It seems fitting, in view of my impending journey, that the latest instalment in the cricket memories series should be an incident from an Ashes Test in Australia. This is one of the greatest of catches, from the second Test last time England toured there (2002-3). So far as I know, there are no books about that series, but here are three accounts of the catch in question:
Equally revealing, and even more spectacular, was Vaughan's second-innings dismissal: a running, diving, stunning catch by McGrath at deep square leg. McGrath, who was in the middle of a spell at the time, is a six-and-a-half-foot quick bowler and as such meant to be a lumberer in the field. It is unlikely that any of England's bowlers would have even contemplated a catch, let alone possessed the athleticism actually to reach the ball. - Wisden 2004Readers will, of course, already have been aware of that historical parallel.Glenn McGrath's spectacular catch to dismiss English opener Michael Vaughan on the final day of the second Ashes cricket Test in Adelaide has been hailed as a miracle. The beanpole Australian fast bowler brought the Adelaide Oval crowd to their feet with a stunning diving catch in the outfield that ranks as one of the greatest in recent times. The 32-year-old McGrath sprinted around the boundary rope at deep square leg to swoop full length and take a catch inches off the ground to end a stubborn rearguard partnership with Alec Stewart. - ABC Sport
Glenn McGrath added to the air of Australian dominance when he took a superb catch at deep mid-wicket to dismiss Vaughan. After sprinting some distance, he launched himself at the ball and caught it in mid-air at full stretch with the ball escaping from his left hand before he finally secured it with his right. History suggests that the closest parallel might have been Clem Hill's athletic catch off Hugh Trumble which dismissed Dick Lilley in the 1902 Test at Old Trafford. - Wisden Australia 2003-04
[For links to the other posts in this series, see here.]