A stunning cricketing miracle unfolded in the serene settings of the Gold Coast Premier League Division Three. Gareth Morgan, the captain of Mudgeeraba, pulled off the most unlikely of heists by taking six wickets in six balls.
During the match, Surfers Paradise, chasing 179, entered the final over needing a mere five runs to win. Jake Garland, a local sports reporter, was unbeaten on 65 not out.
However, Morgan altered the course of the game by dismissing Garland with the first ball of the final over. The chaos quickly ensued as batsmen No 7 to 11 succumbed to golden ducks, leading to Mudgeeraba’s victory by just four runs.
Reflecting on the event, Morgan shared, “It is funny, the umpire said to me at the start of the over that I needed to take a hat-trick or something to win the game. When it happened, he just sort of looked at me.”
Though Garland took it in stride, stating, “I mean all you can really do now is laugh about it. Always wanted to be part of history with sport somehow, didn’t think it would be for this reason.”
The Bowler’s Remarkable Achievement
Morgan had also achieved a similar feat as a youngster, according to his father. “A proud father here,” wrote Huw Morgan on Facebook. “Gareth won’t tell you, but as a young bloke, he once took five wickets in an over! He didn’t get six, because there was only five wickets left at the start of the over.”
Furthermore, Morgan revealed that he had so little hope of winning that he only bowled to spare a young player the indignity of having the opposing team hit the winning runs off him. “I didn’t want to let the winning runs come off the younger bowlers because they had bowled so well and I didn’t want them to be down on themselves for it, if it was to happen,” Morgan explained. “I knew I had a few overs spare up my sleeve, so I decided to bowl from that end and give one of our young quicks the other end.”
It was noted that while no bowler has ever captured six wickets in a single first-class over, New Zealand’s Neil Wagner did take five in an over for Otago in 2011.
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