becoming the first player to do so. Later Chris Old and Wasim Akram, too, emulated this stupendous achievement in Tests and Lasith Malinga in ODIs.

2. Peter Petherick

Peter Petherick with the cricket ball which he used to get a hat-trick in a test match against Pakistan in 1976

Peter Petherick arrived with a bang when he announced himself to the international cricket fraternity in 1976 by a hat-trick on debut against Pakistan at Lahore. Asif Iqbal and debutant Javed Miandad, who would later become Pakistan’s captain and future coach of the national team, had already added 281 for the fifth wicket when Petherick was introduced as the fifth bowler and had Miandad caught at square-leg to end the partnership.

Wasim Raja (caught and bowled) and Inthikhab Alam (caught) followed Miandad back to the pavilion on the next 2 successive deliveries. Raja’s wicket was especially relishing as Petherick was not considered a good fielder but he grabbed on to the catch off his own bowling to the delight of his team-mates. Incidentally, he became the first New Zealand player to record a Test Hat trick and remains the only one to do so besides James Franklin.

However, he did not get any other wicket during the innings and his 16 wickets in his 6 Tests are pointers to the brutal blow he served to those who expected him to rise to greatness after his fantastic debut.

3. Damien Fleming

Damien Fleming went on to become one of the best ODI bowlers of his time

Australia was playing Pakistan at Rawalpindi in 1994-95. Damien Fleming who later became a regular in the national team for a considerable time and was especially known for his out-swingers had a sensational debut when he picked up a hat trick just at a time when the national selectors were looking for fresh blood in Australia’s bowling attack.

During a dull final day with the match heading for a draw, Fleming provided a gust of excitement as he dismissed Aamer Malik (caught) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (LBW) off the last two deliveries of the 23rd over. Aamer Malik was caught at mid-wicket by Bevan and Fleming returned in the 24th over to bowl to Salim Malik who edged the ball to wicketkeeper Ian Healy.

Thus Fleming became the third player to get to a hat-trick on Test debut and team-mate Jo Angel lifted him up to complete a wonderful celebration of his remarkable feat.

4. Taijul Islam

Taijul Islam being mobbed by team-mates after his unique feat

Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam bowled his way into the record books as he became the first cricketer to take an ODI hat-trick on debut and the fourth to do so across both ODIs and Tests. He achieved this feat in 2014 when Bangladesh was playing against Zimbabwe and he returned with 4/11 off his 7 overs in the match. Bangladesh won the series 5-0 and Taijul’s hat trick was the highlight of the series. Taijul came on for Rubel Hossein in the 27th over and Solomon Mire was struck lbw.

His hat-trick victims were Tinashe Panyangara (bowled) whom he dismissed in the last ball of the 27th over and in the first two balls of the 29th over he completed his hat trick by scalping the wickets of John Nyumbu (lbw) and Tendai Chatara (bowled). Incidentally, Islam became the fourth Bangladesh bowler to take a hat-trick, after Shahadat Hossain, Abdur Razzak and Rubel. He celebrated by thumping his chest in ecstasy and at the fall of the 10th Zimbabwe wicket he was invited to lead the team off the field.

5. Kagiso Rabada

South Africa's Kagiso Rabada snares hat-trick on ODI debut against Bangladesh

Kagiso Rabada joined an exclusive club when he successfully managed to take a hat-trick on his ODI debut making him only the second player in ODI history and the fifth across both the shorter and longer formats to make this achievement. He became the third South African to achieve this feat after Charl Langeveldt against the West and JP Duminy against Sri Lanka as well as the fourth youngest bowler to take a hat-trick in ODIs.

Incredibly, this was also the second time when three of Bangladesh's top four batsmen have been dismissed for a duck. The selectors had taken a risk with the 20-year-old in place of the experienced Morne Morkel and he reaffirmed their faith as he sent Tamim Iqbal back to the stadium by removing his off stump. Farhaan Behardien took a catch at mid-wicket to get rid of Litton Das and the next ball saw Mahmudullah declared lbw.

Rabada ended the match with figures of 6-16 which became the new record for South Africa beating Makhaya Ntini's 6/22 against Australia.