Curtis Campher created history last week, taking a double-hat-trick in Ireland's opening World Cup match against the Netherlands in Abu Dhabi.
Joining the likes of Rashid Khan and Lasith Malinga, with an international T20 double hat-trick, Campher is the first player in history to do it in a Twenty20 World Cup.
The South African born 22-year-old, certainly needed the 'luck of the Irish' as two wickets weren't originally given by Australian umpire Rod Tucker, yet were overturned by quick-thinking reviews from Captain Andy Balbirnie.
The first wicket was a spike on ultra edge, which saw Dutch opener, Colin Ackermann fall going for a pull-shot attempt down the leg-side.
The second wicket saw the finest Dutch cricketer in history, 41-year-old Ryan ten Doeschate play across the line. He was caught dead in front.
For the hat-trick ball, Campher trapped Scott Edwards on the crease and beat the inside edge, yet wasn't given out by Tucker. Reviewed again by Captain Balbirnie, the ball was cannoning into leg-stump.
The next ball, Roelof van der Merwe threw his bat at a wide one and chopped on, producing the third international T20 double hat-trick. Campher went from figures of 0 for 12 to 4 for 14 in the space of an over.
Let's have a quick look at some of histories greatest double hat-tricks in chronological order.
10. Joseph Wells (Kent vs. Sussex, 1862)
On the 26th of June 1862, Joseph Wells at 33 years of age, in only his second first class match, took the first double hat-trick in record history in the first innings. Wells bowled all four of his victims in a four-ball over and in less than a year after this historical feat, was lost to cricket forever. He never pulled on the creams again.
9. Hal Hooker (New South Wales vs. Victoria, 1928-29)
In just 23 first class matches, Hal Hooker was a part of some of cricket's most unique records. As well as being the first Australian to claim a double hat-trick, Hooker also has the record for the highest tenth wicket stand.
Playing against Victoria in the 1928-29 season, Hooker, and Australian test batsman Alan Kippax put on 307 runs for the 10th wicket. Hooker made 62 batting at number 11.
The second time these two states met in the season, Hooker wrapped up the tail achieving a hat-trick. After enforcing the follow on, Hooker bowled the second over of the innings and dismissed Ernest Austen with the first ball, creating history.
8. Bob Crisp (Western Province vs. Griqualand West, 1931/32 & vs. Natal, 1933-34)
Bob Crisp lived an extraordinary life. The South African fast-bowler survived shrapnel to the skull in World War II and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro not once, but twice (the first time up the mountain Crisp found out through word of mouth, that he was named in the South African tour of England).
Against Griqualand West in 1931/32, Crisp took his first double hat-trick, including six wickets in 12 balls. Two seasons later Crisp created history becoming the first player in cricket to achieve the feat twice. Playing against Natal he took the impressive figures of nine for 64 of 24.1 overs. Remarkably, Western Province would go on to lose the match.
7. Bill Copson (Derbyshire vs. Warwickshire, 1937)
It took Derbyshire 98 balls to dismiss Warwickshire in the first innings of this 1937 clash. Bill Copson was the chief destroyer with figures of eight for 11 off 8.2 overs, finishing the innings with a double hat-trick.
In the second innings, Copson achieved five wickets in six balls, with the second ball of the over. He took 15 wickets in only three tests for England at an average of 19.8.
6. Sir Garfield Sobers (EW Swanton XI vs. Malaysia 1963/64)
Rated as one of the greatest all-rounders in history, Sir Garfield Sobers his famous for being the first cricketer to blast six sixes off an over in a first class match. Unbeknownst to many, Sir Garry once took five wickets in five balls touring with E.W. Swanton's cricketing side in the Far East.
After making a first-ball duck in the first innings, Sobers opened the bowling and took a hat-trick to finish the first over. Back and hungry for more, Sobers took another two wickets to make it five from five and finished his short four-over spell with figures of 4-3-2/5.
5. Pat Pocock (Surrey vs. Sussex, 1972)
Needing to make quick runs with three overs left in the day to win, Sussex required 18 runs with nine wickets in hand. They nearly lost.
Thrown the ball in sheer desperation, Pat Pocock responded with three wickets in his first over. Now needing 16 off 12 balls, Pocock's teammate Robin Jackman was dispatched for 11 runs. Five runs were now required off the last over, with six wickets in hand.
Back for the last over of the day, this was Pocock's ball-by-ball analysis.
First ball: Wicket, Opener holes out to long-on.
Second ball: Wicket, edge to slip and a hat-trick for Pocock.
Third ball: Wicket, Batter going for a six, is stumped, double-hat-trick.
Fourth ball: Single, Sussex can't lose, but Surrey can still draw the match.
Fifth ball: Wicket, Pocock claims five in six balls and seven in 11 balls!
Sixth ball: Wicket, four required off the last ball, batter get's run out going for two and Surrey salvage an impossible draw.
W.W2.WWWW1W1W
No, I didn't accidentally type random 'W's into the keyboard, this is the score-book stat-line of the greatest spell of bowling (or greatest collapse) in history.
4. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka vs. South Africa, World Cup 2007)
The most famous double-hat-trick in history. Lasith Malinga nearly won Sri Lanka the unwinnable. Needing four runs from 32 balls with four wickets in hand, South Africa were a shoe-in for victory.
Channelling the energy of Pat Pocock, Malinga deceived Shaun Pollock with a slower-ball yorker and dismissed Andrew Hall the next ball. A tight over from Chaminda Vaas saw the Proteas requiring three runs from the last four overs.
Malinga was on a hat-trick and edged Jacques Kallis to the keeper. He then clean bowled Makhaya Ntini achieving the first double-hat-trick in International cricket. The next ball after the double hat-trick, Malinga nearly bowled Charl Langeveldt and South Africa eventually scraped to the win by the skin of their teeth.
3. Neil Wagner (Otago vs. Wellington, 2010-11)
Before he became the second quickest New Zealander to 200 Test Wickets, South African born Neil Wagner was plying his trade in the New Zealand domestic competition.
After losing Neal Parlane with the scores 4/136 off 68.2 overs, the Wellington middle to lower order had no idea how hard Hurricane Wagner would hit.
Bowling an unplayable line, Wagner opened the 69th over with a double-hat-trick and castled Mark Gillespie for his fifth wicket, becoming the first bowler in First-Class history to take five wickets in one over and became the fifth bowler in history to take five wickets in six balls.
2. Rashid Khan (Afghanistan vs. Ireland, 2018-19)
Rashid Khan has surged to the top of the T20 bowling food chain in only five years. In 2017, at only 18 years of age, he took five wickets in only ten balls to dismiss Ireland at the Greater Noida, in India.
Fast forward to 2019 and again, the Irish were up against their worst nemesis. Chasing a mammoth total of 210 for victory, Rashid Khan aided by the exceptionally quick reflexes of his keeper Shafiqullah, dismissed O'Brien, Dockrell, Getkate and Simi Singh with consecutive balls across two overs. He became the first bowler in Twenty20 International history to take a double-hat-trick.
1. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka vs. New Zealand, 2019)
Now, it would not be a double hat-trick special article without 'Slinga Malinga' featuring on the list more than once. Ranked as one of the greatest T20 International bowlers in history, Malinga has taken 390-wickets over his decorated career.
This includes a fire-breathing spell of six for seven for the Melbourne Stars against the Perth Scorchers, in the 2012 BBL season.
No spell was more devastating than the one Malinga bowled against New Zealand at home in Pallekele. Chasing a reasonably low total of 125 for victory, New Zealand were completely decimated by a fiery Malinga, eager to become the first bowler to 100 international T20 wickets.
Malinga cleaned the dangerous Colin Munro with a 140kph inswinger, trapped Hamish Rutherford LBW moving across his stumps, and then with the crowd behind him for the hat-trick ball, completely bamboozled Colin de Grandhomme with a jaffer.
Malinga's career has courted controversy like few others. This ball was no exception, his heel was half a centimetre from being a no-ball.
To top it off, Malinga trapped Ross Taylor in front with an unplayable yorker, which saw him become the first bowler in history to take two International double-hat-tricks.
