No player had taken a hat-trick and scored a century in the same match in the 53-year history of the South Island primary school tournament before yesterday.
But Beckham changed that when he completed both feats to help Dunedin Metro record a first-innings win against Otago Country at Tonga Park. Tournament co-ordinator Mike Hart said six players had taken a hat-trick and scored a century in the same tournament in the past, but Beckham was the first to do it in a single match.
The Taieri cricketer's hat-trick was in the 13th over of Otago Country's first innings, and played a big part in restricting Country to a total of just 60.
‘‘The first one was lbw, the second was clean bowled and the third one was a left-hander. I came around the wicket and it popped up to gully and Cam [Elliott] took a great catch,'' the right-arm seamer said.
It left him with figures of three for 8 from eight overs. He then opened the innings for his side and struck an unbeaten 101 from 116 balls, an innings that included 10 boundaries.
While he had never taken a hat-trick before, the century was his second. Dunedin Metro scored 151 for four from 38 overs, but the visitors denied Dunedin Metro maximum points by battling through to 47 for five at stumps.
