Lego_Man said:I think it's hard to compare infield and outfield catches. Infield catches (particularly with close-in fielders) have more emphasis on fast reflexes...while outfield catches are more about positioning and covering ground. Outfield catches are also made harder because you have to judge the flight path of the ball a lot differently than in the infield, where the ball is typically hit in a flat line. There are also additional factors like the boundary rope (which obviously was THE defining factor in this case). Having said that, Astle's was the best outfield catch i've ever seen, beating Sinclair's effort (narrowly).
Big Mick © said:Pontings was better
Me too, and i aint being bias as i love ricky p muchlyThierry Henry said:imo Astle's was easily better.
Thierry Henry said:For me it's the equal, or perhaps narrowly second best catch I've ever seen, and amazingly enough both were by Astle (sure, NZ bias, whatever- but these are honestly my 2 faves).
Probably still the best catch ever for me was Astle catching Shaun Pollock at long-on in an ODI, I think at Napier, in 1998/99. Infact I can give you exact date, March 26 1999, cos it was my birthday. This catch was like the Sinclair catch but better. It was one-handed, left-handed, and involved full speed sprinting to the left, but if anything Astle was more at full stretch than Sinclair, and also took it only inches from the ground.