File image: Fred Spofforth (Getty Images) On this day – January 2 – 147 years ago, Australian fast bowler Fred Spofforth became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket history. Spofforth achieved the historic feat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as early as 1879, helping the hosts bowl out England for 113 in the first innings of a Test match.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!A hat-trick in cricket remains a fascinating achievement for bowlers even today because of the impact it has on the course of the competition. It can turn the momentum upside down as the batting line-up loses three wickets in three balls, giving the bowling side a clear advantage.
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Spofforth’s achievement nearly one-and-a-half centuries ago was one such turning point in the competition, leaving opponents to fight back as Australia won the match by 10 wickets. It was only Spofforth’s second Test match and he bowled three England batsmen in successive deliveries to begin one of the most fascinating performances in the game of cricket.Who was Fred Spofforth?The tall pacer was born on 9 September 1853 in Balmain, Sydney. The right-arm fast bowler made his international debut for Australia against England in Melbourne in March 1877.He played 18 matches for Australia in his 10-year international career from 1877 to 1887, taking an impressive 94 wickets at a staggering average of 18.41. He took seven five-wicket hauls and four ten-wicket hauls in his career, with best bowling figures of 7 for 44.
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The Sydney Test in January 1887 against England was his last appearance for the Aussies.Although his Test career lasted only 10 years, Spofforth had a long 23-year first-class career from 1874/75 to 1887/88. He took a staggering 853 wickets in 155 first-class matches, including 84 five-wicket hauls and 32 ten-wicket hauls. His career best first-class figures were 9 for 18 and he had a career first-class bowling average of less than 15 – 14.95.
How the historic Melbourne Test played out in which Spofforth took the first hat-trick in Test cricket:
After making his debut at the same venue in March 1877, Spofforth was given the chance to represent Australia again after over a year, in January 1879. Spofforth took just four wickets in his debut match, but this time the story was to take a drastic turn.England chose to bat first after winning the toss on that fateful day. Spofforth started with a bang when he removed England opener George Ulyett for a duck. His bowling partner Frank Allan then dismissed Alexander Webbe and Bunny Lucas before Spofforth became his second victim of the day to Monkey Hornby. England were struggling at 14/4 at the time before slowly reaching 26 for 4.Spofforth then produced the most famous three deliveries in a row to create Test history. He removed Rev Vernon Royle, Francis MacKinnon and Tom Emmett to reduce England to 26/7. The blast also gave Spofforth his first Test five-wicket haul.England were in dire straits before captain Lord Harris (33) and Charlie Absolom (52) steadied the ship a bit with a 63-run eighth-wicket stand. However, the visitors were soon bowled out for 113, with Spofforth claiming another wicket to finish with figures of 6 for 48 in 25 overs.Despite Emmett’s 7 for 68, Australia managed to take a solid lead of 143 runs in the first innings and score 256. Australia’s top scorer was Alec Bannerman with 73 as seven other batsmen scored double figures in the innings.England didn’t improve much in the second innings either and Spofforth and Allan again wreaked havoc. In fact, Spofforth improved on his career best figures from the first innings when he took 7 for 62 in 35 overs in the second innings. There was no hat-trick in the second innings, but Spofforth sealed the match with two five-wicket hauls and 13 for 110.Six England batsmen crossed the double-figure mark in their second innings, compared to just two in the first innings, but they managed to put only 160 on the board, reducing Australia to just 18 runs. Australia knocked down the target in just 2.3 overs to win the match by an impressive 10 wickets.It was a stunning show from Spofforth – two five-wicket hauls in the match and the first ever hat-trick in Test cricket.
