5 most jaw-dropping crowd catches in cricket

Crowd catches are one of the attractions for fans going to witness cricket matches live at the stadium. Whenever the batter hits a big six, the ball goes into the stands, giving the audience an opportunity to catch it.

Not all fans attending the matches live at the stadiums are ready for the catch, though.

There have been some hilarious catch drops and failed attempts in the crowd. But in this listicle, we will talk about some of the most jaw-dropping crowd catches.

SA20 organizers have organized a special challenge for fans attending the matches at the stadium. The contest is named "Catch A Million," as the organizers will award the fan who takes the best crowd catch with a prize money of R 2 million.

Fans have witnessed some great crowd catches in SA20 so far, but here's a compilation of five of the most jaw-dropping catches taken in other matches.

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#1 Best catch of Pakistan vs. England series

Pakistan toured England for an ODI series in 2019. During one of the matches of the series, Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed danced down the track and smacked the ball outside the leg-side boundary.

The ball would have hit the advertising board had a spectator sitting in the first row not taken an extraordinary catch. The fan took the catch and even managed to maintain his body balance and remain in the stands. Commentators on air described it as the best catch of the Pakistan vs. England series.

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#2 A volunteer's one-handed stunner in T20 World Cup

ICC T20 World Cup 2022 happened last year in Australia. During a Super 12 stage match between South Africa and the Netherlands, Dutch batter Colin Ackermann flicked a ball from Wayne Parnell over the leg-side boundary.

The stadium was not jam-packed, but one of the volunteers at the stadium grabbed a one-handed stunner to surprise the cricket fans.

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#3 A fan gives his 200% for a crowd catch

The inaugural edition of The Hundred took place in England a couple of years ago. Fans turned up in huge numbers to watch the matches live at the stadiums, and some of them grabbed unbelievable crowd catches as well.

The England and Wales Cricket Board shared a compilation of crowd catches on their YouTube channel, with the best one being the first video featuring a fan who almost fell over the seats in the stands to complete the catch.

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#4 1st crowd catch in day/night Test cricket

Australia hosted New Zealand for a day/night test seven years ago. Kiwi batter Tim Southee smacked the first six in the pink-ball test, dispatching a delivery from Josh Hazlewood into the stands.

A young fan took the first crowd catch in day/night Test cricket and fell on the floor. He still managed to keep hold of the ball and completed the catch.

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#5 Food spilling catch

During a Big Bash League match between the Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes last year, Sam Heazlett smashed a ball from Riley Meredith out of the park.

A spectator at the Blundestone Arena focused only on the ball and tried to take a catch, but in the process, he spoiled the lunch of other spectators near him.

Surprisingly, the ball bounced out of his hands, and the fan sitting behind him took a one-handed catch. Cricket Australia labeled it one of the best crowd catches in cricket.