Geraint Jones’ famous catch in Ashes 2005

One of the best rivalries in cricket, Australia and England, meet each other every two years for the Ashes series and the 2005 Ashes series was one of the best Test series ever, with cricketing legends of the era displaying their absolute best to claim the urn for their side.

On one hand, there were legends like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hoggard, Ashley Giles and Michael Vaughan showcasing their genius on the field, but on the other hand, newbies like Kevin Pietersen and Shaun Tait were looking for an opportunity to announce their arrival at the international stage.

Geraint Jones, one of the new members of the England squad, had replaced Chris Read as the wicket-keeper. In the third Test match of the 2005 Ashes series played at Old Trafford, after being set a mammoth 423-run target for the Australians, England were sniffing victory after reducing the visitors to 264/7. In came Shane Warne at number 9 and he supported captain Ricky Ponting superbly to add a 76-run partnership, more importantly, survived at the crease.

After getting frustrated by the defense of the two Australians, England captain Michael Vaughan played his trump card to call in Andrew Flintoff to bowl. Flintoff produced a peach of a delivery to Warne, angling in to the right-handed batsman and beating him with his pace. The ball took the outside edge of the bat and went to the second slip where Andrew Strauss was fielding. Strauss made a mess of the chance and the ball hit his thigh.

Strauss must have had his heart in his mouth, but wicket-keeper Geraint Jones was alert like an eagle and quick as a thunder. He caught the ball, which flew after hitting Strauss’ thigh, inches above the ground to take an outstanding catch. That catch did bring England back in the match for a while but were denied a victory, as the Test match ended in a draw.

However, Jones’ catch was ranked one of the best in cricketing history since it was so instantaneous and the young lad surely impressed the world with his glove-work.

https://youtu.be/UVffhyy4JII