A hat-trick in cricket is achieved when a bowler dismisses three different batsmen in three successive deliveries.
Undoubtedly, a hat-trick is tough to take in any formats but the stakes are even higher in Test cricket, the longest format of the game. Mere 45 hat-tricks by 41 different bowlers in the history of Test cricket spanning over 143 years, is a testimony to the fact.
Australian pacer Fred Spofforth was the first bowler to record a Test hat-trick on January 2, 1879, in only the third Test match ever. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Naseem Shah picked up a hat-trick against Bangladesh in February 2020 to be the latest inductee of the elite list.
Now, let’s dive into some stats about hat-tricks in Test cricket:
Most Test Hat-tricks by Players
Out of 41 bowlers who’ve taken one Test hat-trick at least, 4 have actually done it twice.
The four bowlers who have taken multiple (2) Test hat-tricks are listed below:
| PLAYER | TEAM | HAT TRICKS |
|---|---|---|
| Hugh Trumble | Australia | 2 |
| Jimmy Matthews | Australia | 2 |
| Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 2 |
| Stuart Broad | England | 2 |
Key Stats:
- Australian leg-spinner Jimmy Matthews is the only player in history to take two hat-tricks in the same Test match. Playing against South Africa, Jimmy Matthews took a hat-trick in South Africa’s first and second innings, both taken on 28 May 1912.
- Both the hat-tricks of Hugh Trumble were against England, in 1902 and 1904 respectively.
- Stuart Broad took his hat-tricks against India and Sri Lanka in 2011 and 2014, respectively.
- Wasim Akram took his two hat-tricks in just over a week apart, in consecutive matches both against Sri Lanka. Read Wasim Akram’s five other insane cricketing records.
Here is a video on Wasim Akram’s Test and ODI hat tricks:
Most Test Hat-tricks by Countries
All the test-playing nations whose players have achieved this feat are tabulated below with the number of hat-tricks:
| TEAM | HAT TRICKS | FIRST HAT-TRICK TAKER | LATEST HAT-TRICK TAKER |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 14 | Billy Gates (1983) | Moeen Ali (2017) |
| Australia | 11 | Fred Spofforth (1879) | Peter Siddle (2010) |
| Pakistan | 5 | Wasim Akram (1999) | Naseem Shah (2020) |
| West Indies | 4 | Wes Hall (1959) | Jermaine Lawson (2003) |
| India | 3 | Harbhajan Singh (2001) | Jasprit Bumrah (2019) |
| Bangladesh | 2 | Alok Kapali (2003) | Sohag Gazi (2013) |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | Nuwan Zoysa (1999) | Rangana Herath (2016) |
| New Zealand | 2 | Peter Petgerick (1976) | James Franklin (2004) |
| South Africa | 1 | Geoff Griffin (1960) | Geoff Griffin (1960) |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | Andy Blignaut (2004) | Andy Blignaut (2004) |
Key Stats:
- Ireland and Afghanistan are the only Test playing nations whose players haven’t taken a Test hat-trick yet.
- Australia is the only team which has two players who have taken the Test hat-trick twice.
- Pakistan’s Wasim Akram and Mohammad Sami are the only two bowlers to take a hat-trick in both Test matches as well as ODIs.
England’s Test Hat-tricks
Billy Bates, in 1883, became the first Englishman and second player overall to take a Test hat-trick.
12 other English players have taken a hat-trick in Test cricket. They are (chronologically): Johnny Briggs, George Lohmann, Jack Hearne, Maurice Allom, Tom Goddard, Peter Loader, Dominic Cork, Darren Gough, Matthew Hoggard, Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad (twice) and Moeen Ali.
Australia’s Test hat-tricks
Australia’s Fred Spofforth was the first ever bowler to achieve this feat. Since then, 8 more Australian bowlers, namely, Hugh Trumble, Jimmy Matthews, Lindsay Kline, Merv Hughes, Damien Fleming, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and Peter Siddle have recorded a Test hat-trick. Of them, Trumble and Matthews have recorded two each.
Pakistan’s Test hat-tricks
Wasim Akram took the first two Test hat-tricks for a Pakistani bowler. After him, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami and Naseem Shah have done it once each.
