The 4 best hat-tricks in T20I cricket from genuine fast bowlers

Lockie Ferguson celebrates for New Zealand
Lockie Ferguson took his first T20I hat-trick in November 2024.

New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson took a T20I hat-trick against Sri Lanka in Dambulla during November 2024. Ferguson is among the quickest bowlers in world cricket these days.

Hat-tricks, of course, are not reserved for fast bowlers, but it’s often a viewing spectacle when pace aces castle stumps, force catches and ensure positive lbw appeals.

When conditions and circumstances are right, fast bowlers have a tendency to succeed more than spinners and standard seamers.

Here are five entertaining examples of genuine fast bowlers going three in three in the shortest format of the international game.

Pat Cummins

The Australian fast bowler was truly marvelous en route to two hat-tricks during the 2024 T20 World Cup. The first was against Bangladesh in North Sound and the second against Afghanistan in Kingstown. Cummins enjoyed the Caribbean conditions a lot, indeed.

Claiming two hat-tricks within three days is an outstanding feat. Cummins was named player of the match in victory over Bangladesh. His hat-trick was not enough to prevent defeat to Afghanistan, though.

Read more: The 4 best hat-tricks in T20I cricket from genuine fast bowlers

Josh Little

Ireland have longed for an outright fast bowler for an extended period. They now have one in Little, whose pace and success at international level have also brought him renown in the Indian Premier League. Little was sensational for the Irish against New Zealand in November 2023, removing Kane Williamson, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner in succession.

Conditions at the Adelaide Oval played right into his hands. He, alongside Curtis Campher, are the only players to have taken a T20I hat-trick for Ireland.

Jason Holder

The lanky West Indies star has lost some pace in recent years, but in January 2022 he was bowling rapidly – and cherished the pitch on offer in Bridgetown. So good were the conditions, actually, that Holder did not stop at three in three – he went four in four.

Chris Jordan, Sam Billings, Adil Rashid and Saqib Mahmood had no answer to Holder’s brilliance. Only four men have taken four wickets in four successive deliveries in T20I cricket – Holder, Campher, Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan.

Kagiso Rabada

This time, it was the 2021 T20 World Cup, and again England’s Jordan was among the victims. Rabada relished conditions in Sharjah, which didn’t traditionally suit fast bowling but evidently did on this day. Chris Woakes, Eoin Morgan and Jordan crashed in succession as South Africa secured a 10-run win.

Rabada did not get the player of the match accolade, though. That award went to Rassie van der Dussen for a solid 94 not out.

Read next: These 5 players have shared 23 ducks in Test cricket in 2024