Gus Atkinson Takes Hat-trick Against New Zealand, Becomes 15th England Player Achieve Rare Milestone

England pacer Gus Atkinson claimed a hat-trick against New Zealand and became the 15th Englishmen to achieve the remarkable feat on Saturday, December 7.

Wellington:Fast bowler Gus Atkinson picked up a hat-trick on day 2 of the ongoing second Test between New Zealand and England at the Basin Reserve here on Saturday, December 7, 2024. With this remarkable bowling display, Atkinson became the 15th England cricketer to take a hat-trick in Test cricket.

Atkinson finished the innings with 8.5 overs, 4 wickets for 31 runs. He removed allrounder Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, and former skipper Tim Southee to complete his maiden Test hat-trick while opener Devon Conway (11 off 27 balls) was his first scalp of the match.

Atkinson became the first bowler to claim a hat-trick in Tests since June 2021. South Africa's Keshav Maharaj was the last man to take the last hat-trick in Test cricket dismissing Kieran Powell, Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva.

Before Atkinson, Moeen Ali was the last England player to claim a Test hat-trick. Moeen had dismissed Dean Elgar, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel to complete his hat-trick at The Oval in England in July 2017..

Atkinson's hat-trick started with Nathan Smith, who misjudged a delivery that bounced unexpectedly, deflecting off his gloves and onto the stumps. The next wicket was Matt Henry, who fell victim to a sharp bouncer that he attempted to fend off, but it went directly to Ben Duckett in the gully.

Overall, it marked the 50th Test hat-trick in the game's history, with 47 in men’s Tests and three in women’s Tests.