Peter Loader

Who was Peter Loader?

Peter James Loader was an English cricketer and umpire, who played thirteen Test matches for England. He played for Surrey and Beddington Cricket Club. A whippet-thin fast bowler with a wide range of pace and a nasty bouncer, he took the first post-war Test hat-trick as part of his 6 for 36 against the West Indies at Headingley in 1957. It was only the twelfth hat-trick ever taken in Test cricket, and it was another thirty eight years before Dominic Cork became the next England bowler to take one.

The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, remarked that Loader was, "angular, accurate and with an aversion to breaking down".