England hat-trick hero Chris Jordan enjoyed a “special” day with his family

June 24, 2024

Chris Jordan had a “special” day as his history-making hat-trick took England into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in front of his loved ones.

Jordan put in a remarkable performance as England comfortably moved into the semi-finals with an impressive 10-wicket win over the underdog United States. The paceman ended the USA’s innings with four wickets in five balls, including Ali Khan, Nosthush Kenjige and Saurabh Netravalkar with consecutive tosses.

England’s first hat-trick in a men’s T20 tournament would have been a memorable moment at any time, but the fact that Jordan scored it in Barbados, where he was born and raised before emigrating to his adopted homeland to pursue a career, gave it extra significance.

When England began their title defence at Kensington Oval earlier this month, pupils from his old school were given a day off to cheer on their predecessor, and this time the stands were packed with Jordan’s friends and family.

“It was a good day. To score a hat-trick in the place where I was born and played so much cricket was special,” he said.

“My family don’t get the chance to travel around the world and watch me play international cricket, so to do this in front of them and in a World Cup match and make sure we qualify is the biggest thing.

“It was my mum, my dad, my sister, my brother-in-law, my nephew, the list goes on. My nephew is the one who called me this morning and said, ‘Make sure you take three wickets today’. I looked up and he jumped up at the end. One day he could do the same.”

It was a good day. To score a hat-trick in the place where I was born and played so much cricket was special.

Chris Jordan

Jordan and England were head and shoulders above their associated opponents as the co-hosts failed to put up a serious challenge in their final appearance of a landmark tournament.

The US batters barely managed to get past Adil Rashid, who took two for 13 in four overs and then watched their bowling attack dismantled by Jos Buttler.

The England captain hit seven sixes in a devastating 83 runs off 38 balls and completed a chase of 116 runs in just 9.4 overs to ensure that his team’s qualification could not be jeopardised by fluctuations in the net run rate.

For a team that nearly went out in the first round of the tournament when a torrential downpour ruined their decisive match against Namibia, and that suffered defeat against South Africa just 48 hours ago, there was a sense of palpable freedom in England’s play.

Jordan admitted that the narrow defeat was not without consequences and that they may want to use that attitude as they move into the knockout stages next week.

“When we left England a few weeks ago, we wanted to defend our title,” he said.

“There were a few obstacles along the way, but you could call them good obstacles because they narrowed our focus and made our direction really clear. You can see that in the way we’re playing now.

“There is calm in our dressing room. The situations we have found ourselves in to increase our run rates and dominate games have given us a clear direction.

“Whoever we play in the semi-finals, we have to pull ourselves together and keep going. There is still a lot of cricket to be played.”