Sydney grade cricketer achieves rare feat
Northern Districts teenager Braden Cheng is the toast of the Sydney Grade cricket scene this week after taking an unbelievable six wickets in seven balls during his fifth grade side's clash with Easts last Saturday.
Bowling his fifth over, and with the opposition just one wicket down, Cheng changed the course of the contest in the space of one remarkable over.
"My outswinger hadn't been working so I thought I'd try the inswinger," the 19-year-old told cricket.com.au. "The first one hooped in late and bowled him, so I tried it again, he left it and was plumb lbw."
On a hat-trick for the first time in his life, Cheng went with what he knew was working.
"I just thought if I put it in the right spot, I was a chance of another wicket," he said. "And he left it, it swung in, and bowled him."
Hat-trick complete, the next batsman managed to escape danger by French-cutting a single, but Cheng still had two balls remaining in his over. The result? Two more wickets, bowled and lbw.
"I couldn't believe it," laughed the teen, who had at that point taken a solid - but far from spectacular - 10 wickets from five games through the season.
"It was like a dream. I had to think if it was really happening."
The rout ended with the first ball of Cheng's next over - a sixth wicket in seven balls, completing a second hat-trick for the innings.
He finished with 6-33, and a fair claim to be elevated to fourth grade this weekend.
Cheng, who is of Malaysian descent, has been playing cricket "ever since Dad gave me a bat when I was three or four".
"Then I played Milo Cricket when I was five or six and just carried on from there."
See the full scorecard from Cheng's amazing feat here.
The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Cricket Australia