Sonny Baker has become the fourth bowler to take a hat-trick in The Hundred. He joins Sam Curran (Oval Invincibles vs. London Spirit, 2024), Tymal Mills (Southern Brave vs. Welsh Fire, 2023), and Imran Tahir (Birmingham Phoenix vs. Welsh Fire, 2021) on this list. Just two days before this performance, Sonny Baker received his maiden senior England call-up for the white-ball series against South Africa and Ireland.
Sonny Baker had previously represented England Lions, most notably during their 2024-25 tour of Australia, where he claimed figures of 4-43, 1-28, and 3-60 across three matches.
Defending 171-3, the Originals bowled out the Superchargers for 114. Pacer Josh Tongue provided the hosts with their first two breakthroughs, dismissing Zak Crawley (16) and Michael Pepper (0). Superchargers captain Harry Brook (11) and Dan Lawrence (1) then fell in the space of two balls to Rachin Ravindra and Noor Ahmad, respectively, leaving the visitors struggling at 42-4 after 31 balls.
Sonny Baker then took charge, claiming his first wicket by removing Dawid Malan (19 off 14 balls) off the 50th delivery. He later returned to take the final two wickets – Tom Lawes (4) and Jacob Duffy (0) – to complete his hat-trick.
Sonny Baker finished with figures of 3-21 (with three balls remaining in his quota), while Tongue, who also dismissed David Miller in addition to the openers, matched his figures with 3-21 in his full quota of overs. While much is spoken about this English fast ball sensation ,we will have a deeper dive into what makes Sonny Baker an exciting upcoming prospect for England.
The rapid rise of Sonny Baker: England’s potent fast bowling weapon
When Sonny Baker was handed an England development contract after impressing for England Lions at the back-end of this winter, it came across as another punt taken on an up-and-coming young quick. Now, with whispers of a fast-track Ashes selection starting to grow in number, he’s been selected in England’s ODI squad to face South Africa next month, and his trajectory has stepped up a gear.
Taking a chance on Baker earlier this year felt like one of the bigger shows of faith this England management has taken with young players, albeit a month after handing Jacob Bethell – who has now been named as stand-in England T20I captain – a Test debut batting at No.3, before he had a first-class century to his name.
Baker, for context, made his first-class debut on that Lions tour of Australia and had played a handful of List A games in 2021 and 2022, as well as three Hundred games. Every other player who, at that time, had an ECB development contract had already made their international debut.
Nevertheless, a five-for against a Cricket Australia XI, as well as 3-60 against Australia A were enough to put Baker among their number. In reality, it wasn’t those numbers that mattered. Baker is quick, and has been clocked well above 90mph. While he’s not consistently in that express bracket and usually sits in the late eighties, he visibly hurries batters even when operating at those speeds.
Perhaps another point of difference behind Baker’s fast-track is his meticulous approach to his bowling development. He carries a notebook with him to training sessions and keeps an Excel spreadsheet tracking his workloads. While recovering from injury last year, he used his county teammates’ contacts network to make phone calls to Brett Lee and Shaun Tait and talk about bowling quick.
When he played his first matches for Hampshire earlier this summer, who he joined at the end of last season, why that faith had been shown was on display for all to see. He made headlines by dismissing Jonny Bairstow twice on Championship debut, and outshone other more experienced campaigners at The Oval the following week. There, it wasn’t just Baker’s pace, but the accuracy of his yorkers and hard graft for the five wickets he took, continuously mixing his lengths to create chances, which turned heads.
There were murmurings after his early season success that, with several premier quicks out injured, Baker could be in line for a call-up against India, or perhaps more realistically, against Zimbabwe. In reality, India was a series too soon. There were too many unknowns and inconsistencies to justify that level of acceleration on Baker’s England career.
A match against Durham in the early Championship showed that, where he conceded figures of 0-103 in 20 overs and a beamer slipped out late in the day. His speeds were also up and down, as you would expect from a young bowler in their first full season of red-ball cricket.
However, as the season has gone on, his upward curve has steepened. He took a second five-for with the Kookaburra ball in the final match of the Championship before its mid-summer break, taking wickets in bursts of speed crucially with an older ball. But, getting on TV in The Hundred and bowling an exhilarating 10 balls to David Warner, which produced five dots first up in the high eighties on the speed gun, saw him gain significant backing.
That’s the golden question asked of every fast-bowler shooting up the pecking order the summer before an Ashes. What difference could they make in Australia to possibly avoid the nightmares of previous winters? Could those in the upper speed brackets be that difference to make Australia batters hop about, rattled as so many England batters have previously been peppered Down Under? But, in Baker’s case, there might be more to that question than desperation to avoid those familiar torments.
For one, he shone with the Kookaburra ball in the Championship, and it was his performance in Australia which saw him earn a development contract in the first place. Second, his skiddy style of late eighties pace perhaps suits current Australia pitches better than quicks who have been prioritised in the past. Equally, England may look to take an expanded pool of quicks this time around, to mitigate injuries and spread the workload of a long tour.
England skipper Harry Brook has heaped praise on Sonny Baker, as the pacer is likely to make his ODI debut against South Africa. Sonny Baker received a call-up to England’s squad for the three ODI matches against South Africa.
Harry Brook supports Sonny Baker’s inclusion in the England ODI Squad for SA series 2025
England’s white-ball captain Harry Brook has lauded young fast bowler Sonny Baker for his ability to test top players, take wickets in heaps and pick hat-tricks, as he looks primed to get an international cricket debut against South Africa.
Sonny Baker, 22, earned a maiden ODI call-up for England’s home series against South Africa, scheduled to be held for September 2, 4 and 7 respectively. His selection comes on the back of an eye-catching campaign in The Hundred, where he claimed a hat-trick for Manchester Originals against Brook’s Northern Superchargers.
Sonny Baker removed Dawid Malan with a well-disguised slower ball before striking twice at the death, thus adding to an impressive season that has already seen him dismiss England’s senior batters Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, and trouble accomplished Australia batters David Warner and Steve Smith. Speaking about his inclusion in the squad, Brook said that he is bowling at a high pace and has impressed against the bigwigs in international cricket.
“There is obviously a reason why we have picked him. He is bowling at high pace, has got skill and has really impressed against some of the international players – Kane Williamson, Warner, Smith, Bairstow,” said Brook, as quoted by Sky Sports.
The skipper further praised him by saying he has the ability to strike wickets, and that is what England’s management is looking forward to with a future perspective.
“He has put them under pressure in the powerplay, and that is something we are looking forward to watching in the future. He has the ability to get wickets and take hat-tricks,” he said.
After being picked in the national squad, the 22-year-old registered a hat-trick for the Originals in The Hundred match against the Northern Superchargers. He bowled out Dawid Malan, made Tom Lawes miscue his shot, and yet again bowled out Jacob Duffy for a duck.
Additionally, Sonny Baker is also the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker in The Hundred. He has eight wickets in six appearances for the Manchester Originals. With an average of 15.75, his best bowling figures are three wickets for 21 runs.
The first ODI match between the “Three Lions” and the Proteas is scheduled to be played on 2 September at the Headingley Cricket Ground. The second game will be played on 4 September at Lord’s Cricket Ground, followed by the third and final match on 7 September at The Rose Bowl in Hampshire.
England’s squad for three ODI matches against South Africa: Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith.
There is a concurrent England Lions series alongside the Ashes that you’d fancy Baker will be a part of, and the ODI series against South Africa gives him a further opportunity to win that status as a bolter into the ranks for England’s biggest series in over a decade. Should the call come at any point in the series, he’s made sure this summer that he’ll be in prime position to take it.
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