An Australian club cricketer achieved an astonishing feat by claiming six wickets in the final over of a one-day game, clinching an improbable victory for his team. Gareth Morgan, the skipper of Mudgeeraba in Gold Coast's Premier League Division 3, orchestrated a remarkable turnaround when his team seemed destined for defeat.
Against Surfers Paradise, who required only five runs to win with six wickets remaining, Morgan took the audacious decision to bowl the last six deliveries himself.
What followed was truly sensational, as Morgan dismissed opener Jake Garland for 65 and then proceeded to claim golden ducks for the next five batsmen. Reflecting on this rare accomplishment, Morgan recalled an umpire's earlier remark, stating, "It is funny, the umpire said to me at the start of the over that I needed to take a hat-trick or something to win the game. When it happened he just sort of looked at me."
‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like It’: Morgan
In interviews with the Gold Coast Bulletin, as well as national broadcaster ABC, Morgan expressed his disbelief and exhilaration, remarking, "It is very surreal. I remember thinking after I got the hat-trick – I don't want to lose this game now. Then it just went crazy. When I saw the stumps go back on the last ball, I couldn't believe it, I've never seen anything like it"
The first four dismissals were all caught, adding to the dramatic nature of Morgan's incredible over. The final two wickets were bowled out, completing a sequence that left the opposition in disarray.
Recalling the moment, Morgan shared with the BBC, "The umpire told me I need a hat-trick to win this one. It was a bit of a laugh at the time, I thought it was extremely unlikely. When we won it was very chaotic. My team - half of who are under 19 - were excitedly running around. I was in a state of disbelief. The umpire just shook his head, walked up to me and said 'that's unbelievable'. Afterwards in the clubhouse, everyone kept coming up and asking me the story, the beers kept appearing on the table in front of me."
This extraordinary display by Morgan is noteworthy even in professional cricket, where the record for the most wickets in an over stands at five, achieved by players like New Zealand's Neil Wagner (2011), Bangladesh's Al-Amin Hossain (2013), and India's Abhimanyu Mithun (2019). Morgan's remarkable performance highlights the unpredictable and thrilling nature of the sport across all levels.