Nathan Aste's CATCH! BEAUTY!!

[Robster]

What a catch, perhaps the best catch of all time?

 

[PARRA_FAN]

none of us saw it.

 

[Twizzle]

you got a link or a pic Wobster

 

[Robster]

No I don't, the ball was past the boundry, Astle was in the air with one hand and stretched his paw out and caught it while his legs were inside the rope floating in the sky, and what made the catch more fantastic is the fact that he managed to land and keep his balance.

 

[Iafeta]

Hope those images come up, they're from cricinfo.

There's articles in NZ talking about it being the catch of the century, and better than John Dyson's.

 

[Scott]

What the catch so good was the commentators saying it was coming his way before the ball was bowled. It was a truely great catch though.

Hard to say whether or not it is the best ever. I find it hard to compare all the different sorts. Up there with Sinclair at the Telstra Dome and Ponting at the Gabba in the 3rd final.

 

[NPK]

I'd like to see a video clip of it.

 

[salivor]

Those pictures don't do it justice, when he took it he was in mid air and stretched over the boundary, how he managed to land just inside the rope and then keep his balance was amazing. Best catch I've seen.

 

[go_the_doggies]

damn that catch was good haha i was screaming i was like 'OMG WHAT A AWESOME CATCH' damn

hmm they compared to to sinclairs catch at the dome, i think sinclairs catch was a tiny bit better, and he had to run abit then catch it

i wanna see them both again lol

 

[Twizzle]

geeez, how far off the ground was he

 

[Lego_Man]

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).

 

[go_the_doggies]

does anyone have footage that you can download??
i can watch it on the blackcaps site, but i wanna put a link to it on another forum, but i cant as you have to be a member(which i am, but i dont think other people will wanna sign up to watch one thing).

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

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.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

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).

Personally I always found outfield catches more difficult when I played cricket. Reflex catches either stick or they don't, and generally it's more acceptable/understandable when they don't stick. Outfield catches can be difficult for a number of reasons, even when they look quite straightforward. Even a seemingly routine catch on the boundary can be difficult to judge if, say, there's a bit of wind around. Also it's incredibly difficult to run full speed and take a catch imo, because when you're running you can't really keep your head still and so it's easy to lose the ball.

 

[Big Mick]

Pontings was better

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Pontings was better

imo Astle's was easily better.

 

[go_the_doggies]

imo Astle's was easily better.

Me too, and i aint being bias as i love ricky p muchly

but this catch, took the cake

 

[JJ]

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.

I remember that one too - I think Astle more or less said it was at least the equal of Saturday's...

I've always thought Astle is an incredibly under-rated fielder - great hands, tremendous footwork, and makes the diificult look very simple - and apart from those two amazing catches, he's seldom flashy in the field at all

 

[JJ]

Ponting didn't have the boundary to contend with - Astle's was better, and he had Jordan-like hang time

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

To be fair to Ponting, he had to make more ground than Astle, while Astle had at least a slight chance to set himself. But 99 times out of 100 you wouldn't even expect a player to be able to get a hand on that and stay inside the boundary. It really was staggering that he was able to commit himself to a full stretch leap and yet balance himself so perfectly inside the boundary.