England fielder Chris Jordan lit up Westpac Stadium on Tuesday night with a dazzling one-handed catch in New Zealand's innings of the opening Tri-Series clash between the teams.
Fast bowler Jordan was fielding on the long-off fence when big-hitting Colin de Grandhomme, promoted to No 4 in the batting order,struck his first ball, from legspinner Adil Rashid, high in his direction.
Jordan, who spent the domestic T20 competition playing for winners Northern Districts, timed his leap perfectly to pull down a one-handed catch.
Chris Jordan of England takes a catch over the boundry to dismiss Colin de Grandhomme of the Black Caps. Photo / Getty
He then had the presence of mind to keep his feet just inside the boundary rope when he landed to make sure of the dismissal.
It was a demonstration of both Jordan's athleticism but also the massively improved standards of out-fielding at the top level of the game —and the fact the spectacular at times can seem almost routine.
Fans responded almost immediately to Jordan's remarkable catch, with some even comparing it to former New Zealand skipper Dan Vettori's spectacular effort against the West Indies at the 2015 World Cup.
WOW! Jordan takes one-handed stunner on the boundary to dismiss De Grandhomme first ball, two wickets in two balls for Rashid with Guptill (65 off 40) also out. Watch #NZvENG live on Sky Sports Cricket. https://t.co/9oYH3Q1VEz NZ 122-3 off 14 overs. pic.twitter.com/RTmk7SD6fd
Despite de Grandhomme's first-ball dismissal, the Black Caps managed an excellent total of 196-5 from their 20 overs, with Kane Williamson (72 off 46 balls) Martin Guptill (65 off 40) top-scoring.
Jordan ended up with bowling figures of 1-34 in four overs, with Tim Seifert (14*) and Ross Taylor (1*) taking 15 runs off his last over.
