A leg spin bowler and first slip with eerie similarities to Shane Warne and Mark Taylor combined for a moment of magic in Queensland.
At one end a stocky blonde-haired spinner gives the ball a rip. At first slip, a similarly portly player with the stickiest fingers on the field pulls in a blinder.
At a quick glance it felt like we were watching Shane Warne and Mark Taylor in their prime as two sixth grade cricketers combined for a spectacular wicket last week.
Footage of Derek Heilbronn’s classic catch from a match in Queensland has gone viral and understandably so — it’s one of those rare moments cricketers pull off once in a hundred attempts.
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During a semi-final contest in Ashgrove on the weekend, left-handed Darcy Lewis had compiled a patient 15 off 101 deliveries before he decided it was time to crank up the gears.
Opposition leg-spinner Joshua Durkin dished up a juicy half-tracker at Peter Easton Oval, which Lewis looked to slap through point on the backfoot.
But the batsman could only manage a thick outside edge, which flew towards the lone slip fielder.
Reaching wide to his left, Heilbronn snapped up the near-impossible catch in his left mitt with lightning reflexes.
And didn’t he enjoy his own work.
Heilbronn’s celebration was the cherry on top. The Valley District Cricket Club cult hero showed plenty of swagger while chucking the ball into the air and nonchalantly waltzing towards his teammates on the inner ring.
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The clip has registered 72,000 views on Facebook in less than 14 hours, and was oddly reminiscent of Mark Waugh’s grab to remove Pakistan great Inzamam-ul-Haq at Bellerive Oval in 1999.
Heilbronn’s side ultimately lost the local derby, suffering a five-wicket loss to end their 2020/21 season.
Gavin Brown recorded a gritty half-century, while Durkin finished with bowling figures of 2/8 off five overs.
Valley District Cricket Club will take on Redlands in the final later this month.
