The GREATEST hat-trick ever?
Clark dismisses trio of world batting stars
Lancashire allrounder Jordan clark lit up this famous old clash with a remarkable roses hat- trick against Yorkshire.
On a thrilling day, the cumbrian seamer dismissed current Test captains Joe root and Kane Williamson lbw and had Jonny Bairstow caught at third slip, as Yorkshire slipped to 59 for four shortly before lunch on day one at Old Trafford.
root departed for 22 as he played forward before Williamson and Bairstow fell for golden ducks — stuck on the crease and driving. Jos Buttler completed a smart low catch diving to his left to remove the latter.
The trio are all inside the top 16 of the icc’s Test rankings and have 14,639 Test runs between them, sparking the debate as to whether this was the greatest hat- trick of all time. it was certainly the first hat-trick in first- class cricket in which all three victims had scored more than 3,000 Test runs at the time of dismissal.
clark, 27, finished with figures of five for 58 — his maiden fivewicket haul — as Yorkshire were bowled out for 192 just after tea.
nineteen wickets fell as Yorkshire fought back with the ball, meaning clark had to bat before the close and made 15 in a dismal reply of 109 all out. Liam Livingstone did not bat due to a fractured left thumb suffered while fielding at second slip.
clark said: ‘i was happy to get my first wicket, so to get three in a row i was over the moon. it sort of took the sting out of it with the way we’ve gone with the bat, but i don’t think i’ll be forgetting this in a hurry.
‘any hat-trick to me would be a great one, but to get those three batsmen is very special.’
clark’s hat-trick was the first in roses championship cricket since Lancashire’s Ken higgs at headingley in 1968 and only the fourth since the championship was officially constituted in 1890.
he played junior club cricket against Ben stokes and has a liking for the spectacular. in 2013, he hit six sixes in an over in a second- dt team match th against i t Yorkshire. The following year, he bowled a triple-wicket maiden to help Lancashire rescue a T20 Blast quarter-final against Glamorgan.
To add to his showreel, shortly after lunch here he ran out Tim Bresnan backing up having got a hand on a fierce straight drive from adam Lyth.
clark added: ‘i don’t know why it happens like that for me, but it just does sometimes. You don’t plan on getting hat-tricks. You plan on doing the small things right, and there’s an element of luck in there as well.
‘ it was amazing, really. i’d thrown down a pack of liquorice all sorts beforehand.’
Both sides are fighting hard against i t relegation l ti i in Di Division i i One, with Lancashire sixth and Yorkshire seventh.
all of their england Test players are playing in preparation for the forthcoming india series.
For the red rose, Jimmy anderson took one for 38 from 15 overs on his competitive return from a shoulder injury. he had Lyth caught at slip by Keaton Jennings during the afternoon.
But Lancashire’s day went downhill when they batted. root took a stunning, one-handed catch diving low to his left after Jennings had pulled a Bresnan delivery and haseeb hameed was out shouldering arms for the fourth innings running. Ben coad claimed three wickets in an over to put Yorkshire on top.