T20 Blast 2023 | Twitter lauds evergreen Simon Harmer as he strikes thrice in first three balls to enjoy delightful hat-trick

06/02/2023

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Despite not getting many opportunities at international level, few players create their own legacies by being consistent in domestic competitions. South Africa’s Simon Harmer is one such individual, and on Thursday, he proved his worth yet again while representing Essex at Vitality T20 Blast 2023.

One of the most popular figures on England’s domestic circuit, Essex skipper Simon Harmer made an incredible impact against Sussex at Hove. The 34-year-old returned excellent figures of 4/28 to help his side knock the opposition for 138 in 18.4 overs after asking them to chase 164. Three of his four wickets came inside his opening over, and more importantly, he got rid of all of them on the first three balls of his spell, resulting him in enjoying a wonderful hat-trick.

Known as an off-spinner, Harmer introduced himself to bowl the third over of the innings. Batting on 4 off 4 balls, Tom Alsop, who hit a match-defining half-century against Surrey on Sunday, tried to play Harmer’s first ball over extra cover. However, a thick edge off his bat led the ball to go to Sam Cook, who was placed at the short third. Coming at No. 4, Pakistan’s Shadab Khan was the next man to be dismissed. The star all-rounder hit straight to Feroze Khushi at square leg to endure a golden duck. Harmer completed a sensational hat-trick by trapping Michael Burgess leg-before on the next delivery. With that, he achieved the feat for the first time for his side in T20s since Shaun Tait against Nottinghamshire in 2013. Besides, it was the first time a player took a hat-trick against Sussex since Dimitri Mascarenhas for Hampshire back in 2004.

Having slipped from 15/1 and 15/4 in little time, there was little chance for Essex to pull off a miraculous job. Unsurprisingly, they failed to get past the finishing line, while the Twitterati were in all praise of Harmer, who despite being very consistent over the years, has only made 10 Test appearances thus far.

What a start!

A hat-trick to start your spell! 😱

Simon Harmer, you magnificent man 😍
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast)

Superb

Back-to-back Wins for in . Superb Knock Feroze Khushi 55(38). What a Spell 4/28 and 3/28. Essex won by 25 Runs.
— JaayShaan (VaidhyaJayaShankar) (@JaayShaan)

Legend

Simon Harmer - Build the man a statue in Chelmsford. An Essex legend.
— Shafqat Shabbir (@Chefkat23)

Perfect start

How to start a spell in ⁦⁩ - T20 hat trick Simon Harmer for Essex. ⁦⁩ ⁦⁩ ⁦⁩ ⁦⁩ ⁦⁩ ⁦⁩ ⁦⁦⁩ ⁦⁩
— Joe Gibney (@joegibney15)

LOL

Our bowling fixes everything. Simon Harmer hat-trick, Sussex 15/4.

Gotta stop being so reactionary man 😅
— Bex #DenlyMemeTeam (@Psychadelick69)

3 reds

HAT-TRICK at Hove! Simon Harmer with the three red W’s on the scoreboard. 💃💃💃
— tim (@theseaside100)

Hatty

SIMON HARMER HAS A HATTY
— Rivaan (@rivaanathwal31)

It's rare

ESSEX BLOOD Simon Harmer took a hat-trick off the first three balls of his quota. How many times has this happened before (in T20s, or otherwise)?
— kathan 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 (@spicy_dabeli)

Fantastic