Watch: Joe Root took a one-handed screamer of a catch at first slip, reacting late to take the catch with his left hand as the ball flew between him and Jonny Bairstow.
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Australia dug in for the first hour of play on day two at the Kia Oval. Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja batted out the first 14 overs of play, scoring 21 runs between them. Labuschagne had reached nine from 81 balls before Mark Wood bowled him a ball which took his outside edge.
The ball was angled in at pace and Labuschagne tried to defend it. The ball grazed the outside edge of his bat and carried through behind the wicket. It bisected first slip and keeper but was well within Bairstow’s reach.
However, Bairstow stayed still and did not attempt to catch the ball, looking to instead to Root. It was a much more difficult catch for Root to take, and he hadn’t reacted until the ball was almost past Bairstow. At the last minute, he stuck out his left hand and grabbed the ball out of the air when it was almost past him as well.
He managed to cling on to it as he tumbled to the ground and was promptly mobbed by his teammates for the special effort.
“What a catch, oh Joe Root,” said Mark Butcher on commentary. “Something was about to happen and it was something spectacular.”
Labuschagne looked frustrated as he walked off the pitch and gestured towards the sky to indicate the light wasn’t good enough to see the ball properly. His wicket left Australia 91-2, still 192 runs behind England’s first innings total.
Watch: Joe Root takes one-handed screamer at first slip, diving to his left below
🎶 Come on, Woody, let’s go party (ah ah ah yeah) 🎶 #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/5UewujrAmM
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 28, 2023
