During the first session on Day 4 of the second Ashes Test between Australia and England, Joe Root pulled off a spectacular one-handed reflex catch to send the dangerous Travis Head back into the pavilion. On July 1, Saturday at Lord’s in London, Australia had begun the day’s play at 130/2 in their second innings, before reaching 222/5 total at lunch to lead England by 313 runs.
It was the third ball of the 68th over in the Australian innings when Stuart Broad dug the ball in short of the length. It was a superbly directed bouncer, right into the armpit of Travis Head, who could only fend it away towards the short-leg fielder. Stationed in this region was the former England captain Joe Root, who reacted to the ball swiftly before diving towards his left side to take a spectacular catch with his left hand.
Watch the video here:
The wicket of Travis Head was vital for England in their bowling effort because he has the ability to up the scoring rate irrespective of the situation or the quality of the opposition bowlers. When he was dismissed for seven runs off 15 deliveries, the lead for Australia was already beyond 300.
Notably, the one-handed effort from Joe Root was his 176th catch in Test cricket, surpassing his former compatriot Alastair Cook as the highest catcher for England.
Meanwhile, earlier in the Lord’s Test match, Australia had posted a score of 416 on the board, thanks to the brilliant century from Steve Smith, his 32nd in the longest format of the game. In response, England managed to put up a total of 325, conceding a big lead of 91 runs. The top scorer for the hosts was Ben Duckett, who missed out on a century by just two runs.
