Mitchell Santner is known as one of the safest fielders and catches in the New Zealand men’s cricket team. Though he may not look like it, but Mitchell Santner is very fit, has barely missed international games due to injuries, and is athletic.
He put his athleticism on display in the 2nd ODI against England on Sunday at The Rose Bowl in Southampton when he took a stunning one-handed catch while jumping in the air to dismiss England opener Jonny Bairstow.
Jonny Bairstow had been in sizzling form in the T20I series and had cracked scores of 86* and 73 in the T20I series against New Zealand. So to get him out in the third over of the ODI match was a big gain for the Kiwis. And it was made possible via quality bowling from Trent Boult and a stupendous catch from Mitchell Santner.
On the first ball of his second over, Trent Boult, playing his first ODI after a gap of 364 days and which is also his 100th ODI match, shaped an inswinger beautifully toward Bairstow’s pads. Bairstow was early into his flick on the leg side and managed a leading edge that lobbed over cover.
Mitchell Santner stood at his position and watched the ball keenly. The ball was threatening to go over him, but as the ball was right above him, Santner gave a big jump vertically and with his left hand grabbed the ball while still being airborne. Even as he fell on the ground, he didn’t drop the catch.
Watch: Mitchell Santner’s jaw-dropping one-handed catch of Bairstow
Who says Kiwis can't fly? 😳 #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/klCvVquCJJ
— FanCode (@FanCode) September 10, 2023
England found themselves in early trouble as they seemed to have no answers to Boult’swinging deliveries. After Bairstow, Boult dismissed Joe Root and Ben Stokes to leave England reeling at 8/3.
Teams:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
England (Playing XI): Harry Brook, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley
