Steve Waugh is used to being the man behind the camera. But last Sunday, the former Australian Test captain was blown away by a volunteer’s eye for a shot when he captured his son’s catch “assist” in a local first-grade match, which is being compared to John Dyson’s “catch of the century” in 1982.
After Randwick-Petersham smashed 2-210 from their 20 overs thanks to some more big hitting from Eknoor Singh (123 not out), Campbelltown Camden’s hopes of chasing down the big total suffered an early blow when Austin Waugh soared high and towards the boundary to secure the ball, before flicking it back inside the field of play to teammate Adam Lecky.
The catch left the visitors reeling at 1-7, with opener Bailey Abela the unfortunate man to have to walk off after thinking he had smashed Riley Ayre for six.
Waugh, who was no stranger to taking a classic catch either, said he thought it was better than John Dyson’s famous catch in 1982, when West Indian Sylvester Clarke was forced to head back to the pavilion at the SCG.
“I saw Dyson’s catch,” Waugh said. “This was, I think, a lot better because it was more dangerous with the fence behind you. And he actually jumped a lot higher as well. You’ll see how high he got off the ground, about six feet off the ground.
“Yeah, it was better than Dyson, for sure.”
While Austin Waugh wasn’t technically credited with the catch, he did all the hard work.
Fearing the moment would be lost in time, Waugh snr, who had his camera buried away in his bag, was pleasantly surprised and relieved to know that the club’s local and trusty photographer was on hand to capture the incredible moment.
“I was a bit lucky. I pointed in the right direction. Austin did all the hard work,” said Peter Bannigan.
Bannigan was not even supposed to be at Coogee Oval for the T20 match.
The 75-year-old had not missed a single Bathurst 1000 race since 1982, but some health issues, including a recent blood clot in his right eye, meant the Sydney local opted against driving out to the event. It’s a good thing he did.
“I guess the photo I took at Coogee would have been a lot better than anything I took at Bathurst,” Bannigan quipped.
While Waugh said his son’s individual piece of magic had shocked him, he had been blown away by Bannigan’s quick finger and sharp eye.
“This guy has been taking photos at Randwick Cricket Club for 25 years as a volunteer. He takes these amazing shots and the silhouette of the shadow on the fence is pretty incredible,” Waugh said.
“People are saying it’s one of the best catches they’ve ever seen and he captured it.”
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Friday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.