By Jay Forte, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Carioca Cricket Club (CCC) of Rio de Janeiro, which was founded in 2011, has recently witnessed history in the making as club player Asanka Bandara, an expatriate from Sri Lanka living in Rio, bowled a double hat-trick.
CCC chairman and English expatriate, Tobias Hanbury, explains, “We witnessed a piece of cricketing history last Saturday July 16th. One of our Players, Asanka [Bandara], bowled a DOUBLE HAT-TRICK – which means four wickets in four consecutive balls – he then got a wicket on the final ball of the over, meaning he got FIVE wickets in that over.”
In cricket, a hat-trick is three wickets in three consecutive balls bowled by a single bowler. Yet as the conditions are so strict, they are very rare and prized by all bowlers. Four wickets in four consecutive balls, also known as ‘four in four’, is often referred to as a double hat-trick, and even more coveted in the sport.
Mr. Bandara described the play, “It was fantastic to be able to get a ‘five-wickets per over’, with a double hat-trick, and I am so happy about that. I always want to get a wicket from the first ball and [always] try for it. Now I feel more comfortable that I should continue playing Cricket, and especially I would like to thank my teammates, Nick V B, Johan and Tim for for their fantastic catches, and all the others for their support.”
In professional international play, ESPN listed only eight double hat-tricks in 120 years. According to the records in Wisden 1998 only seven bowlers have performed the hat-trick twice in the same match before 1978/79. Twenty years later in March 1999 Wasim Akram achieved this feat in a test match against Sri Lanka at Dhaka and Lahore.
Despite the achievement, Bandara remains humble, “I am grateful to CCC for having the opportunity to play with a wonderful team.” And joking adds “So the only special treatment I expect would be the continued team support and the opportunity to play more Cricket.”
The CCC is on an Olympic break for August and September but will be back with a big Family Cricket Day on October 15th. Also the club is planning to hold another CCC Curry Night on Friday 2nd September. The main focus though is to prepare to host the South American Cricket Championships on October 28 to 31st, at the São Fernando Polo and Cricket Club near Itaguaí.
* This is a Sponsored article for the Carioca Cricket Club.