Wickets constitute a double hat-trick: Definition & Rules

The stadium drops an octave when a bowler takes two in two. A third wicket brings a roar that feels like a pressure wave. And then there’s that rarest hush before the fourth ball, when everyone realizes what might be happening. Four wickets in four balls. In mainstream usage, that’s a double hat-trick. It’s not just a stat-line. It’s the game bending under the will of one bowler for the span of four deliveries, geometry and guile overcoming rhythm and reason.

I’ve been around dressing rooms where teams tried to laugh off the tension after three in three. You can’t. You feel it in the collective exhale between deliveries, the fielders inching in, the keeper’s gloves twitching above the stumps. The bowling captain is already calculating fields for the fourth ball, trying not to overthink it, trying not to under-attack. It’s the purest cocktail of skill and nerve.

This guide is designed to clear up every layer of confusion around what constitutes a double hat-trick in cricket. We’ll define it cleanly, settle the “4 in 4” vs “6 in 6” debate, explain exactly which dismissals count and which don’t, walk through how the sequence can span overs and even innings, and then look at verified examples in international cricket and the franchise circuits. Along the way, we’ll talk tactics, scorer conventions, and just how vanishingly rare the feat is.

Definition: What is a Double Hat-Trick in Cricket?

Short, snippet-ready answer:

In mainstream cricket usage, a double hat-trick means four wickets in four consecutive deliveries by the same bowler. Only wickets credited to the bowler count—bowled, caught, lbw, stumped, and hit wicket. Run-outs and other non-bowler dismissals don’t count. The sequence can span overs and, in the same match, even span innings, so long as they are the bowler’s next four deliveries. Some purists prefer to reserve “double hat-trick” for six wickets in six balls; in common usage, though, double hat-trick equals 4 in 4.

The language of the game evolves by how players, commentators, and fans talk about it. “Double hat-trick” is overwhelmingly used to mean a four-in-four, particularly in broadcasts and scorecards. If you say “six in six,” people will understand—and it’s a magnificent trick to pull off—but the shared vernacular of modern cricket points squarely at four wickets in four balls.

Which Dismissals Count (and Which Don’t)

The rule of thumb: if the bowler gets credit for the wicket in the scorebook, it can count toward a hat-trick or a double hat-trick. If they don’t, it doesn’t.

What counts toward a double hat-trick:

• Bowled: Stumps shattered, no argument.
• Caught: Anywhere, by anyone—slip, gully, boundary, keeper—as long as it’s off the bowler’s delivery.
• LBW: Given out leg before, recorded to the bowler.
• Stumped: Keeper whips off the bails; dismissal is credited to the bowler. This includes stumping off a wide.
• Hit wicket: Batter dislodges the bails after the ball is delivered; credited to the bowler.

What does not count:

• Run-out: At either end. Even a non-striker run-out (including a run-out at the bowler’s end) is not credited as a wicket to the bowler, so it cannot form part of the sequence.
• Obstructing the field: Rare, but not credited to the bowler.
• Retired out, retired hurt: Not credited to the bowler.
• Timed out: Not credited to the bowler.
• Hit the ball twice: Rare and not credited to the bowler.
• Handling the ball: Now folded into obstructing the field; in any case, not credited to the bowler.

Because the recording convention is the bedrock, the simplest way to remember: a double hat-trick is a chain of four bowling dismissals with no non-bowler dismissal in between.

Table: Dismissals and whether they count

Dismissal Type	Counts?
Bowled	Yes
Caught	Yes
LBW	Yes
Stumped (including off a wide)	Yes
Hit wicket	Yes
Run-out (striker or non-striker)	No
Obstructing the field	No
Timed out	No
Retired out/hurt	No
Hit the ball twice	No

Consecutive Deliveries, Across Overs and Innings

“Consecutive deliveries” from the same bowler is the core of the definition. The four balls do not have to be in the same over or even the same innings, as long as they are the bowler’s next deliveries in the match.

• Across overs: Entirely valid. Two wickets to finish an over and the next two balls at the start of the next over are four in four. Scorers list it as one continuous sequence of four consecutive balls by that bowler with wickets recorded on each delivery.
• Across innings: Also valid. This is rare but possible. Imagine a bowler finishes an innings with two wickets in two balls, then when they bowl in the next innings of the same match, they take wickets with their first two deliveries. That’s four in four. The key: it must be the same match, the same bowler, and no intervening deliveries by that bowler on which no wicket fell.
• Across spells: Fine. A spell break doesn’t matter. If the last ball of a spell takes a wicket and the next spell starts with three more wicket balls for that bowler, it still adds up to four in four.
• Across ends: Also fine. Bowlers can switch ends in a new over or a new innings. It doesn’t affect the consecutive-delivery chain.
• Across matches: No. The sequence must occur within the same match.

Wides, No-Balls, and Free Hits: Do They Break the Chain?

This is where myths thrive. Let’s cut through them with specifics.

• No-ball: If a wicket falls on a no-ball, it’s not a valid wicket for the bowler. The dismissal doesn’t count toward the sequence, and because a delivery has been bowled without a wicket being credited, the chain is broken. Next ball would start a new sequence from scratch.
• Free hit: The laws restrict which dismissals are possible. On a free hit, a batter cannot be out bowled, lbw, or caught off the bat. You can still have a run-out or obstructing the field, but neither dismissal credits the wicket to the bowler. Therefore, a wicket on a free hit cannot help a double hat-trick. If a free hit occurs during your run of wickets, the chain will pause and likely end, unless nothing happens and you continue after the free hit with wickets on subsequent legal balls. But the ball itself cannot supply a bowler-credited wicket.
• Wide: A wide delivery is not a legal ball for the count of the over, but a stumping off a wide is a valid dismissal that is credited to the bowler. In practice, statisticians treat that as part of the sequence because a wicket has fallen directly from the bowler’s delivery, even if the ball is recorded as a wide. So a stumping off a wide can be the second, third, or fourth wicket in the chain.
• Wides or no-balls with no wicket: If you send down a wide or a no-ball and no wicket falls, a delivery has occurred without a bowler-credited dismissal; the sequence is broken.
• Dead ball: If the umpire calls dead ball, nothing that followed counts. There’s no delivery, hence nothing to add to or break a sequence.

Short version: Only bowler-credited wickets maintain the chain; any delivery by that bowler that does not produce a bowler-credited wicket breaks it. A stumping off a wide counts because the wicket is credited to the bowler. A wicket on a no-ball does not count and breaks the sequence. A free hit cannot contribute to the chain.

Double Hat-Trick vs Hat-Trick: The Clean Difference

• Hat-trick: Three wickets in three consecutive deliveries by the same bowler.
• Double hat-trick (mainstream usage): Four wickets in four consecutive deliveries by the same bowler.
• Back-to-back hat-tricks: Two separate hat-tricks by the same bowler in the same match. This is different from a double hat-trick. Back-to-back hat-tricks may or may not be consecutive; often they are separated by a ball or over.

The “Six in Six” Debate

A strand of purist argument says a double hat-trick should mean two complete hat-tricks, i.e., six wickets in six balls. The case for that reading is tidy: double three is six. The counterpoint, and the reason “double hat-trick” in cricketing vernacular equals four in four, is that the sport organically framed “three-in-three” as a hat-trick and “four-in-four” as the even rarer upgraded version. No one says “triple hat-trick” when a bowler takes five in five; they say “five in five.” And when four wickets fall in consecutive balls, commentators instinctively use “double hat-trick.”

To keep readers unconfused and search-friendly: if you say double hat-trick in cricket today, most people mean four wickets in four balls. If you mean six in six, say six in six.

Examples of Four Wickets in Four Balls (Double Hat-Trick) in International Cricket

International ODIs

• Lasith Malinga’s 4 in 4 against South Africa: The iconic example in the fifty-over game. Slingy speed, ruthless yorkers, and a spectator base that suddenly forgot to breathe. It came late in a chase and turned a settled finish into a nerve-shredding finale. The sequence demonstrates the classic one-two of Malinga’s method: reverse swing at pace into the base of the stumps, followed by a surprise full toss or a searing in-dipper. There’s a reason bowlers still study those four balls in coaching sessions.

International T20Is

• Lasith Malinga’s 4 in 4 against New Zealand: Proof that the man’s blueprint translates across formats. He set batters up with the fuller length, then tuned the seam and angle to make the ball do just enough. In T20, the fielders are often set in the ring with a mix of catching options—slip rarely, but a 45, a short midwicket, and a leg gully occasionally for a right-hander under pressure. Malinga exploited panic and ambition in equal measure.
• Curtis Campher’s four-in-four for Ireland: A young seamer turned a global T20 event on its head, ripping through the Netherlands with a spell that mixed length discipline with movement off the seam. It was a case study in how four-in-four can happen without raw pace: line, movement, and keeping the stumps in play.

Other Internationals

Four-in-four remains rare enough that you can list the international instances on a short roll call. Expeditions into cricket’s archives show scattered occurrences across formats, but even at international scale, very few bowlers have ever achieved it.

Domestic and Franchise Cricket

Domestic circuits—first-class and T20 leagues—have seen their share of four-in-four bursts, often buried deep in scorebooks and local memory. You’ll find instances in first-class cricket where a seamer exploited a green seam early or a leg-spinner ran through the tail on a wearing surface. In the franchise world, the cauldron of T20 has produced a handful of four-in-four sequences, each met with the kind of collective delirium only night cricket under floodlights can summon. These instances remain in the single digits across all major leagues combined, a reminder of how much has to align.

A Case Study Look: How Four-in-Four Actually Unfolds

The standard coaching cliché is that a hat-trick requires three perfect balls. The reality is subtler: it requires three balls that ask different questions in a coherent plan. Stretch that to four, and the planning becomes even more precise.

The Malinga blueprint

• Ball one: Point-of-origin deception. The slinging action hides the ball behind the hip; the yorker target is the base of middle and leg. If reverse is on, it’s tailing in at the last moment.
• Ball two: Same trajectory, tiny change in line. The batter is now thinking “toe-crusher,” looking to jam the bat down. Present them with a shin-high full toss shaping in: lbw or bowled are in play.
• Ball three: Change of seam position and angle on the crease. The batter, on a hat-trick ball, is tempted to make space for the inside-out shot. A straighter full ball that dips late attacks pads or the base of off stump.
• Ball four: You’re now fighting adrenaline. The best fourth ball is often the simplest: a yorker at middle stump. If the batter premeditates a scoop or shuffle, you still have stumps and pads in play.

The Campher template

• Ball one: Top of off length with nibble. Encourage the bat to come half-forward; seam movement squares up the batter for a catch behind.
• Ball two: Slightly fuller, targeting the wobble. Late seam makes the edge inevitable; slip or keeper.
• Ball three: Commit to hitting the stumps. A straight ball after two edges often finds pads in front. LBW works if length and angle are right.
• Ball four: Do not get cute. Make the batter play. The worst thing on a fourth ball is a giveaway wide. The best thing is a repeatable length that keeps stumps in play.

When a spinner hunts four in four

The leg-spinner’s path often runs through drift and dip: start on a good length outside off, draw a drive, and offer a bat-pad or slip catch. On the second delivery, add side-spin for more turn; third, go straighter with the slider for LBW; fourth, use pace variation to defeat a sweep for a bowled or a top edge. Stumping can appear anywhere in the chain; remember, it counts and is credited to the bowler even off a wide.

How Rare Is a Double Hat-Trick? A Reality Check with Numbers

A rough probabilistic way to feel the rarity:

• Let p be the probability of a wicket per ball for a given bowler. In T20 cricket, a very effective bowler might average a wicket every 20 balls, so p ≈ 0.05. In ODI or Test cricket, the per-ball wicket probability can be lower on average, but collapses and tail-end phases can temporarily spike it.
• The probability of four wickets in four successive balls is p⁴. With p = 0.05, p⁴ = 0.05⁴ ≈ 6.25 in a million. That’s per set of four consecutive deliveries by that bowler.
• Across a long T20 career where a bowler delivers, say, a few thousand balls, the expected number of four-in-four clusters is still a fraction. Conditions, batters’ intent, match situation, and nerves all matter. Statistical independence is also a simplification; one wicket can change p for the next ball because the new batter is under pressure, the tail might be exposed, or the captain sets catching fields. In certain tail-end meltdown moments, the effective p for consecutive balls can leap significantly. That small window of higher p is usually what births a four-in-four.
• In Tests, the per-ball wicket probability in a typical middle-session grind can be around 0.02 or less, making p⁴ minuscule. In trickier phases—new ball bursts, under-lights evening sessions, or on raging turners—the local p climbs, but four-in-four stays nearly mythical.

In short: a double hat-trick is a cold statistical long shot that becomes feasible when you mix sudden favorable conditions, perfect execution, and batter panic. That’s why the crowd’s noise on the third and fourth balls punches holes in the night.

Double Hat-Trick Rules Explained: Edge Cases and Clarifications

Can a double hat-trick include a stumping off a wide? Yes. The wicket is credited to the bowler, and it counts toward the sequence. Despite the wide not counting as a legal ball in the over, the wicket is recorded off that delivery and keeps the chain intact.

Can a double hat-trick span two overs? Yes. Consecutive deliveries by the same bowler are all that matter.

Can it span two innings of the same match? Yes. Hat-tricks across innings have long been recognized. The same principle applies to four-in-four.

What about a wicket on a no-ball? A wicket cannot be credited off a no-ball; that delivery breaks the sequence.

Does a run-out at any point interrupt the sequence? Yes. If a delivery occurs without a bowler-credited wicket, the sequence is broken. A run-out is not credited to the bowler.

What if there’s an appeal turned down, then overturned on review? The final decision governs the record. If the third ball is initially not out LBW and is later given out on review, that ball counts as part of the sequence.

Can a “Mankad” (run-out at the non-striker’s end) be part of a double hat-trick? No. It’s recorded as a run-out, not credited to the bowler.

If a batter retires out between balls, does it affect the chain? No. Retirement is not a delivery or a wicket credited to the bowler; it doesn’t add to or break the sequence. The next bowler’s delivery must still produce a bowler-credited wicket to continue the chain.

Can a dead ball during the sequence erase a wicket? If umpires call dead ball and then a wicket falls, that wicket does not stand. Nothing happened for the record, so the previous state of the chain remains.

Does a dropped catch off the third ball break the chain? Yes. A delivery has occurred without a wicket credited to the bowler.

Style, Strategy, and Psychology: How Bowlers Hunt Four in Four

Field settings

• After the second wicket, captains typically bring in at least one more catcher: a leg slip for the seamer when the ball is tailing in, or a short midwicket for the mis-timed flick. For spinners, a short leg and slip pair is common, with a square leg for the top edge on sweep.
• Don’t empty the boundaries. The fourth ball often tempts a desperate release shot. One rider on the rope at cow corner or long-on can snag a miscued heave without undermining the catching cordon.
• The keeper’s position matters. Keepers inch up a touch earlier for spinners on a potential stumping; they also remind the bowler to keep the ball on the stumps to bring LBW and bowled into play.

Ball-by-ball plans

• Delivery one: Attack the stumps. If the batter is set, a more conservative line can start the build-up. But for tail-enders, aim straight away.
• Delivery two: Small change, not big. Too drastic a variation risks a freebie. The move from yorker to full length, or from wobble seam to scrambled seam, is more than enough.
• Delivery three (the hat-trick ball): Overthink at your peril. Bowlers are taught to trust their best ball. In T20, that’s the yorker or the dipping slower ball. In seam-friendly conditions, it’s the top-of-off length.
• Delivery four: Keep it on the stumps. The temptation to search for the miracle ball is strong. The best fourth ball is repeatable and wicket-heavy: yorker, off-cutter on a good length, slider for a leg-spinner.

What the batter is thinking

After two wickets, batters often default to an early movement—either premeditated charge to smother a length or deep-in-the-crease to counter the yorker. Bowlers who pick up that early movement win the moment: a straighter ball traps the shuffle; a bouncer counters the charge; a slower ball defeats a backswing preloaded for pace.

The non-striker plays a role. Good teams use those ten seconds to whisper: “He’s going yorker; stay legside; watch the slower ball.” The best bowlers sense and counter those whispers.

How Scorers Record a Double Hat-Trick (and How It Appears in the Book)

• Ball-by-ball feed: It reads W, W, W, W across the bowler’s columns with no intervening delivery for which no wicket is credited to the bowler. If a wide stumping sits inside the chain, the ball is recorded as Wide + Stumped, and the wicket credit still appears under the bowler.
• Hat-trick overlap: The second through fourth wickets include a hat-trick on balls two to four. That’s why broadcast graphics often read “Hat-trick AND 4 in 4.” The bowler is credited with both the hat-trick and the four-in-four.
• Across overs: If the chain spans overs, the book shows two wickets at the end of one over and two at the start of the next, with the line drawn for the over split. The continuity is the bowler’s personal ball sequence.
• Across innings: The book will note the wickets at the end of one innings and the start of the next. It’s rare, but the notation makes it crystal: consecutive deliveries by the same bowler in the match.

Double Hat-Trick in Test Cricket, ODI, and T20I

Double hat-trick in Test cricket

Test cricket has produced legendary hat-tricks, some even across innings. Four wickets in four consecutive deliveries at Test level is so rare that it sits in the realm of pub-trivia hypotheticals rather than common memory. Scorebooks over the eras record clusters of four wickets in five balls or bursts with a dot ball in between. The four-in-four at Test level remains a near-myth, a reflection of the format’s rhythms and the higher likelihood of defensive play.

Double hat-trick in ODI

The fifty-over format has just enough chaos late in innings to make four-in-four possible: set batters chasing a score, tail exposed at the death, swing and reverse late with a hard ball. Lasith Malinga’s late-over assassination of South Africa remains the ODI touchstone—a masterclass in death bowling, angles, and nerve management. When bowlers discuss the “possibility space” for a double hat-trick in ODI, they point to the last five overs with a slightly scuffed ball that can still tail.

Double hat-trick in T20I

T20I is the natural habitat for the modern four-in-four. Batters swing hard from ball one, captains keep catchers lurking in the ring, and pace-off variations or point-perfect yorkers can collect a conga line of wickets. Malinga’s annihilation of New Zealand and Curtis Campher’s seam-movement blitz on a global stage are canonical. The trick in T20 is to understand that each subsequent wicket inflates the next wicket’s probability by forcing a less experienced batter into a high-risk scenario against fields set for catching rather than saving runs.

Four Wickets in Four Balls in Leagues: IPL, BBL, PSL, CPL, The Hundred

• IPL: The tournament has seen multiple hat-tricks, often by wily leg-spinners and death-bowling specialists, but four-in-four has been elusive. The combination of elite batting depth and conservative fields after two in two makes completion of the fourth wicket unlikely. Bowlers come close with three in three plus a near miss; the fourth ball finds the inside edge for four, a toe-jammed survival, or a streaky single.
• BBL: Australian T20 tends to be yorker-friendly, and domestic decks can offer either skiddy pace or grip for cutters. That mix has produced some devastating short bursts with clusters of wickets across overs. Four-in-four has appeared in domestic records and remains near-mythic at full franchise scale—talked about, replayed, and held up as the quintessential “blink and everything changed” moment.
• PSL: With its conveyor belt of fast bowlers, the PSL often packages two-in-two in the powerplay and three-in-three at the death. Four-in-four sits at the edge of possibility, more likely at the back end with tailenders under lights and reverse a factor.
• CPL and The Hundred: Both competitions are made for chaos: variety attacks, heavy spin usage, and aggressive batting strategies. The Hundred’s sets and tactical timeouts add nuance, but the principle is the same. A side chasing steeply can go bang-bang-bang and still try the fourth shot, which is where a smart bowler earns a place in highlight reels.

Rules in One Glance: Double Hat-Trick Checklist

• Same bowler
• Four consecutive deliveries in the same match
• Each of the four dismissals is credited to the bowler
• Can span overs and innings
• Wickets off no-balls do not count
• Stumping off a wide counts and maintains the chain
• Run-outs and other non-bowler dismissals do not count
• Free-hit cannot produce a bowler-credited wicket, so it cannot supply part of the chain

Difference Between “Four-in-Four” and “Double Hat-Trick” Wording

• Four-in-four cricket: Purely descriptive and unambiguous—four wickets in four balls.
• Double hat-trick cricket: The conventional colloquial label for four-in-four.
• Six wickets in six balls double hat-trick debate: A naming preference held by some; practically, almost all modern usage equates double hat-trick with four-in-four.

Tactical Deep Dive: Setting Up Four in Four in Real Time

For pacers

• Phase: Death overs are fertile. It’s where yorkers, low full tosses, and surprise bouncers force rapid decisions.
• Grip: Mixed-seam and wobble-seam balls can produce late deviation even on flat decks.
• Angles: Over and around the wicket changes the way the ball attacks pads. A right-armer going around to a right-hander to push lbw or bowled is a classic fourth-ball play when a batter shuffles leg side.
• Pace variation: The fourth ball slower-ball yorker is lethal. Batters pre-swing for pace, lose their base, and play across the line.

For spinners

• Field: Two catchers in front of the wicket—short leg and silly midwicket—plus a slip. One boundary rider placed for the slog-sweep mishit.
• Sequence: Leggie template is big leg-break, bigger leg-break, slider, then googly; or invert it against a left-hander. Offspinner template often ends with a quicker arm-ball on off stump after two balls of drift.
• Tempo: Keep over-rate brisk to compress batter’s thinking time. Spinners who slow down on the fourth ball can end up telegraphing a big variation.

Wicketkeeping and small edges

• The keeper’s energy fuels the infield. Sharp footwork, loud but precise cues, and an alert stance for stumping add real wicket percentage on balls two and three—opening the door for ball four.
• Mid-pitch chats matter. Good keepers tell bowlers what the batter did on the previous ball: early press forward, bat face closed, shuffle across. Those micro reads shape the fourth ball.

Verified Mini-Profiles: Three Double Hat-Trick Moments Worth Rewatching

• Lasith Malinga vs South Africa (ODI): A death-over kaleidoscope of inswinging yorkers and the blunt fact that batters, however set, are human in the face of perfect execution. The sequence remains one of ODI cricket’s most shocking pivots from comfort to chaos.
• Lasith Malinga vs New Zealand (T20I): Same bowler, different format, same fundamentals. The charisma of the spell lies in how predictable the plan was and how unstoppable it felt anyway.
• Curtis Campher vs Netherlands (T20I): A gripping passage of disciplined seam bowling that proves pace is optional when you control the channel and insist on the stumps. Each ball asked a slightly different question; all were answered with a wicket.

Common Misconceptions About Double Hat-Tricks

• “A run-out can be one of the four.” No. It breaks the chain because the wicket is not credited to the bowler.
• “It must be in one over.” No. It can span overs and even innings.
• “A stumping off a wide doesn’t count.” It does. The wicket is credited to the bowler and is recorded in the chain.
• “Only pace bowlers can do it.” Spinners have authored some of the game’s most lethal short bursts. Stumpings and bat-pad catches are realistic tools in a spinner’s four-in-four.
• “Six in six is the real double hat-trick.” It’s a valid preference in terminology, but in practice and common usage, double hat-trick equals four wickets in four balls.

The Anatomy of a Scorecard Moment: Why Four-in-Four Feels Different

• Momentum swing: Three in three can still be a narrow window—top edge, lbw on umpire’s call, a self-destructing batter. The fourth dismissal confirms the spell’s legitimacy. It’s the difference between a freakish flash and a harnessed plan.
• Fielders’ memory: Ask any short leg who has crouched for a fourth ball during a hat-trick. The heartbeat in the helmet is an actual thing. Concentration sharpens because four-in-four stories last in dressing rooms for seasons.
• Captaincy credit: The best captains know not to clutter the fourth ball with too many theories. They back the bowler’s best ball with the right catchers.
• Batter psychology: New or nervous batters inherit a crisis. When three wickets have fallen, the survival instinct is loud. The hallmark of a batter who ruins the four-in-four is often minimalism: small movements, bat straight, head still.

League and Format Notes: Where Double Hat-Tricks Are Most Likely

• Tests: New ball spells and last-wickets phases offer the highest chance, but overall likelihood is low because batters can shut the game down and because defensive fields often prevail after two wickets.
• ODIs: Death overs and early new-ball spells are the hotspots. Tail-end exposure at one end is a classic four-in-four incubator.
• T20Is and leagues: Powerplay with two catchers and aggressive shots can produce quick clusters, but the most frequent incubator is the back end when batters must swing and bowlers can aim straight.
• Franchise constraints: Timeouts and match-up-driven bowling changes sometimes prevent the same bowler from delivering the immediately next ball of their potential sequence, especially in The Hundred’s set structure. Captains sophisticated in matchup tactics must also be brave enough to let the bowler chase history.

The Language of It: Hat-trick vs hattrick, double hat-trick vs double hattrick

Cricket tolerates spelling variants in informal usage. “Hat-trick” and “hattrick” both appear across media. “Double hat-trick” and “double hattrick” are used interchangeably. Search engines and score portals index both, but traditional scorebooks and governing body documents tend to use “hat-trick.” The meaning stays the same: in modern cricket parlance, double hat-trick equals four wickets in four balls.

Quick Reference: Four-in-Four Rules Table

Rule	Requirement/Status
Same bowler?	Required
Same match?	Required
Consecutive deliveries?	Required
Can span overs?	Yes
Can span innings?	Yes
Bowler-credited dismissals only?	Yes
Stumping off wide counts?	Yes
Wicket off no-ball?	No
Run-out included?	No
Free hit can contribute?	No

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a run-out count in a hat-trick or double hat-trick?
No. Run-outs are not credited to the bowler and cannot form part of a hat-trick or double hat-trick. They also break the consecutive-delivery chain if they occur as the only event on a ball.

Which dismissals count toward a double hat-trick?
Bowled, caught, lbw, stumped, and hit wicket. Each is credited to the bowler. Stumping off a wide also counts.

Is a double hat-trick 4 wickets in 4 balls or 6 wickets in 6 balls?
Mainstream usage: 4 wickets in 4 consecutive deliveries by the same bowler. Some purists use six in six for “double,” but four-in-four is the accepted meaning in commentary, scorecards, and most cricket media.

Can a double hat-trick span two overs?
Yes. If the same bowler ends one over with wickets and starts the next over with wickets, those are consecutive deliveries for that bowler.

Can you get a double hat-trick across innings?
Yes, within the same match. A bowler can finish one innings with wickets and begin the next innings with wickets to complete four in four.

Do wides or no-balls break a double hat-trick?
– No-ball: A wicket cannot be credited off a no-ball; that delivery breaks the sequence.
– Wide: A stumping off a wide counts and keeps the chain intact. But a wide without a bowler-credited wicket breaks the chain.

Is stumping counted in a hat-trick or double hat-trick?
Yes. Stumping is credited to the bowler and counts, including when the stumping occurs off a wide.

Can a wicket on a free hit be part of a double hat-trick?
No. On a free hit, dismissals that credit the bowler—bowled, lbw, caught—are not possible. Any wicket that can occur (like a run-out) does not credit the bowler and cannot count toward the sequence.

How rare is a double hat-trick in cricket?
Extremely rare. Even with an optimistic wicket-per-ball probability in T20 of around five percent, the chance of four consecutive wickets is measured in a handful per million sequences. It requires skill, planning, favorable conditions, and a touch of chaos.

Who has taken four wickets in four balls in international cricket?
Confirmed examples include Lasith Malinga in both ODI and T20I, and Curtis Campher in a global T20 event. International instances are few, and each is widely documented in match reports and highlights.

What’s the difference between “four-in-four” and “double hat-trick”?
They’re the same in mainstream usage. “Four-in-four” is the clear descriptive phrase; “double hat-trick” is the colloquial label.

Can two bowlers share a double hat-trick across overs?
No. The sequence must be by the same bowler on four consecutive deliveries they bowl.

If there’s a dropped catch on the third ball and a run-out, does the sequence survive?
No. A ball occurred without a bowler-credited wicket. The chain ends.

Does a hit wicket count?
Yes. It’s credited to the bowler and can be part of the four.

The Cultural Weight of a Double Hat-Trick

Cricket lionizes rhythm—the rising hum of a spell or the steady thrum of a partnership. A double hat-trick ruptures rhythm on the spot. You can watch an entire match hinge in under a minute. For teammates, it feels like a lifting tide. For opponents, it’s vertigo. Think of the fourth ball’s quiet—not silence, but the kind of compressed sound that lives between hope and fear.

That’s why four-in-four is retold with reverence. Hat-tricks are rare and wonderful; double hat-tricks enter the game’s storytelling canon. Coaches replay those sequences to teach targeting the stumps, captains use them to model field aggression, and young bowlers learn that perfect plans can be executed under the most intense pressure if the basics are sound.

Conclusion: The Clean Definition, The Living Drama

What constitutes a double hat-trick in cricket? Four wickets in four consecutive deliveries by the same bowler, all dismissals credited to that bowler, with the sequence allowed to span overs and even innings within the same match. Run-outs and no-balls don’t help you; stumpings do—even off wides. The feat is rare because it demands not just skill, but courage to keep attacking when the heart rate spikes and the ground thrums beneath your boots.

Whether you call it four-in-four or double hat-trick, it distills the essence of bowling: a plan unfolding in increments that are measured in yards and heartbeats. Anyone who has stood at mid-off during those four balls knows. The air is dense. The fielders breathe in sync. The bowler walks back a few extra steps, then starts the run-up. History compresses to the length of the pitch. And somewhere between seam position and landing spot, cricket reveals just how much drama can live inside a handful of deliveries.