5 incredible catches by fast bowlers off their own bowling

Bowlers often get worked up when a fielder drops a catch off his bowling or misfields a ball as the ensuing runs scored goes against their names. However, only a handful of bowlers are good fielders off their own bowling. The major reason is because of the difficulty to hold onto the ball in the follow through.

Fast bowlers find it even more taxing as they have to change their line of paths on most occasions to take a catch or stop the ball coming in their direction. But there have been many instances when bowlers have taken stunning catches off their own bowling.

Let us take a look at some brilliant caught and bowled wickets obtained by fast bowlers in recent times.

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#5 Dwayne Bravo - Against Australia (2005)

Dwayne Bravo has always been the perfect entertainer, both on and off the field. He mostly set high fielding standards for himself and has plucked out catches from thin air on a number of occasions. With his explosive batting and excellent death bowling, he has captured the imagination of cricket fans across the globe.

During West Indies' tour of Australia in 2005, Bravo pulled off a stunner to dismiss Shane Warne. The star leg-spinner played an uppish ball to the left of Bravo who dived full length to take the catch one-handed. The ball was going to his wrong side. Although Bravo was going the other side in his follow-through, he reacted instantly and secured the catch brilliantly.

#4 Mitchell Johnson - Against South Africa (2012)

Mitchell Johnson's spectacular catch to get the wicket of Alviro Petersen

Mitchell Johnson has to be one of the greatest fast bowlers produced by Australia in recent times. He terrorized batsmen with his extreme pace and bounce. Johnson also had a very good throwing arm and was an athletic fielder all around the ground.

During South Africa's tour of Australia in 2012, Johnson took an amazing catch in the third Test at Perth to dismiss Alviro Petersen. With the ball rising to his rib cage, Petersen fended awkwardly at the ball and could only to eke out a top edge. However, Johnson swooped in at the ball like an eagle. After running a good 10 yards, he completed the catch with relative ease. The splendid catch was a vindication of his agility and high fitness levels.

#3 Trent Boult - Against Australia (2016)

Trent Boult is one of the best fielders among modern-day fast bowlers

One of the best bowlers in the world today, Trent Boult brings plenty of variety to the table with his accurate seam bowling. Boult swings the ball both ways at good pace and makes life pretty hard for the opposition batsmen.

Extra Cover: Under the SKanner - Trent Boult

Boult has taken plenty of stupendous catches in his relatively short career. The best of them was a return catch that he took off Mitchell Marsh in 2016. Australia were playing New Zealand in Wellington in the opening Test of the series. A ball lobbed up in the air off Marsh's bat. Boult, in an instant reflex action, put out his right hand and the ball stuck. He had less than a second to react and it was an astounding take from the pacer.

#2 Dale Steyn - Against India (2011)

Dale Steyn completed a difficult catch to dismiss Murali Vijay

Dale Steyn is often regarded one of the modern day legends as he has spearheaded the South African bowling attack for many years. Blessed with relentless pace and accuracy, Steyn has picked up a whopping 417 wickets in Tests and 238 scalps in the limited-overs formats.

During the third ODI against India at Cape Town in 2011, Steyn took a fantastic catch off his own bowling to dismiss Murali Vijay. As Vijay played a uppish shot to the on side, Steyn flung himself to the right and caught the ball. Needless to say, the effort received much appreciation from his teammates. It has to be one of the best caught and bowled dismissals in ODIs.

#1 Corey Anderson - Against Australia (2016)

Corey Anderson pulled off a stunning catch against Australia

Corey Anderson arrived on the big stage in 2012. He soon propelled himself into the limelight by smashing the then fastest century in ODIs in 2014. He brought up his century off just 36 balls. However, his record was broken by AB de Villiers during the succeeding year.

Touted as one of the best fielders in the New Zealand side, Anderson did his reputation no harm when he pulled off probably the best caught and bowled dismissal in cricket history. During the Wellington Test against Australia in 2016, Anderson took a brilliant one-handed catch in his follow through to dismiss Nathan Lyon. He plucked the ball inches from the turf with his left hand and also had the presence of mind to roll over to not let the ball bounce out.