Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index In sports, a hat-trick is associated with achieving something in a group of three. In soccer and hockey (both field hockey and ice hockey), a hat-trick is when a player scores three goals in a single game. In cricket, a hat-trick is when a bowler dismisses three batsmen with consecutive deliveries (which may, however, be interrupted by an over bowled from the other end of the pitch). Only wickets attributed to a bowler count, i.e. run outss would not contribute to a hat-trick. It is generally agreed that the term was originally used in cricket, and was connected with the custom of giving a hat or cap to a bowler who achieved this feat. It may be connected with the concept of giving someone their "cap", i.e. acknowledging them as a regular member of a representative team. Possibly the most famous soccer hat-trick of all time was by Geoff Hurst when he scored 3 times for England in the 4-2 defeat of West Germany in the Football World Cup Final of 1966. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.