It’s pretty common to see bowlers taking ten-wicket hauls in Test cricket. But a bowler getting a hat-trick is a once-in-a-while moment.
Now there are a number of bowlers who have bagged a ten-for and hat-trick in their careers. But only a handful of them went a step ahead, adding a Test hundred to their name while displaying their handy batting skills.
So here is the list of players with a century, ten-for, and hat-trick in Test cricket.
1. Johnny Briggs | England
Johnny Briggs was the first-ever player to achieve the treble of a century, ten-for, and hat-trick in Test cricket. The Englishman smashed his only Test century in only his second match. Briggs scored 121 runs, including 15 boundaries, against Australia in 1885 at the MCG.
The next year, Australia toured England, and in the second match, Briggs bagged the first of his four ten-wicket match hauls at the Lord’s. He picked up five wickets in the first innings and added another six in the second innings to end up with match figures of 11 for 74.
Briggs completed the treble in 1892, when he bagged his Test hat-trick. The left-arm spinner dismissed Jack Blackham, Sydney Callaway, and Harry Moses to end Australia’s second innings on 391 runs. Briggs retired from the format in 1899, with 815 runs and 118 runs in 33 matches.
2. Wasim Akram | Pakistan
A century later, Wasim Akram joined Briggs on this elite list. The former Pakistani pacer made his Test debut in 1985, and in his second match, he bagged his first ten-for against New Zealand. He returned with innings figures of five for 56 and five for 72.
Five years later, Akram wielded his willow to raise his maiden Test century against Australia. He accumulated 123 runs while batting at No. 7 in the second innings, helping Pakistan set a target of 304 runs, though the match ended in a draw.
The left-arm quick bowler logged his first hat-trick in 1999 against Sri Lanka in the Asian Test Championship. He dismissed Romesh Kaluwitharana on 100 and clean-bowled Niroshan Bandaratilleke and Pramodya Wickramasinghe on the subsequent balls.
A few days later, Akram picked up his second hat-trick against the same opposition, helping Pakistan win the Asian Test Championship final. Overall, he bagged 414 wickets, including 5 ten-fors, and scored 2898 runs, including three hundreds.
3. Harbhajan Singh | India
Harbhajan Singh went a notch higher than the above two players, taking his first ten-wicket haul and hat-trick in the same Test match. He achieved this unique feat in the iconic 2001 Kolkata Test against Australia.
In the first innings, the off-spinner got Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, and Shane Warne out on three consecutive balls, contributing to his seven wickets. He then picked up another six scalps to end up with 13 for 196, helping India script a massive comeback.
Nine years down the line, Harbhajan proved his handyness with the bat when the top-order batters failed to put up a fight. He scored a brilliant 115-run knock against New Zealand in the 2010 Ahmedabad Test. The legendary spinner went on to hammer his second Test hundred in the next match, this time an unbeaten 111.
Harbhajan had a glorious Test career for India, taking 417 wickets, including 5 ten-fors, and scoring 2224 runs in 103 matches.
4. Irfan Pathan | India
Irfan Pathan had a pretty short Test career, but he showcased his usefulness with the bat and ball. He became the second Indian to complete the triple of a century, ten-for, and hat-trick in Test cricket.
Pathan grabbed his first ten-wicket haul on the 2004 Bangladesh tour. He tore through the host’s batting lineup, netting five and six wickets, respectively, in the Dhaka Test.
In early 2006, Pathan made waves with his hat-trick against Pakistan in the Karachi match. What’s special about his hat-trick is he dismissed Pakistan’s three batters in a row in the first over of the Test. The left-arm pacer sent back Salman Butt on the fourth ball, followed by Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf on the next two deliveries.
The next year, the all-rounder displayed his batting abilities against the same opposition in Bengaluru. Pathan amassed 102 while batting at No. 8, helping India score 626 in the first innings. The match, though, finished with a draw.
Pathan’s career lasted for 29 matches, which saw him score 1105 runs and take 100 wickets, including two ten-wicket hauls.
5. Stuart Broad | England
Stuart Broad completed the treble within a span of two years. After making his Test debut in 2007, the England bowler smashed his maiden hundred in 2010, proving his more than enough batting might. Broad scored a magnificent 169 against Pakistan at the iconic Lord’s, pulling the team out of a terrible situation.
The next year, he added the first of his two Test hat-tricks to his name. He scalped MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, and Praveen Kumar on three back-to-back balls in the 2011 Nottingham Test. Broad added another hat-trick three summers later against Sri Lanka.
His wait to bag a ten-for finally ended in May 2012, as the right-arm seamer started the summer with seven wickets. Broad then added four more wickets against the West Indies, making him the fourth player to have a century, fifer, and ten-wicket haul at the Lord’s in Tests.
Broad hung his boots in 2023, drawing curtains on his 167-match career, taking 607 wickets, including 3 ten-fors, and scoring 3662 runs.
6. Moeen Ali | England
The second England on this list, Moeen Ali, was a brilliant all-rounder. He made his Test debut in 2014, and in his second game, he blasted an unbeaten hundred.
Ali raised his maiden century in a losing cause against Sri Lanka as he stood alone on 108 while chasing a target of 350.
Fast forward to four years, and the off-spinner bagged his only Test ten-for against South Africa in the 2017 Lord’s Test. Ali took four scalps in the first innings before getting six in the second to end up with match figures of ten for 112.
In the third match of the same series, Ali grabbed a hat-trick at the Oval. He dismissed Dean Elgar, Kagiso Rabada, and Morne Morkel to set up a 239-run victory for England. What’s interesting about this hat-trick is Ben Stokes took catches of the above three batters.
Ali also retired from Tests, along with Broad, amassing 3094 runs, including five centuries, and picking up 204 scalps.
7. Gus Atkinson | England
Ever since Gus Atkinson made his Test debut in July 2024, he has been registering record after record. He kicked off his red-ball career with a ten-wicket haul against the West Indies at the Lord’s. The pacer skittled seven of their batters in the first innings before dismissing five more in the second to round up with 12 for 106.
A month later, Atkinson returned to the Lord’s against Sri Lanka and smashed his maiden Test ton. He scored 118 off 115 balls in the first innings to help England reach 427, becoming the sixth player with a fifer, ten-for, and century at the Lord’s.
Playing in his only 10th Test, the right-arm fast bowler racked up a hat-trick against New Zealand in December. Atkinson got better of Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, and Tim Southee in his ninth over, wrapping up the Kiwis for 125. England won the Wellington Test by a massive 323 runs.
Atkinson took the fewest matches among the players on this list to record this unique treble.
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