WATCH | Ben Laughlin and Jake Weatherald team up to pull off spectacular catch

01/22/2018

Move over Jonty Rhodes and Steve Smith, there’s a new fielding expert in town in the form of Ben Laughlin. The Adelaide Strikers’ player stunned the attending crowd as he showcased brilliant presence of mind to back-flick the ball 30m into play to Jake Weatherald who pulled off a diving catch.

Half-centuries by Travis Head and Colin Ingram propelled the Strikers to 173/5 on Monday evening at the Etihad Stadium and Melbourne Renegades were aiming for a spot in the finals as they looked to chase down a target of 174 in 20 overs. But the Strikers seemed to have different plans as the bowling trio of Billy Stanlake, Ben Laughlin, and Rashid Khan ended the innings with two wickets each which helped the strikers beat the Renegades by a margin of 26 runs.

However, it was Laughlin's moment of brilliance on the field that stole the show on the night as he along with teammate Jake Weatherald pulled off an impossible catch to get Dwayne Bravo out, which had left the spectators awestruck.

Bravo's lofted off-drive was heading over the boundary rope when it was brilliantly caught by a sprinting Laughlin. However, his momentum was taking him over the ropes and in the hope of finding a fielder, he back-flicked the ball 30m into play before falling over the boundary rope. To the amazement of the 23,089 fans present at the Etihad Stadium, the ball hung in the air long enough for Weatherald to run around and take a superb diving catch.

Bravo departed at 100/5, and along with him went any hope of a win for the Melbourne Renegades as they fell short of 26 runs despite a late flurry of shots by Brad Hodge. The result saw the Strikers secure a home semi-final and loosened the Renegades' grip on the fourth spot.