Australia batsman Steve Smith has a fair bit of reputation on the field as a fantastic fielder. He has taken some good catches throughout his career, one of which came in the World Cup fixture against New Zealand earlier this year. Keeping up to his high standards of fielding, the cricketer produced yet another sensational catch in the slips on Day 3 of the 5th Ashes Test against England in Oval on Saturday.
It was a tough day for the Aussies, with England batsmen batting throughout the day, and extending their lead. Australia had missed out on a few catches in the day, and were also struggling with making correct DRS calls. With final few overs remaining in the day, Smith ensured his side finished strong in the day as he leapt across towards his right to pluck a one-handed diving catch to get rid of Chris Woakes.
{{/usCountry}}It was a tough day for the Aussies, with England batsmen batting throughout the day, and extending their lead. Australia had missed out on a few catches in the day, and were also struggling with making correct DRS calls. With final few overs remaining in the day, Smith ensured his side finished strong in the day as he leapt across towards his right to pluck a one-handed diving catch to get rid of Chris Woakes.
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After his brilliant effort in the field, Smith was surrounded by his Aussie teammates who came to congratulate him. But the former skipper only shrugged his shoulders, and threw the ball away from him.
Former Aussie great Michael Hussey applauded the magical piece of work from Smith. Speaking in a video on ESPNcricinfo, Hussey said: “They had been on the field all day, so I reckon they wanted to get off. They wanted to take some chances. But yeah, that catch from Steve Smith. That was an unbelivable catch. Late in the day, tired, he went full stretch. Watch his eyes just fixated on the ball. It was just poetry in motion.”
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Smith’s brilliant catch was followed up by another fantastic catch in the deep by Marnus Labuschagne. “Then Marnus Labuschagne as well. They are not easy to take. Because your eyes are bouncing off, he made good ground, diving full stretch. It just shows the attitude of this team. Even if the things have not gone well for then, they want to still keep going, despite all the adversity,” Hussey said.
England finished 313-8 in the day, with a lead of 382 runs. On Day 4, England were bundled out for 329, setting Australia a target of 399.