Paul Collingwood, the England cricket team's mentor, was impressed by a fan who caught a ball with one hand while holding a pint of beer during the third day of the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka in Manchester.
Fan holding beer takes one-handed catch
On a bright sunny day at Old Trafford, with a gentle breeze in the air, the fan was enjoying a beer when pacer Mark Wood hit the ball into the stands. The incident occurred in the 18th over when Asitha Fernando bowled a short ball to Wood, who pulled it over deep midwicket. The ball landed in the hands of a man who was holding four cups of beer stacked one underneath the other. Remarkably, he caught the ball with one hand, leaving Collingwood and others astonished.
ALSO READ: 'We understand his feelings…': Shreyas Iyer reveals how team decodes Rohit Sharma’s famous 'Ye-Woh'
Collingwood was seen laughing about the incident and even gestured to highlight the man's impressive catch despite holding a pint in his other hand.
On Day 3, Jamie Smith scored his maiden Test century before England reduced Sri Lanka to 10-2 in their second innings, strengthening their hold on the series opener at Old Trafford.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Smith's 111 on the third day was the highlight of England's first-innings total of 358 all out, which gave them a 122-run lead over Sri Lanka's initial score of 236. Due to weather interruptions on the first two days of this three-match series, the playing hours were extended. As a result, by the time England was dismissed, Sri Lanka faced a challenging short session before lunch. This short period was sufficient for them to lose two wickets in three overs.
Nishan Madushka was dismissed for a third-ball duck when he shouldered arms to a Chris Woakes delivery that swung back off the pitch. Kusal Mendis also fell for nought, caught behind by Smith off Gus Atkinson's bowling. Sri Lanka hoped to rely on Dimuth Karunaratne but he returned to the pavilion after scoring 27 off 32. Later veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews came to prevent further collapse, as England continue to apply pressure in what is stand-in captain Ollie Pope's first match in charge following Ben Stokes' hamstring injury.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK: