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YORKE FEAT MAKES HEADLINES

South Brisbane fast bowler Rhys Yorke achieved a rarity in the game last weekend that caught the attention of The Courier-Mail's Ben Dorries...

Just like the golfer who spends his life dreaming of hitting a hole-in-one, most cricket bowlers never fulfil their fantasy of taking a hat-trick.

But to achieve the rare feat twice in two days is just about unheard of.

Brisbane recruitment consultant and Souths second-grade paceman Rhys Yorke is living the dream after a remarkable weekend which saw him take three wickets in three balls on Saturday .. and then repeat the dose on Sunday.

Left-armer Yorke, 25, scaled cricket's version of Mount Everest playing for Valleys and then climbed back to the summit the next day on the Sunshine Coast.

''On the first day, I just hit three blokes on the pads in a row and they were all given out lbw,'' Yorke said.

''The good thing was I thought they were all absolutely plumb. We bowled Valleys out for 32 and the other opening bowler took five wickets - but no-one even said hello to him because I had taken a hat-trick.''

Yorke called his Dad Peter on Saturday night to tell him about the hat-trick, but celebrations were put on hold because Souths had to travel to the Sunshine Coast the next day for a one-day semi-final.

And jaws dropped when history repeated.

''My first over on Sunday was terrible, I bowled two wides and I thought it was going to be nothing like the previous day,'' Yorke said.

''Then I got a guy bowled and hit a guy on the toe for an lbw so I had wickets in consecutive balls.

''I went to the top of my mark and just said to myself to just make sure the hat-trick ball was pitched it up.

''It was probably the best ball I have ever bowled, it swung in late and hit the batsman on the pads in front and I didn't really even appeal because I knew it was out.

''I ran out to point like a lunatic and all my teammates piled on top of me on the ground. I felt a bit bad for the Sunshine Coast blokes because they must have thought we were carrying on a bit as they didn't realise what had happened the day before.''

To show how rare the achievement is, only three players have taken two hat-tricks in 2072 Test matches dating back to 1877.

Remarkably, former Australian legspinner Jimmy Matthews took a hat-trick in each innings of a Test against South Africa in 1912.

Yorke has proudly claimed ownership of both hat-trick match balls, and plans to get them mounted, while the scorecard from each game will be framed and take pride of place at home.