Peter James Loader (25 October 1929 – 15 March 2011) was an English cricketer and umpire, who played thirteen Test matches for England.

[1] 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[2] in 1957.

[4] He was an important part of Surrey's attack, helping them to achieve their run of seven successive County Championship titles between 1952 and 1958.

Because of the talent of Frank Tyson, Fred Trueman and Brian Statham, Loader was in and out of the England team and toured Australia in 1954–55 without playing in any of the Tests.

He retired from the Australian XI match with a strained Achilles tendon, and spent several days in bed with a high temperature, but still played in the First Test in the following week.