After his maiden hat trick for the 2nd XI against Woodford Green on 12th June (in which he claimed 4 wickets in 6 deliveries and career-best figures of 6 for 26) Ricki Ellis was selected for the Belhus CC 1st XI match against Old Brentwoods on 19th June.
And, remarkably, 18 years old Ricki performed the feat yet again when he finished off the OBs innings by clean-bowling his final, hat trick victim to claim 5 wickets for just 4 runs from 4.3 overs.
Only 16 other bowlers have taken hat tricks for the club in senior matches over the past 50 years, but Ricki’s marvellous effort was the first occasion of a Belhus bowler taking hat tricks in successive league matches. Only other bowlers have taken two hat tricks – Jim Robertson and Bob Garner.
The key to his medium pace success is clearly his accuracy. Of his 11 victims in the two matches away from home, 7 were clean-bowled, 1 was lbw and 3 were caught (2 by the ‘keeper). In these two memorable league matches his bowling figures read:
16.3 Overs – 11 Wickets – 30 Runs – Average 2.72
