‌WATCH | Paul Coughlin stuns everyone with an astounding reflexive catch of own bowling

06/17/2024

From iconic catches to weird celebrations, time and again, the cricket fraternity has witnessed some jaw-dropping moments in cricket history. Durham’s Paul Coughlin happened to enlist in the same category after plucking a scintillating catch off his bowling against Lancashire Lightning on Sunday.

One of the Sunday mega-clashes in the T20 Blast this past weekend happened to be between Lancashire Lightning and Durham. With Alex Lees, the Durham captain, winning the toss and opting to bat first, they raced to 218 runs in 20 overs, powered by Graham Clarke’s 87 and David Bedingham’s 78. On a batting-friendly deck in Chester le Street, the Lightnings were well in the hunt despite losing a couple of wickets inside the powerplay. However, Coughlin’s brilliant reflex to dismiss a free-flowing Matthew Hurst momentarily halted their acceleration.

Following a 63-run powerplay, Hurst smashed a couple of fours against Coughlin on the fourth and fifth delivery of the seventh over before the bowler had the last laugh. The 31-year-old dished a fuller ball at the fourth stump that the batter tried to slam down the line. While the connection sounded firm off the willow, the ball swirled in the direction of Coughlin’s head as the bowler lost his poise during followthrough. In a fraction of a second, the pacer tried to save his skull from a potential injury by placing the right arm in front, and shockingly, the ball that raced onto him like a tracer bullet, stuck to Coughlin’s palm, thereby resulting in a fascinating catch.

The caught and bowled dismissal in this North Group encounter stunned cricket fans around the globe and they took to Twitter in appreciation and ecstasy.

Catch of the year!!