Steve Smith (right) has taken a series of catches during his Test career that exudes one of the purest joys of cricket. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
It is not entirely clear what the actual word is used; it's hard to make out through the stump microphone, amid the movement of limbs and mounting commentary. 'It's an absolute...'Is it' Clanger'? Of course not? That means something completely different this is. 'Scarier'? Maybe... but no, it's not. In reality, any of the many words used to describe a mind-boggling catch would suffice. It used to be an absolute screamer/rippah/banger. But let's maybe check it again, start the replay, let's do it another Look.
Travis Head, sporting a walrus moustache, comes in to bowl an off-break to Kiwi opener Will Young on the third afternoon at Wellington's Basin Reserve. Jonge pokes forward for a ball of good length that does not grab or turn, but slides straight. The edge is taken and the ball appears to gain speed as it flies to the right of wicketkeeper Alex Carey and the left of Steve Smith at first slip, ostensibly his weaker side, but when it comes to catching, Smith doesn't I don't really have a weak side.
Related: Jonny Bairstow is a real hitter, but coaching him is difficult because he is so instinctive | Mark Ramprakash
Smith unfolds a reflexive hand and plucks the ball out of the air. The mix of balance, agility and electrical reaction time is fascinating. A vague arrangement of white on green with a red dot in between. The Smith with the boreholes goes from a static position and then comes to life in a flash of movement, resembling an Inuit fisherman spearing an Arctic cod from the icy depths. The Inuits use a three-pronged tool called a 'kavivak', while Smith gets by with just four fingers and a thumb. Almost inexplicably, the ball is now static and resting in Smith's palm. His teammates scream and jump. "It's an absolute..." Smith chuckles and the toddler trots towards them in his inimitable style. Taking in their high fives and admiration. He knows this is a good one, he's taken enough to know that.
This is Steve Smith's 182 NL catch in Test cricket and the one that takes him clear of famous Aussie grabber Mark Waugh and into sixth position on the all-time list for Test catches. Waugh was synonymous with slip catching, while Smith and Ricky Ponting (the only Australian now above Smith with 196 catches from 168 Tests and currently fourth on the list) did and do the inexplicable in every position on the field. Seeing both men on the field brings to mind John Lennon's great quote about adaptability: "Give me a tuba and I'll make you get a damn tune out of it."
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Ponting snapped, chewed his gum as if it had personally insulted him and spat into his palms, directly in front of the batsman's eyeline, at short leg or foolishly in mid-game. In his early days, Smith donned the helmet and also spent his time on 'boot hill'. Both men performed the inexplicable all over the field. Whether you're taking swirling cloudbusters in the depths, sticking to rapier drives into the covers or full-blooded cut shots on a back point. They throw themselves left-right-up-down-forward and back into the cordon to guide bowlers or live on the edge of their reflexes close to the spinners.
Smith's highlight reel is a barely believable portrayal of catching. His signature tendon-stretching starfish dives with full body extension are a sight to behold, there's even a contradictory, overwhelming inevitability as you watch him cling to any number of flying red, white or pink objects like he has a Velcro glove.
Smith is also productive. If he continues to catch them at his current rate, he can lay a decent claim to being one of the greatest catchers the game has ever seen. With another 33 snaffles in Test cricket, he will overtake Rahul Dravid at the top of the tree. Dravid collected 210 catches in 164 Test matches, Smith played 108. He currently has an average of 0.887 catches per innings, which suggests he will be ahead of Dravid in less than 20 Test time.
Catching is one of the greatest joys of the game, and - bear with me - perhaps of life itself? The act of picking a traveling one thing pulling it out of the air and cradling it safely in your hands taps into something deeply satisfying about the human condition. Cricketer or not, most of us can relate to this feeling in some way or the other. Remember that time you were holding the clementine that your sister-in-law threw at you with a little too much poison last Christmas? God, that felt good. "Can we please just rock'n'roll that, make sure no marrow comes into contact with the carpet fibers, looks clean, fingers clear underneath - you can stick with your original decision Grandma, put down the sherry, you ' am now on the screen."
A bunch of car keys being thrown over a hood, a pair of socks being bundled together and thrown down the hallway, you must have felt it. That feeling. Children get it too. Have you ever accidentally seen a toddler cling to a beanbag or - more likely - a half-eaten piece of jam? Their eyes shine with wonder and stare at their hands in disbelief and joy.
Some cricketers talk about the magical few split seconds when they take a catch and they and only they know it. There is a brief stroke before the other players, referees and spectators realize what has happened. It's just herself and the ball, a euphoric secret shared in liminal space.
We love taking catches, watching them and debating them. Just as a captured catch can cause a certain despair - a hollowing out of the soul - a safely captured catch can stir it like almost nothing else.
Catches win games
A conversation with Mark Taylor last summer (13 e on the all-time Test list with 157 catches in 104 matches, mainly from his position at first slip) sparked a few thoughts. Taylor believes the level of slip catching has declined from his time to now. "The fielding has improved so much in the modern game, the athleticism, the chasing of the ball, all incredible. But I don't feel that panty catching has improved in the last 20 years and may even have declined slightly."
It is difficult to support Taylor's hypothesis, even if there is a suspicion that he is right. Unfortunately, Test slip catching statistics only go back to 2006, during which time there hasn't been too much change in Test cricket standards year on year.
(Statistics courtesy of CricViz)
Taylor went on to say that he "probably overestimates the importance of a slip fielder, perhaps in response to others who I feel underestimate it..." but as far as Test cricket is concerned - those in the know know how important slip catching is, according to CricViz's head of Insight Ben Jones. "In red-ball cricket, the value of fielding is essentially slip fielding. Boundary fielding, high catches, etc., they have little to no chance of impacting the game at a meaningful level.
Jones was in the room and advised franchise teams on selection. I found what he said next particularly fascinating.
"In T20 (and to a lesser extent ODI) it is the other way around. A slip catcher is valuable for maybe one over, but a cannon boundary fielder or a stopper in the ring is extremely valuable. Those are probably the fielding skills that add extra value to a player in a T20 auction/draft - so it's fair to say there's limited financial reward for being a good slipper.
"Similarly, if someone is an absolute weapon (catcher) - Chris Jordan or Jordan Cox for example - then he can add value even if he is not in the XI, as a sub fielder. That's something people think about whether people admit it or not.'
Quote of the week
"I don't actually look at the big screen when I'm bowling" - Shabnim Ismail was apparently unaware that she had sent the fastest recorded delivery in women's cricket on Tuesday evening. The South African fast bowler clocked a speed of 132.1 km/h (82.1 mph) in the Women's Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.
Do you want more?
"Any chance to play for England is special." Captain Ben Stokes says his team will bring a positive attitude to the final Test against India at the breathtaking HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
Tanya Aldred writes that Indian wicketkeeper, Dhruv Jurel, has got the selectors thinking with his fine performances in cover for the injured Rishabh Pant.
Mark Ramprakash says the talent of "good batsman" Jonny Bairstow will be underestimated if he reaches 100 Test caps, but his spontaneity could make coaching him a challenge.
England's young spinners should be given the chance to shine at home after impressing last winter, argues Taha Hashim.
The series may be gone but England still have plenty to play for in the final Test in Dharamsala, says our cricket correspondent Ali Martin.
Memory strip
Two lonely - and very cold - spectators emerge from the ground after the match between Derbyshire and Buxton in the 1975 County Championship season was canceled due to heavy snow. Was it very early in the season? Not really, this was taken on June 2!
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