London: Sussex paceman Henry Crocombe achieved an extraordinary milestone in English cricket's First Division County Championship on Thursday, bagging his second hat-trick in a span of just eight days during a dramatic Essex batting collapse at Chelmsford.

Prior to last week, the 24-year-old England prospect had never recorded a senior hat-trick. He broke that mold by wiping out Somerset's tail at Hove, and then remarkably replicated the rare career achievement against Essex on day two of their four-day clash.

Crocombe turned the match on its head, triggering a collapse that saw the hosts slide from a solid 171-3 to 177 all out. His dominant spell saw him claim five wickets in the space of just 14 runless deliveries, finishing with impressive figures of 5-39 from 9.5 overs.

The blitz began when he trapped top-scorer Charlie Allison lbw for 56. The highlight came in his ninth over, where Crocombe pinned South Africa Test spinner Simon Harmer and Zaman Akhter lbw off consecutive balls, before clean bowling Dutch international Shane Snater through his leg stump to secure the hat-trick. He later wrapped up the innings—and his five-wicket haul—by bowling last man Jamie Porter, handing Essex their fourth duck of the innings.

By the close of play, Sussex had built their second-innings score to 90-4, extending their overall lead to 188 runs. (AFP)