JBMAC
State Captain
In the swirling mists of cricketing folklore, amid tales of Bradman’s brilliance, Warne’s wizardry and Scott Boland’s recent blistering hat-trick, there lies one name that defies belief — Jimmy Matthews, the Australian leg-spinner who achieved something so improbable, it reads like a misprint in Wisden.
On 28 May 1912, during the Triangular Tournament at Old Trafford, Australia were facing South Africa in a chilly, rain-soaked Manchester. The match itself was almost a sideshow, as Matthews etched his name into the eternal scrolls of cricketing absurdity.
In South Africa’s first innings, Matthews took the final three wickets off consecutive balls leaving the South African’s 30 runs short of the follow-on.
The English crowd gave polite applause, cricket being a gentleman’s game and all that. Little did they know, the universe wasn’t done showing off.
Australia enforced the follow on and with South Africa batting for the second time in the day, Matthews in a blur of googlies and leg-breaks, took another hat-trick.
And here’s the twist: Matthews completed both hat-tricks without the aid of any fielders: two bowled, two LBW’s and two caught and bowled.
His final wicket in each hat-trick was Tommy Ward on debut for South Africa, leaving Ward the unwanted record of being the only player to be dismissed for a king pair on Test debut.
To this day, no other cricketer — in over a century of Test cricket — has taken two hat-tricks in the same match, let alone on the same day.
Thomas James ‘Jimmy’ Matthews died in 1943, long before his feat became a YouTube trivia staple. But in cricketing legend, his name sits alone on a pedestal — the man who bowled a statistical unicorn, twice on the same day
On 28 May 1912, during the Triangular Tournament at Old Trafford, Australia were facing South Africa in a chilly, rain-soaked Manchester. The match itself was almost a sideshow, as Matthews etched his name into the eternal scrolls of cricketing absurdity.
In South Africa’s first innings, Matthews took the final three wickets off consecutive balls leaving the South African’s 30 runs short of the follow-on.
The English crowd gave polite applause, cricket being a gentleman’s game and all that. Little did they know, the universe wasn’t done showing off.
Australia enforced the follow on and with South Africa batting for the second time in the day, Matthews in a blur of googlies and leg-breaks, took another hat-trick.
And here’s the twist: Matthews completed both hat-tricks without the aid of any fielders: two bowled, two LBW’s and two caught and bowled.
His final wicket in each hat-trick was Tommy Ward on debut for South Africa, leaving Ward the unwanted record of being the only player to be dismissed for a king pair on Test debut.
To this day, no other cricketer — in over a century of Test cricket — has taken two hat-tricks in the same match, let alone on the same day.
Thomas James ‘Jimmy’ Matthews died in 1943, long before his feat became a YouTube trivia staple. But in cricketing legend, his name sits alone on a pedestal — the man who bowled a statistical unicorn, twice on the same day
