Wickets constitute a double hat-trick: Rules & Examples

A double hat-trick in modern cricket usage means four wickets taken in four consecutive legal deliveries by the same bowler. Some purists argue it should mean six wickets in six consecutive deliveries—two sets of three—though that definition is rare in contemporary commentary. There’s no official “double hat-trick” term in the Laws of Cricket; it’s a colloquial phrase. In this guide, we’ll treat four-in-four as the primary meaning, explain the minority view, and walk through what counts as consecutive deliveries, edge cases, and the most famous examples across formats.

Why this matters: the phrase “double hat-trick” is thrown around endlessly on broadcasts, highlight reels, and social feeds. It earns big headlines whenever someone nails four wickets in four balls, and it triggers perennial debates in fan communities about what really qualifies. If you’re a scorer, a coach, a player, or a fan who cares about accuracy, you need a clear, consistent definition grounded in the Laws and how the game is actually played.

Double Hat-Trick Meaning: Two Competing Definitions

There are two defensible ways to use the term. They come from different instincts—one linguistic and modern, the other mathematical and purist.

Definition table

	Meaning	Why	Example phrasing
Common modern usage	Four wickets in four consecutive legal deliveries by the same bowler.	Broadcasters, journalists, and stats providers treat “double hat-trick” as the step beyond a hat-trick.	“He’s taken four in four—what a double hat-trick!”
Purist or minority view	Six wickets in six consecutive deliveries by the same bowler.	A “double” of a hat-trick—two sets of three—equals six, the argument goes.	“True double? It must be six in six.”

Which should you use? If you want to align with contemporary usage and be understood quickly: four in four. If you’re writing a historical essay on cricket terminology or arguing semantics for the joy of it, you can make a case for six in six—just know it’s not the standard in match coverage or analytics.

Official Status and the Laws: Why None of This Is in the Rulebook

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Laws of Cricket do not define “hat-trick,” “double hat-trick,” or “triple hat-trick.” These are folklore terms—real, powerful, and widely adopted—but not enshrined in the Laws. The Laws do define what is a legal delivery, what is a wicket, and how dismissals are credited. Those are the building blocks.

So a double hat-trick depends on:

• A bowler taking wickets.
• Those wickets occurring on consecutive legal deliveries.
• The match format and innings structure allowing consecutive deliveries to span overs or even innings.
• Dismissals credited to the bowler; not all forms of “out” count toward a bowler’s sequence.

As a coach or match manager, this is how you ensure scorers record it correctly: verify the deliveries were legal, verify each dismissal is credited to the bowler, and check there were no intervening non-legal balls.

What Counts as Consecutive Deliveries?

Cricket’s rhythms are messy—overs end, bowlers switch ends, innings break for intervals. Yet “consecutive deliveries” for a bowler are crisp in law and practice.

• Across overs: Yes. The last ball of one over and the first three balls of the next over are consecutive legal deliveries for that bowler. That’s how many hat-tricks and four-in-fours actually happen—straddling overs increases the odds because captains often give a bowler one more over to chase the sequence.
• Across spells: Yes. “Spell” is a coaching term, not a legal construct. If a bowler ends a spell and later starts another, the deliveries are still consecutive if nobody else bowled in between for that bowler’s sequence and the bowler’s next ball is indeed their next legal delivery. There is no law that says a spell break resets consecutive deliveries.
• Across innings (first-class/multi-innings matches): Yes. A bowler can take a wicket with the last ball of one innings and then, when their side returns to bowl in the next innings, take wickets with their first three legal deliveries. That’s a legitimate hat-trick and, with the right setup, a legitimate four-in-four. Scorebooks document several across-innings hat-tricks; across-innings four-in-fours are rarer but entirely valid.
• Across formats: No, obviously—each match stands alone. It sounds absurd, but it’s worth saying because junior scorers sometimes ask whether a pre-lunch wicket in a two-day format continues the next weekend. Only within the same match, same bowler, next legal ball.

What Does “Legal Delivery” Mean for a Double Hat-Trick?

The phrase “consecutive legal deliveries” bears the full weight of the definition. Make it your mantra. Two categories disrupt the chain: illegal deliveries and non-bowler dismissals.

• No-balls and wides: These are not legal deliveries. If a “wicket” occurs on a no-ball or wide, it does not count toward the bowler’s hat-trick or double hat-trick sequence. More precisely:
  • No-ball: The batter cannot be out caught, bowled, leg before the wicket, or stumped. If a wicket falls, it will be a run-out or some form of obstruction/handling the ball—none of which are credited to the bowler. The ball also does not count as one of the bowler’s “consecutive legal deliveries.”
  • Wide: The ball does not count as a delivery faced. A stumping on a wide does count as a wicket in the scorebook, but not a delivery to the batter, and it’s not credited as a bowler-taking-the-wicket dismissal. It breaks the sequence.
• Run-out, obstructing the field, retired out: These do not count as wickets for the bowler, even though the team loses a wicket. They cannot contribute to a hat-trick or four-in-four.
• Caught, bowled, lbw, hit wicket: These are credited to the bowler. Those count, provided they occur on legal deliveries.

Remember: you’re not counting wickets alone, you’re counting wickets credited to the bowler on consecutive legal deliveries.

Double Hat-Trick vs Four Wickets in an Over

Four wickets in an over is a dazzling line in a bowling analysis, but it’s not automatically a double hat-trick. The sequence matters. Consider two examples:

• Four in an over but not four in four: A bowler takes wickets on balls 1, 3, 5, 6 of the over. That’s four in the over, but because balls 2 and 4 were not wickets, it’s not a double hat-trick.
• Four in four but spread across overs: A bowler ends an over with a wicket and begins the next with three wickets on balls 1, 2, 3. That is a double hat-trick—even though the “over” stat would show three wickets in the second over.

Comparison table

	Definition	Counts as double hat-trick?	Typical headline
Four wickets in an over	Four wickets in any order within the same over.	Only if they are consecutive legal deliveries.	“Bowler takes four in an over!”
Double hat-trick (four in four)	Four wickets in four consecutive legal deliveries.	Could be across overs/spells/innings.	“Four in four—double hat-trick!”

The Decision Tree: If You Mean “Double Hat-Trick,” What Are You Asking For?

• Do you want the commonly accepted meaning used by broadcasters and most statisticians? If yes, you’re after four wickets in four consecutive legal deliveries by the same bowler.
• Are you making a purist argument that a “double” of a hat-trick should be two complete hat-tricks back-to-back? If yes, you’re defining it as six wickets in six consecutive legal deliveries.
• Are you compiling a record list? Use four-in-four as your default list, and add a short note acknowledging the minority view.

The Subtle, Crucial Edge Cases

Every time the internet argues about double hat-tricks, a few tricky edges come up. Here’s how to handle them with confidence.

• Wide or no-ball inside the sequence: Any illegal delivery breaks the chain of consecutive legal deliveries. Even if a wicket falls on that ball via run-out or stumping (wide), it does not count for the bowler, and the sequence cannot be a double hat-trick.
• Free hit: Same principle. Only run-out or the rarer dismissals are possible on a free hit. None count for the bowler. A wicket on a free hit does not progress a hat-trick or four-in-four.
• Retired out between balls: If a batter retires out between the third and fourth wickets, the batting side will lose a wicket on paper, but the bowler has not taken it. It cannot contribute to the sequence.
• Team hat-trick vs bowler hat-trick: A team hat-trick is three wickets in three balls by the fielding side, regardless of the bowler, often through run-outs. It is not a bowler’s hat-trick, and it cannot become a bowler’s double hat-trick.
• Obstructing the field/handling the ball: Extremely rare, but again, not credited to the bowler. It doesn’t count toward the sequence.
• Record-keeping: Scorebooks and digital scorers must mark every ball’s legality, dismissal type, and wicket credit. For a double hat-trick to be certified, you should be able to point to four consecutive balls in the commentary log marked as legal deliveries with wickets credited to the bowler.

How Many Wickets Is a Double Hat-Trick?

In today’s cricket conversation: four wickets. If you hear “double hat-trick cricket” on a broadcast, they mean four in four. A minority of historians and sticklers use six wickets in six balls, but this is not how Stats providers or most commentators present it.

The Psychology and Skill Behind Four Wickets in Four Balls

Spectators experience a double hat-trick as a blur—four flashbulb moments. Inside the rope it’s a chess game moving at the speed of a blink. What makes four in four possible is the collision of three forces: skill sequencing, batter psychology, and fielding alignment.

• Skill sequencing: The best exponents don’t bowl four “miracle” balls; they string together context-appropriate plans. One classic template in T20 and ODI death overs is the “yorker waterfall,” a series of toe-crushers angled at off stump and leg stump, punctuated by a slower-ball trap. Lasith Malinga made this famous: the arm speed stays constant, but the ball arrives later or earlier than the batter expects. The fourth ball is often the slowest—it targets a middle-order batter’s adrenaline rush, baiting the slog.
• Batter psychology: After a hat-trick, new batters walk into a cauldron. The temptation is to survive the hat-trick ball with a dead bat. After that, the fourth ball invites indiscretion: a batter thinks “I can’t be the fourth” and overreaches, or reads slower-ball and plays early. Experienced bowlers read that tension—fear, then impatience—and set fields accordingly.
• Fielding alignment: For four in four, captains must move like lightning. The second and third wickets happen fast. Good captains pre-plan: slip in place for the nibble, short midwicket waiting for the off-cutter, straight long-on for the miscued drive. By the time ball four is in the bowler’s hand, the field is already where the fourth dismissal is most likely.

There is also the hidden variable: tail order exposure. In limited-overs chases, four in four often arrives when a bowling unit has already chipped out top-order batters. You don’t bowl lottery balls; you bring the tail under siege and let the plan do its work.

International Double Hat-Tricks: The Landmark Four-in-Four Feats

In global cricket, four wickets in four balls is headline stuff. Here are confirmed, high-profile instances in international cricket. Note: we’re not listing years; the focus is on format, opponent, and context.

• Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) — ODI vs South Africa
  • Context: One of the most famous four-in-fours ever, executed at the death with a string of yorkers and deceptive pace changes. Sri Lanka still lost, but the sequence has become a cultural touchstone for what “double hat-trick” means in the modern game.
• Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) — T20I vs New Zealand
  • Context: Another four-in-four, this time in the shortest format, folding New Zealand with classic in-ducking yorkers and a slower-ball flourish. This cemented Malinga as the only bowler with multiple international four-in-fours across formats.
• Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) — T20I vs Ireland
  • Context: Rashid ran through the middle order with rapid leg-spin, flipping between legbreak and googly without a tell. His four-in-four included LBWs created by drift and pace, a masterclass in pace-on spin.
• Curtis Campher (Ireland) — T20I vs Netherlands
  • Context: A seam-bowling blueprint: wobble seam, tight off-stump line, pads threatened, edge-inviting length. Campher’s four in four ignited Ireland’s campaign and showcased how disciplined seam can still produce rare feats in T20I.
• Jason Holder (West Indies) — T20I vs England
  • Context: Final over theatre. Holder went fuller length and into-the-wicket alternately, using bounce, the big boundary, and deception to snare four wickets in four balls and close out the series with style.

Tests remain stubbornly immune to four in four. Hat-tricks in Tests themselves are rare; stringing a fourth consecutive wicket into the mix is rarer still. Several bowlers have taken four wickets in five balls in Tests, and across-innings hat-tricks exist, but an official Test four-in-four has eluded the game.

ODI history offers Malinga’s death-overs masterclass as the gold standard. Unlike T20, ODI wickets nine and ten frequently face the music in the final overs, which gives the yorker kings a chance at clusters. Even so, four in four remains scarce.

T20I cricket, with its frantic endgame, has produced multiple four-in-fours. Why? Batters swing harder earlier, lineups carry more all-rounders than pure tail-enders, and captains are aggressive with attacking fields to hunt wickets. That combination creates strings of dismissals when execution is perfect.

Domestic Leagues: IPL, BBL, PSL, CPL, The Hundred

Across domestic T20 leagues, four in four has climbed from novelty to possibility, thanks to rising bowler skill and tactical precision in death overs. The data is scattered across score archives, but a few patterns hold:

• Indian Premier League (IPL)
  • True four-in-fours are exceedingly rare. Hat-tricks we have in abundance; four in an over we’ve seen; but the clean four-in-four remains one of the league’s white whales. Part of the reason: batting depth and flat surfaces reduce clusters. A bowler needs a precise combination of new batter exposure, unplayable execution, and field spot-on from ball one.
• Big Bash League (BBL)
  • Australian conditions, with their extra bounce, create opportunities for sequences when short balls and cutters are mixed in. The BBL’s best fast bowlers have come close with hat-tricks and four-in-an-over bursts. Genuine four-in-fours have surfaced in domestic T20 in Australia, particularly when teams chase par with too much ground to cover and panic amplifies mistakes.
• Pakistan Super League (PSL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), The Hundred
  • These tournaments have produced breathtaking hat-tricks and four-in-overs. Four-in-fours have occurred in top-tier domestic T20; they are more likely on surfaces where cutters and skidders grip, or when early swing is pronounced under lights. As databases improve, lists of verified league four-in-fours continue to grow, typically tucked inside match reports rather than big record pages.

Because tournament databases and broadcast phrasing vary, the authoritative way to compile league four-in-fours is to search ball-by-ball commentary for four consecutive wicket annotations attributed to the same bowler and marked as legal deliveries. Scorecards alone won’t guarantee the sequence detail.

First-Class Cricket: Cross-Innings Sequences and Craft

The first-class game is where across-innings sequences come alive. Long spells, new-ball potency at both ends of an innings, and the structural break between innings mean bowlers can trap a tailend at the close and then return with the new ball to finish the set.

• Across-innings hat-tricks are documented in national competitions and the County Championship. Bowling coaches drill this scenario: finish the day with the old ball nibble; then come back fresh with the new ball aimed at the stumps. Crafty seamers go full and straight first ball after the break, hunting for LBW against a cold batter.
• Four in four across innings is theoretically possible and has been reported in domestic scorebooks. The validation standard is the same: four consecutive legal deliveries, wickets credited to the bowler, spanning the boundary between innings.

Note on six in six: At the top professional level—international and first-class—there are no widely recognized instances of six wickets in six balls in the same match. At club level, a handful of extraordinary feats have been reported. If you’re a purist arguing for “six in six” as the true double hat-trick, recognize that it’s a unicorn in elite cricket.

Tactics: How Bowlers Actually Build Four in Four

Theory without craft is just good copy. Here’s how bowlers and captains build a double hat-trick in the real world.

• Sequencing the deck: Start with a high-probability wicket ball. That could be a yorker on off stump to a set batter, or a chest-high cross-seamer to a new batter who hasn’t sighted pace. Then change pace or length. By the third ball, you’ve shown two different tempos; by the fourth, you return to your best delivery.
• Line choices: Right-arm pace to right-hand batter: fourth-stump zone to set a thin slip; then bring it in at the toes. To left-handers, many aim at the base of middle and leg to bring LBW and bowled into play while tucking the batter up so the leading edge flies to midwicket.
• Field touchpoints: Slip or wide slip for the first two balls if there’s lateral movement. Then, for the fourth ball, pull slip out to a catching midwicket if you’re about to go cross-seam into the rib cage. The very best captains make the change before the batter realizes what’s coming.
• Death bowling rhythm: The ideal pattern is fast, fast, slow, fast. Or fast, slow, fast, fast, depending on batter intent. The one rule is never throw the same speed twice unless conditions demand it. If your action is repeatable, the deception is lethal.
• Spin playbook: Legspinners love this party. Go legbreak, googly, flipper, then legbreak again with a pace bump. Every ball looks the same out of the hand. If the pitch is even just a touch tacky, batters commit early and die by inches.
• Emotional control: Bowlers who’ve walked into a hat-trick ball know the crowd noise swallows your thoughts. The fourth ball is louder. The trick is defaulting to your highest-percentage delivery rather than the cinematic one. It’s hard. That’s why four in four is precious.

Famous Four-in-Four Sequences: Match Snapshots

Without drowning in scorecard minutiae, it helps to feel these moments.

• Malinga’s ODI thunderbolt against South Africa
  Death overs. White ball scuffed enough to grip. A set batter and tailenders. Malinga’s arm whips through at the same speed on every ball. The first yorker detonates middle stump. The next traps a batter playing across the line. The third is a fraction slower; the bat comes down early and the poles light up. The fourth is an uncompromising rocket at leg stump. The double hat-trick lands. The ground knows it witnessed something no coaching manual can promise, only hint at.
• Rashid Khan’s T20I pedal-to-the-metal
  Ireland try to nudge and nurdle, but Rashid’s pace puts them off balance. First comes a googly that sneaks behind the pad. Then a quicker legbreak that keeps straight. The third, flatter and aiming at middle, traps a batter on the crease. The fourth, a perfect mirage, looks the same and dips later. Four in four, nothing fluky. Just unrelenting tempo.
• Campher’s seam clinic
  ball one: nips in late, LBW. ball two: same line, batter plays for the nip and edges to slip. ball three: straightens off the seam, pad before bat again. ball four: full and straight, stump cartwheeling. It’s not raw pace. It’s discipline that feels like destiny.
• Holder’s series-clinching burst
  England need miracles. Holder hits the white ball into the pitch; the first catch spirals to the deep. Next, he goes fuller, outside-off, thick edge—gone. Third ball, deception in pace as bat swings early. Fourth ball, full and straight, desperation slog finds the safe hands. Series in a bowler’s palm.

Four-in-Four Across Overs and Innings: How the Mechanics Work

This is where scorers, captains, and bowlers earn their keep—understanding how sequences land across breaks.

• Across overs
  A bowler takes a wicket to end over N. The captain gives him over N+1 after a fielding shuffle. The first ball of the new over goes full and straight—LBW. Second ball, square leg moves finer, anticipating the miscued sweep—taken. Third ball, slip creeps in—edge, gone. That’s four in four, spread across two overs. There is no requirement that all four balls live within one over.
• Across innings (first-class)
  Imagine the last ball of an innings: the tailender nicks to slip. The captain takes note and plans for the next innings start: same bowler, same end if the wind suits. New innings, first ball: pads hit, LBW given. Second ball: full again, inside edge onto pad, bat-pad catch. Third ball: perfect outswinger to a new batter, kissed to the keeper. If the previous innings ended with a wicket by the same bowler, that’s four in four across innings. Perfectly legal, perfectly rare.

Triple Hat-Trick Meaning in Cricket: Clearing the Fog

“Triple hat-trick” is used two very different ways in cricket talk.

• Some use “triple hat-trick” to describe four wickets in four balls. It’s common in casual speech, especially where “double hat-trick” isn’t part of the local lexicon.
• Others reserve “triple hat-trick” for six wickets in six balls, aligning with the purist math. It’s tidy—one hat-trick is three, double is six, triple would be nine—but nobody is advocating for nine!

Given the confusion, stick to “four in four” or “six in six” if you want to be unambiguous. Those phrases also win in search—people type “four wickets in four balls” when they want clarity.

What a Double Hat-Trick Is Not

Let’s remove a few common misreads:

• Not “four wickets in an over” unless they’re consecutive legal deliveries.
• Not “three wickets plus a run-out” in four balls.
• Not “hat-trick plus a wicket off a wide.” The wide breaks the chain.
• Not “two wickets at the end of the innings and two at the start of the next” unless the same bowler delivered the final ball and then resumed.

A Ready-Reference FAQ on Double Hat-Tricks

Is a double hat-trick four or six wickets?

In most modern coverage: four wickets in four consecutive legal deliveries. A minority of purists argue for six wickets in six balls, but that’s not the prevailing usage in broadcasts or stats.

Can a double hat-trick happen across two overs?

Yes. Consecutive legal deliveries for the same bowler can span overs. Last ball of one over and first three balls of the next over is a valid four-in-four.

Can a double hat-trick happen across two innings?

In first-class cricket, yes. If a bowler takes a wicket with the last ball of one innings and then three wickets with their first three legal deliveries in the next innings, that’s four in four.

Does four wickets in an over equal a double hat-trick?

Not by itself. Only if those four wickets came in four consecutive legal deliveries.

Do run-outs or stumpings on wides count toward a double hat-trick?

No. A run-out is not credited to the bowler. A stumping off a wide is a legal dismissal but not a legal delivery faced and not credited as a wicket to the bowler. Neither counts in the bowler’s sequence.

Has anyone taken six wickets in six balls at top level?

Not in widely recognized international or first-class records. There are club-level anecdotes. The six-in-six “true double hat-trick” remains a purist ideal more than a professional reality.

What is a team hat-trick?

Three wickets in three balls by the fielding side, regardless of the bowler. A team hat-trick can include run-outs and stumpings. It is distinct from a bowler’s hat-trick or double hat-trick.

Can a free hit be part of a double hat-trick?

No. On a free hit, only dismissals not credited to the bowler—like run-out—are possible. Those don’t count toward the sequence.

Why Broadcasters and Analysts Prefer “Four in Four”

Clarity wins. The audience immediately grasps “four wickets in four balls,” and the phrase maps neatly onto ball-by-ball commentary. It also reflects how score engines record the event: W W W W in the log for the same bowler on consecutive legal deliveries. “Double hat-trick” remains a great headline hook, but when you need to be exact, use “four in four.”

Famous Near-Misses: Four in Five, Three in Four and the Agony of Almost

If you talk to bowlers long enough, you’ll hear more near-misses than completions. The fourth ball goes fine past leg stump for two. A batter plays across the line and the appeal looks plumb, but it’s umpire’s call brushing leg. In Tests, pace bowlers often take four in five balls when early swing gives them shape and luck. In T20, three wickets in four deliveries are almost routine compared with four in four—a misfield or a single down to third man denies the perfect sequence.

Those almosts matter. They shape how captains think about fields on ball four and why bowlers sometimes overcomplicate the last delivery. If there’s a coaching lesson, it’s this: bowl your best fourth ball, not your cleverest one.

How Records Are Compiled: A Note for Stat Hunters

If you’re building or verifying a list of four-in-fours, you need two things: ball-by-ball commentary and wicket credit. Scorecards alone seldom specify adjacency and legality. For accuracy:

• Confirm each of the four wickets appears on consecutive legal deliveries.
• Confirm the dismissal type—caught, bowled, lbw, hit wicket—and that each is credited to the bowler.
• For across-overs and across-innings sequences, check the overlap carefully.
• Be cautious with media summaries; match reports often conflate “four wickets rapidly” with “four in four.”

When in doubt, go to the commentary log. That’s the official backbone.

All-Format List: Verified International Four-in-Fours (Selected, Non-Exhaustive)

The following captures the most cited and verified four-in-fours at international level. The list is curated for accuracy rather than volume.

• ODI
  • Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) vs South Africa
• T20I
  • Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) vs New Zealand
  • Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) vs Ireland
  • Curtis Campher (Ireland) vs Netherlands
  • Jason Holder (West Indies) vs England

A Note on ODI “Four in an Over” vs “Four in Four”
Chaminda Vaas famously took a hat-trick with the first three balls of an ODI and finished the over with four wickets total in that first over. The fourth wicket in that over, however, did not come immediately after the third—so it was four in the over, not four in four. This distinction is precisely why the double hat-trick definition requires consecutive legal deliveries.

How Captains Prepare for the Possibility

Double hat-tricks cannot be planned like a set-piece, but captains can stack the deck.

• Pre-brief on ball four moves: Before the over starts, agree on what the field will be if two wickets fall quickly. This avoids time lost and tells the bowler where to aim.
• Keep an attacking slip fielder one ball longer than usual: The third and fourth balls are the moments where a pressured batter fishes outside off. Reward the edge.
• Protect straight hits late: Most fourth deliveries in T20 are bowled full. Keep long-on and long-off patrolling to encourage the mis-hit rather than the clean drive.
• Use the surprise bouncer sparingly: It’s tempting to bounce the fourth ball. If the surface is two-paced, it’s a great choice. If it’s skiddy, you may gift a top edge that falls short. Know your pitch.
• Get the keeper mindset right: Standing up to medium pace for the fourth ball can turn singles into stumpings. Only do this if the bowler’s control is elite; otherwise you risk wides and a broken sequence.

Why Four in Four Feels Different Than a Hat-Trick

A hat-trick is mythic. Four in four borders on surreal because it confirms the bowler is dictating time. Batters adjust after one dismissal. After two, they fight panic. After three, they enter a tunnel where every sound sharpens and motor skills wobble. The fourth wicket confirms what the crowd suspects: the bowler is calling every shot.

From a numbers perspective, the probability curve is brutal. Even a dominant bowler’s chance of taking a wicket on any given ball in T20 is small; multiplying that probability by itself four times plunges you into long-tail outcomes. That’s why we talk about these moments for years afterward and why they anchor highlight reels and brand packages for entire leagues.

Six in Six: The Purist’s Dream and Its Place in the Conversation

If you want to argue that a “double” of a hat-trick must be six wickets in six balls, you’re working inside a tidy mathematical frame. You also inherit two problems:

• Records don’t support it yet at elite level. It’s more ghost than stat.
• Broadcasters and score engines won’t adopt it because they need a term for four in four, which happens just enough to matter.

A productive compromise for writers and analysts is to acknowledge both: “double hat-trick (commonly four in four; some use six in six).” When you need to be crystal clear in a caption, write “four wickets in four balls” and everybody goes home happy.

Geo Variants and Phrasing

Expect to see double hat-trick, double hat trick, and double hattrick in social and even in headlines. UK, Australian, and South Asian outlets tend to prefer the hyphen. Score services vary. The meaning stays put.

Concluding Thoughts: The Cleanest Answer, the Fullest Picture

• What wickets constitute a double hat-trick? Four wickets, in four consecutive legal deliveries, by the same bowler.
• Is there another definition? Yes, a minority view insists on six wickets in six consecutive deliveries. It’s elegant but uncommon in modern usage.
• What must be true? The dismissals are credited to the bowler. The balls are legal. The sequence can span overs, spells, or even innings in first-class cricket.
• What is it not? Not four in an over unless they are consecutive, not run-outs or wides in the chain, not interrupted by a no-ball.
• Where should you look for examples? The international stage has several, notably those by Lasith Malinga, Rashid Khan, Curtis Campher, and Jason Holder. Domestic leagues add to the story, especially in T20 where pace variation and aggressive fields create the conditions for bursts.

In a sport that worships rhythm and timing, the double hat-trick is a rebellion against probability and a celebration of control. Four perfect—or perfectly mischievous—deliveries, one after another. There’s no law for it, just a law of awe: when it happens, everyone in the ground knows they’ve seen something more than skill. They’ve seen a bowler bend the game to their will.