Cricket has beautifully evolved over the years. While on financial terms it has seen a great leap and is still rising, the performance of the players has also been developing at a rapid pace. Batting has become more innovative and impactful nowadays and so is the bowling to counter it. Fielding, another crucial part of the game of cricket, has also become advanced now. What could have been a sensational or eye-catching effort decades ago is a regular task now.
The advanced style of fielding has set a new bar for the upcoming generation of cricketers. Amongst all, the boundary line fielding has caught immense limelight for the atleticism and presence of mind the players show while trying to go for a catch or save a boundary. However, a viral video of a fielder fielding the ball near the boundary line just takes the concept of fielding to another level.
The video that has surfaced online is from a local tennis ball cricket tournament. In the viral clip, a fielder uses not only his hands, but also his kick to complete a catch, forcing the viewers to think whether it's a game of cricket or football.
Watch here how it all traspired:
While James Neesham termed it an "absolutely outstanding" catch, Michael Vaughan said: "Surely the greatest catch of all time."
Recently, Austraian cricketer Michael Neser had caught limelight for taking a juggling boundary line catch during a Big Bash League match.
In the 19th over of Sydney Sixers' innings, Brisbane Heat's Jordan Silk had played a big shot towards the long-off. Neser made a brilliant effort to grab the ball and threw it before going over the boundary line. However, the ball was still outside the boundary rope and Neser jumped again and threw the ball back to the playing area this time before rushing inside the rope and taking the catch.
The catch had sparked controversy and eventually the Marylebone Cricket Club -- the custodian of the laws of cricket -- had to come out and define the laws for boundary line catching.
Rule 19.4.2 under the MCC Laws of Cricket states, "The ball in play is to be regarded as being grounded beyond the boundary if a fielder, grounded beyond the boundary as in 19.5, touches the ball; a fielder, after catching the ball within the boundary, becomes grounded beyond the boundary while in contact with the ball, before completing the catch."