Ben Stokes took a one-handed wondercatch during England’s World Cup opening match victory
Written by News on 30/05/2019
Ben Stokes pulled off an exceptional one-handed wondercatch during England’s World Cup opening-match victory against South Africa at The Oval.
The 27-year-old was back-pedaling after Andile Phehlukwayo smacked the ball through deep midwicket and timed his jump to perfection, stretching out his right hand to claim the catch.
It stopped what looked like a certain six as England picked up their seventh wicket and handed Adil Rashid his first scalp of the innings.
Stokes’ heroic effort was hailed by the on-watching crowd as he enjoyed a fine day in the field, having earlier run out Dwaine Pretorius with a pinpoint throw.
Speaking about the catch after being named man of the match, Stokes said: “I had a little bit of a panic on, to be honest.
“I was a little but further in than I should have been. I have the nickname the Claw so luckily it stuck. I didn’t know how to react as I shouldn’t have been there. It would have been a regulation catch had I been in the right position.”
The all-rounder also picked up the final two wickets of the match in as many balls, having Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir both caught, to bowl out the Proteas for 207 and add to the impressive 89 runs he made with the bat during a fine performance.
You can watch every match of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup on SkyWorldCup (channel 404).
(c) Sky News 2019: Ben Stokes took a one-handed wondercatch during England’s World Cup opening match victory
