An extraordinary juggling catch at short leg by Marnus Labuschagne recalled classic efforts by Mark Taylor and David Boon while setting the scene for a dominant morning for Australia in the second Test against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi.
The Test was only three overs old when Mohammad Hafeez flicked a straight delivery from Mitchell Starc in Labuschagne’s general direction, whereupon the two-Test old batsman juggled the ball off hands, body and knee before ultimately clasping the chance to his chest.
Starc to Mohammad Hafeez, OUT, Caught at short leg! Incredible catch! They are going upstairs to check the catch. It was full swinging into the pads, he clipped it firmly off the bat straight to Labuschagne at short leg, it hit him in the inner thigh, dropped onto his right knee as he folded down, it bobbled into the calf, he scooped it up with his right hand and it stopped between his legs as he rolled onto his back! What a catch!
In claiming the catch, Labuschagne drew comparisons with a famous take by Taylor at slip against West Indies in 1996 at the SCG, where Carl Hooper’s outside edge from the bowling of Michael Bevan hit the then Austrlaian captain’s hands and floppy hat as he fell backwards, before he kicked the rebound up with his right boot to claim the catch.
Another effort, also at the SCG, included Boon’s juggle when standing fractionally back from the bat of Mohammed Azharuddin in 1992, knocking the ball up with his left hand before claiming it with both. Labuschagne’s first moment in Test cricket was as a substitute fielder at the Gabba in 2014, taking a diving chance off Nathan Lyon against India.
While Labuschagne would later drop a more straightforward chance at midwicket from the bowling of Jon Holland, he claimed another chance at short leg amid Lyon’s shattering spell of four wickets in six balls to tilt the Test decidedly towards Australia on what appears to be a decent surface for batting