Curtis Campher, the South Africa born Ireland cricketer who picked up a rare double hat-trick against the Netherlands in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 opened about his achievement in the post-match press conference.
Asked about his feelings after becoming only the second bowler after Brett Lee to achieve a hat-trick in a T20 World Cup game, Campher said, "To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about it. Maybe it will set in a little bit later, but I'm just trying to do what I want to do.”
Camphor not only took a hat-trick but repeated something that has been achieved by only two bowlers in the past, that too, by legends of T20 cricket, Lasith Malinga and Rashid Khan. Taking four wickets in four balls is no mean feat at all, but Campher is just happy to be playing, after a career-threatening injury he overcame last August.
Talking about the hat-trick, in which he scalped the first wicket by sheer luck, when Coil Ackermann edged a ball back to the keeper which was going down the leg side, Camphor said, “When Tendo (Ryan Ten Doeschate, the second wicket) walked in we knew we had to go straight to him and that worked and then just carried on to [Scott] Edwards too.”
“Both those [attacking the stumps] were plans worked out from the analyst and that kind of fit into my game, so maybe in a few hours or a few days, it might rub off. But to be honest, I'm just happy with the win and that's all that matters,” added the 22-year-old.
Delivering a hat-trick ball has never been easy and therefore it was obvious that a young man like Campher must have been under a lot of doubts while doing that. "My heart was racing quite high, but I just took a few deep breaths at the top of my run and just tried to make sure I manage my skills," he said.
After a great win against the Netherlands, the chances of Ireland making it to the Super 12 have increased and they will next play Sri Lanka on Wednesday, October 20.