Maintaining the high standards of Kiwi quicks, who are exceptional outfielders, Matt Henry took a sensational one-handed catch that could easily qualify to be best catch of the season during the Royal London One-Day Cup first semi-final between Kent and Worcester at Worcester.
Standing at wide long-on, Kent’s Henry ran a good 20 meters to his right before leaping in the air and hanging to the catch with his outstretched right hand.
There was nothing special about the Joe Denly delivery, except for the fact that the drift forced the well-settled D’Oliviera (78) to drag his shot more towards the mid-wicket area than he would have liked it to.
This was not the first time a New Zealand fast bowler was seen grabbing a stunner in the outfield. Henry’s teammates, Trent Boult and Tim Southee are specialists in pulling off such catches out of thin air, the latest being Boult’s mindboggling catch in the IPL to dismiss to Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli.
Coming back to the Royal London One-Day cup match, Worcester set-up a 307-run target riding on a superb ton by wicket-keeper Ben Cox (122*). The Kent reply wes led by South Africa’s Heino Kuhn (127), who became the first cricketer to score four centuries in five matches in England’s List A cricket as they reached the target in the last over with two wickets in hand.
The win took Kent into the final of England’s domestic One-Day tournament and they will face the winner of Yorkshire-Hampshire