Mighty Moeen's amazing hat-trick feat

Moeen Ali became just the 13th England cricketer to take a Test-match hat-trick when he ended the third Test against South Africa with three wickets in as many balls at The Oval on Monday.

The Worcestershire off-spinner's treble saw him snare Dean Elgar and Kagiso Rabada with the aid of two slip catches by Ben Stokes at the end of his 16th over, before he had Morne Morkel lbw on review with the first ball of his next.

Report, highlights: Hat-trick seals England win

Morkel's dismissal ended the match after lunch on the fifth day, with England winning by 239 runs to go 2-1 up in this four-Test series.

It was the first time in nearly 60 years that a Test had ended with a hat-trick. The last such occassion was Australia spinner Lindsay Kline, who took the final three wickets of a 1958-59 Test against South Africa. Before that, Australia off-spinner Hugh Trumble did it against England at Melbourne in 1902. 

Ali's hat-trick was also the first in The Oval's 100-Test history – which dates back to 1880 – and the first by an England spinner since Tom Goddard's against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1938.

Image Id: B2070010823F4FA4A915ED6B4AD50BE6 Image Caption: Tom Goddard, the last England spinner to take a Test hat-trick, in 1938 // Getty

There have been a total of 43 Test hat-tricks, but Moeen's was the first to include three left-handed batsmen.

Incredibly, two other England bowlers were on hat-tricks in the innings Moeen completed his milestone.

Stokes took wickets in consecutive balls on the fourth afternoon when he bowled Quinton de Kock and then trapped Protea captain Faf du Plessis in front.

And on the fifth morning, Test debutant Toby Roland-Jones came within a whisker of joining Damien Fleming in the Test hat-tricks on debutant club. Temba Bavuma was found to be out leg before after a review by England, and Vernon Philander inexplicably offered no shot to the next delivery. Chris Morris edged the hat-trick attempt, but the catch fell just short of the slips cordon.

The spate of ducks left South Africa carrying yet another unwanted record: the four first-ball dismissals they suffered in their second innings at The Oval was the first time in the history of 2,266 Test matches that had happened.

In all there have been 14 England Test hat-tricks, with paceman Stuart Broad – a current team-mate of Ali – having twice performed the feat.

Broad has actually been involved in three Test hat-tricks. He was the third wicket to fall in Peter Siddle's Ashes hat-trick at the Gabba in 2010 – famously coming on the bowler's birthday.

The previous Test hat-trick before Moeen's exploits was Rangana Herath's three consecutive wickets against Australia in Galle last August.

England Test hat-tricks

1882-83 Billy Bates v Australia at the MCG

1891-92 Johnny Briggs v Australia at the SCG

1896 George Lohmann v South Africa at Port Elizabeth

1899 Jack Hearne v Australia at Headingley

1929-30 Maurice Allom v New Zealand at Christchurch

1938-39 Tom Goddard v South Africa at Johannesburg

1957 Peter Loader v West Indies at Headingley

1995 Dominic Cork v West Indies at Old Trafford

Image Id: B0C612B5A45B4EEAB38AAF03C08E5D62 Image Caption: Dominic Cork celebrates bowling Richie Richardson en route to a hat-trick // Getty

1999 Darren Gough v Australia at the SCG

2003-04 Matthew Hoggard v West Indies at Barbados

2007-08 Ryan Sidebottom v New Zealand at Hamilton

2011 Stuart Broad v India at Trent Bridge

2014 Stuart Broad v Sri Lanka at Headingley

2017 Moeen Ali v South Africa at The Oval

Match-ending Test hat-tricks

1896 George Lohmann England v South Africa at Port Elizabeth

1902 Hugh Trumble Australia v England at the MCG

1958-59 Lindsay Kline Australia v South Africa at Cape Town

2017 Moeen Ali England v South Africa at The Oval