US media go gaga over Steve Smith’s catch
Australia captain Steven Smith’s brilliant catch at backward point to dismiss Kiwi batsman BJ Watling in the first ODI in Sydney on Dec 4 has been hailed by American media after highlights of the catch fired the web and the gifs spread across the world.
Smith scored 164 and then took a blinder. The highlight video of his
SB Nation termed the catch as one of the best catches ever in cricket.
“Australian Steve Smith was fielding in the gully when a blinding shot came off the bat of BJ Watling, who was stunned when he realised his near-perfect shot was caught. Crowds applauded in real time, then absolutely lost it when they saw exactly what happened in slow motion.”
USA Today compared the catch with Batman.
“You may not understand cricket but wow this is a good catch. Right? It happened in a One Day International match between Australia and New Zealand, which Australia cruised to 324-8 (50) to New Zealand 256 (44.2).
“That may not mean anything to you, and that's
Sports Illustrated website ranked the Australian captain’s effort better than anything produced by Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith this season.
“Here in the United States we're used to seeing guys named Steve
“Kiwi batsman BJ Watling fought off a ball that came flying toward Smith, who dove all-out and grabbed the ball with one hand, despite smashing his face against the turf.”
Deadspin's Emma Baccellieri coined Smith's effort as "completely sick".
“Today's cricket match between Australia and New Zealand was a big win for the Aussies, letting them keep their number one spot in the one-day international rankings," she wrote.
“It also included this completely sick one-handed diving catch from Australia team captain Steve Smith. And that catch wasn't even the best part of Smith's match, though it definitely made for the flashiest highlight. He also set a Sydney Cricket Ground record today with 164 runs, contributing to a final score of Australia 324-8 and New Zealand 256.”
Redditors also went on to praise Smith’s herculean effort.
Reddit user Ched wrote, “I'm not a fan of cricket, at all. But damn, son. That was some badass athleticism right there.”
“This game doesn't make sense but I'm impressed with how happy everyone is that he caught that,” EvilMortyc137 wrote.
Godsenfrik wrote, “If this was NFL it would be reviewed and replayed ad infinitum and they would probably decide that there was no sufficient evidence that the ball was caught before touching the ground and therefore THE RULING ON THE FIELD STANDS. Oh wait.”
“That was an awesome catch, but why is that guy wearing a cowboy hat at the start? Is that standard,”
“This was awesome. I could really get into watching some more Paddle Ball,”