Classic Catches

Ask any guy and I bet they can remember some of the best catches they've ever taken. We can't remember birthdays, phone numbers or what we had for dinner last night, but ask us about a diving left hander we took in 1991 and our face lights up with immediate recognition. Without any effort, I can call to mind the best catches I took in Primary School. (Falling over the fence one hander at Callum's house and a reflex fluke at short leg on the road outside my house). This is why when you give a group of guys a tennis ball and something to jump off, you can keep them entertained for hours.

Our imaginations are set free and just for a moment, we are the heroes of our youth taking the catches we all remember - Steve Waugh behind the sightscreen, Dean Jones diving in the outfield, former rugby player Fatty Vaughtin's freakish one hander in the Allan Border tribute match. Fatty's catch, in particular, has enormous staying power. This is from wikipedia:

"In the 1994 cricket exhibition match celebrating the playing career of Allan Border, Vautin took one of the flukiest catches ever seen in any form of cricket, and it was replayed ad nauseum on the Nine Network. It has also been parodied by The Twelfth Man, and partially due to this parody it is sometimes referred to as "That F*cking catch".

To see Fatty's F*cking Catch, click here.

Anyway, when we all went on a junk trip last weekend we had a ball trying to take some classic catches. I was quite proud of myself, as I started the day too scared to do anything but a pin drop but by the end I was diving off the top of the boat and dropping catches like all the other madmen. Although I fear I will never be ballsy enough to attempt the backflip that Matty has perfected.

As with all days that involve boats, food, water and tennis balls, a great time was had by all. I'll leave you now with a couple of pictures. They are a) Matty's backflip, b) the boat we travelled on, c) a fully recovered Daisy Daniel and d) Hong Kong's famous erection, the IFC Tower - the sixth biggest penis, I mean building in the world.









Photos by Duncan Woodland