Batsman’s Misfortune, Bowler’s Joy: Bizzare Catch And A Wry Smile In T20 Blast

In a rather unprecedented incident that left spectators in awe, the ongoing T20 Blast tournament in England witnessed a truly remarkable catch by a bowler on his own follow-through. He, however, received some unexpected assistance from the non-striking batsman.

Colin Ackermann of Leicestershire became the subject of this bizarre run of play when he was caught by Steven Mullaney with a twist involving Wiaan Mulder, positioned at the non-striker's end.

While Mullaney could not quite believe what happened, Mulder and Ackermann were left in agony.

Watch:

Have you ever seen anything like that?!

Steven Mullaney uses the non-striker to help take his catch _#Blast23 pic.twitter.com/5YVFs9n41u

— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 20, 2023

How the event panned out

The incident took place on the first ball of the 13th over, bowled by Mullaney. Ackermann looked to pat the ball down the ground, but it lobbed up to the bowler who fumbled. However, in what was just plain bad luck for the batter, the ball ricocheted off Mullaney’s hands, struck Mulder, and landed back in the bowler’s hands. Mullaney was then seen celebrating the wicket.

Ackermann was stranded and could only offer a wry smile, acknowledging Mulder's helplessness in altering the outcome. Mulder was desolate at the non-striker’s end and watched on as Ackermann trudged off towards the pavilion.

Ackermann's departure marked the fourth wicket for Leicestershire, who needed to score 84 runs in 47 balls with six wickets in the shed. Despite Mulder scoring a valiant 38 off 26 deliveries, Leicestershire fell short by 22 runs.

Earlier in the day, Nottinghamshire won the toss and elected to bat first. Joe Clarke set the tone with an impressive knock of 72 runs off just 41 deliveries. Colin Munro, Matthew Montgomery, and Mullaney chipped with crucial knocks and powered Nottinghamshire to a total of 165-8.

Leicester's Calum Parkinson and Tom Scriven were the thrifty bowlers as they combined forces to claim seven wickets. In response to Nottinghamshire's target, the hosts commenced their innings on a positive note. The opening duo of Peter Handscomb and Nick Welch formed a formidable partnership, accumulating 63 runs in 8.5 overs. However, the chase lost momentum in the end.