Gold Coast cricketer Gareth Morgan takes six wickets in an over

A club cricketer has taken six wickets in a mindblowing final over to beat a team needing five runs to win. Read the ball-by-ball of one of the greatest collapses - and hear from first batsman to go.

A week can feel like a very long time, even more so when you are on the wrong end of history in a game of cricket.

But as quickly as Gareth Morgan’s quadruple hattrick made international headlines, Surfers Paradise third grade looked firmly towards the next round and preparing what would be a barrage of comments from Palm Beach.

For Morgan, despite taking 7-16 from his six overs, he did not bowl on Saturday as his side comfortably won putting them equal top.

But for Surfers Paradise, it felt like lightning was close to striking in the same place twice.

A comment made by the Palm Beach cover fielder ‘these boys had a pretty quiet week’ was immediately shut down by the umpire, explaining to the captain to move on from what happened.

Just like the Mudgeeraba game, it went down to the last over, this time Surfers Paradise only had three wickets in hand, not six.

Young Connor Matheson, who like a number of players, put in the extra net session during the week, was on strike.

Needing just seven off the last over, a sense of deja vu hung around the Demons camp as they watched on.

Ball one, he slapped it through cover for two, five to win.

Ball two, no run, five to win.

Ball three, no run, five to win.

Ball four, lofted over the top of cover, deep mid off comes round, two runs, three to win.

Ball five, Matheson went for the slog sweep, not getting it all, but enough to beat the fielder on the fence, four runs, Surfers Paradise win.

It was the first win for the third grade side, which you could feel the sense of relief throughout the camp.

Especially from Luke Denham who top scored with 70 (78) and was run out in the 39th over trying to see the Demons home.

Captain Michael Curtin praised each player for the effort they put in during the week, being able to shut out the noise and just go about playing cricket.

Five runs, six balls, six wickets in hand, Mudgeeraba’s skipper wins the unwinnable game

Move over Glenn Maxwell. Meet the man called Captain Morgan.

Mudgeeraba premier third grade team cricket captain Gareth Morgan has taken six wickets in six balls - all in one over - to dismiss his opponents who were on the cusp of victory.

Surfers Paradise, chasing 179, needed five runs to win off the last over in Saturday’s round six clash with Mudgeeraba, before Captain Morgan stepped up to bowl.

At the start of the over, the umpire told him he’d need to bowl a hat-trick or similar to have any chance of winning. He went three better.

Incredibly, Morgan claimed six wickets in six balls in the final over to get his side over the line as a gutted Surfers Paradise slumped from 174 for four wickets down to 174 all out.

It comes days after Australian one-day hero Glenn ‘Big Show’ Maxwell scored an unbeaten 201 to earn the country an unlikely World Cup win over Aghanistan when Australia had slumped to 91 for seven, chasing 292.

Morgan admitted he took it upon himself to bowl the last over, thinking he would probably have the winning runs hit off his bowling, and it would sit better with him rather than off the younger bowlers of his side.

Mudgeeraba third grade captain Gareth Morgan who took six wickets off the last six balls of the match against Surfers Paradise as they slumped from 174-4 to 174 all out, having needed five runs to win.

“I didn’t want to let the winning runs come off the younger bowlers because they had bowled so well and didn’t want them to be down on themselves for it, if it was to happen,” Morgan said.

“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.

“The opener who was batting really well, he went off ill and then came back in and it just seemed he was going to hit out.

The final over score sheet as Mudgeeraba premier third grade captain Gareth Morgan wreaked havoc with the ball - it details his ball-by-ball six wicket haul from a single over. Picture: Supplied

BALL ONE:

Recounting the first ball of his miracle over, Morgan says: “So I wanted to get him off strike by pushing the field back and get the younger batter on strike but instead he hit the first ball of the over straight down deep mid-wicket's throat.”

BALL TWO:

“It was a similar delivery in the second ball, just kind of stuck in the pitch and was caught at mid on,” Morgan said.

BALL THREE:

“Then the next one was pretty almost identical and got popped up to short mid-wicket with the young guy diving forward to take the catch.

BALL FOUR:

“The next ball, the batter skewed it to point and all the players were jumping around celebrating and I just said to them that we are still one hit away from losing this.

Gareth Morgan in action. He has become one of the few players to score what’s called a quadruple hat-trick, with six wickets in six consecutive balls.

BALL FIVE AND BALL SIX:

“Then not really sure about the next two if they yorked the batters or what but the next two were bowled.

“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.”

Morgan finished with figures of 7-16 from his seven overs.

The win puts Mudgeeraba equal second after the six rounds while Surfers Paradise are still chasing their first win of the season.

I was the first to go in six-ball epic

Gold Coast Bulletin reporter Jake Garland was batting and on 65, with his Surfers Paradise team needing five runs to win and overhaul Mudgreeraba’s 178. He had six balls left to get his team home and was feeling comfortable with six wickets in hand. But then it all went horribly wrong - from his standpoint. Here’s his account of one of the most remarkable cricket collapses of all time.

“In my 20-plus years of playing cricket, I had never seen someone claim six wickets in six balls until Saturday. And I had a front-row view - I was the first to fall.

Gold Coast Bulletin sports journalist Jake Garland was the first batsman to fall in Mudgeeraba captain Gareth Morgan’s remarkable six wicket over. Garland, on 65, at the start of the over with his team needing five runs to overhaul Mudgee’s 178, went out to a catch and watched on incredulous as his team slumped from 174-4 to 174 all out.

Playing for Surfers Paradise we needed five runs to win off the final over against Mudgeeraba in premier third grade, with six wickets in hand. As I prepared to face up for the last over, I checked the field, knowing the bowler was the Mudgeeraba captain Gareth Morgan.

There were plenty of gaps and I had a pretty good feeling.

He walked in, darted one but it was short enough for me to get plenty on it, middling it, flat and looked like it was sailing over the rope for six and the winning runs … for about half a second. It went straight down deep mid-wicket’s throat.

I couldn’t believe it, but I wasn’t too worried, with five wickets left. As I sat down I heard a shout of “catch it” and looked up to see the next batter Connor Matheson had been caught at mid-off.

OK, so four balls, five runs but the skipper is in now, we should be right. I think I jinxed him, as Michael Curtin popped one to short mid-wicket to become the hat-trick wicket.

OK, now we just need a couple of twos and a single to win. Wade McDougall was the next to go, leading edge to point, the Surfers camp in shock of what we were witnessing.

Young Riley Eckersley came to the crease, a lot of weight on this kid’s shoulders, but it wasn’t there for long as the yorker went through him, five wickets in five balls. Surely he couldn’t get six in six I thought to myself.

Young Brodie Phelan walked out to the crease. needing a four to draw, he swung hard at it and from where I was sitting it looked like he had edged it onto the stumps. Six wickets in six balls, we all sort of just looked at each other in disbelief. Gareth Morgan just claimed a quadruple hat-trick. Take a bow Captain Morgan.”

Originally published as Gold Coast cricketer Gareth Morgan takes six wickets in an over