ENG vs NZ: Neil Wagner falls prey to 'crazy catch' from stand-in keeper Sam Billings

Nearly everything has gone England’s way in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand and the hosts are edging closer to a famous whitewash over the Kiwis. Meanwhile, on the fourth day of the third and final Test match, the Three Lions got lucky as stand-in wicketkeeper Sam Billings took an instinctive, or rather fortuitous, catch to dismiss Neil Wagner.

It was in the 102nd over of the third innings and New Zealand were on 305 for the loss of eight wickets. Wagner tried to gently defend Jack Leach’s delivery to the ground. The ball caught the outside edge of the bat, and Billings behind the stumps could not position his hands in time to grab the ball. 

The ball came onto his chest, and as it was dropping down, Billings closed his knees together and somehow, the ball was stuck between his thighs. This surely has to be one of the strangest catches behind the stumps. Notably, Billings was called on for the wicketkeeping duty midway through the ongoing game after Ben Foakes tested positive for Covid-19. 

“Somehow…somehow…it is there. But it doesn’t drop on the ground. Jack Leach knew it straight away. I think everybody…yeah. Well done Sam Billings,” said a commentator on air.

One crazy catch! 😅

Scorecard/clips: https://t.co/AIVHwaRwQv

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvNZ 🇳🇿 @SamBillings pic.twitter.com/91U64cr51b

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 26, 2022

England inch closer to a whitewash as we move onto the final day

Earlier in the match, there was yet another bizarre catch in New Zealand’s innings when Leach was bowling. When Henry Nicholls was batting on 19, he drilled one straight towards Daryl Mitchell who was at the non-striker’s end. Mitchell, who tried to dodge himself out of the firing line, could not get his bat out of the ball’s way. As a result, the ball deflected off Mitchell’s bat, ballooned into the air, and an easy catch was set up for Alex Lees at mid-off.

Meanwhile, England are 113 runs away from a victory with eight wickets in hand. Well-settled Ollie Pope and Joe Root are on the crease and are batting on 81 and 55 respectively. The hosts, with 183 runs on the board, are cruising at a run rate of 4.69 and should get the job done easily on the final day.