Backpeddling with the ball destined to drop into the crowd for a six, Kyle Coetzer arched his back, extended a periscope-like arm and miraculously plucked the ball out of the air.
It was an incredible moment. Both the spectators and South Africa batsman Mark Boucher looked on in disbelief at what will almost certainly go down as the catch of the tournament.
The Scotsman’s heroics did not stop his side crashing out of the ICC World Twenty20, but it did inspire droves of cricket fans to try and emulate his amazing feat at the Emirates Flying Catch inflatable at Lord’s yesterday.
At first glance it would appear that adults are gatecrashing a queue for a shot on a childrens’s bouncy castle, but it is no ordinary bouncy castle. A small swivelling platform in its centre acts as a launching pad for players to leap at soft cricket balls fired out of a bowling machine.
The ball is delivered at speeds to challenge both adults and children and has proved so popular that even the professionals are testing their skills on the giant red inflatable.
Intrigued by all the fuss, England’s Owais Shah took a impromptu break from a practice session to jump on for a quick shot, while yesterday a few of the Dutch players jumped on ahead of their match with Pakistan.
The pros, though, will not be going into the draw for the fantastic prize up for grabs. From six deliveries, players are awarded points and those on the top of the leaderboard at the end of the tournament will go into a draw for two return Business Class Emirates flights from London to Dubai.
The game is in the spirit of the fun and exciting atmosphere which the Twenty20 format has brought to cricket and Emirates is proud to be giving fans even more to get excited about.
Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airline & Group, said: “We are thrilled to be part of this carnival of cricket. The Emirates Flying Catch is a brilliant game and we are delighted that people are enjoying it so much. The ICC World Twenty20 is all about fun and the Flying Catch captures the spirit of the event perfectly.”
Emirates’ ICC Official Partner status gives the airline sponsorship rights to all ICC major tournaments, including the 2011 and 2015 ICC Cricket World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy and ICC World Twenty20. It also sponsors the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, ICC Under-19 World Cup, ICC Intercontinental Cup and the ICC Women’s World Cup.
In partnership with the ICC, Emirates will continue sponsoring the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Referees. This agreement will see the Fly Emirates logo prominently displayed on the umpires’ clothing at all ICC events until 2015.
