On this day former England all-rounder Billy Bates scripted history as he became the first Englishman to take a hattrick in Test cricket. It was an inspiring performance from Bates and it came in a series where England thrashed Australia in their home. He picked up this hat trick in the first Test of the series in Melbourne.
Impressive batting effort from England
The English team started the match on a positive note as they put on a brilliant show with the bat. Charles Leslie and Walter Read scored half-centuries in the first innings to provide solidity to the English middle order. Later on, Billy Bates chipped in with his batting skills and he made a half-century as well to guide England to a comfortable score in the first innings. Courtesy of these knocks England posted 294 runs which was a challenging total for Australia to overcome.
A piece of history for Billy Bates
Billy Bates had already made an impact with the bat in the first innings but his best was yet to come. With the ball, he was just supremely dominating as the Australians looked helpless. Bates started his wicket-taking streak by dismissing Alec Bannerman. After Bannerman’s dismissal, the floodgates opened and Bates just decimated the Australian batting order. The right-arm off-spinner got rid of Percy McDonnell, George Giffen, and George Bonnor on consecutive deliveries to register a historic hat trick.
Bates did not stop there and went on to pick three more wickets that included the dismissal of lower-order batters including Tom Garrett, Joey Palmer, and Frederick Spofforth. He once again picked up 7 wickets in the second innings to lead Australia to a dominating victory. Bates was the hero for England in this match and courtesy of his bowling effort England started the series on a victorious note. The visitors later went on to win the series and this series will always be memorable for Billy Bates’ heroics with the ball.