Young right-arm seamer Nathan Smith took a stunning catch in the Super Smash – New Zealand’s domestic T20 tournament – match between Canterbury and Wellington on Friday. The lanky cricketer, known for his ability to extract bounce from a good length, showed his athleticism on the fine-leg boundary to send back Canterbury opener Ken McClure for a duck in the first over of their chase. Chasing a stiff target of 178 for victory, Canterbury got off to the worst possible start courtesy the brilliant catch by Smith.

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NATHAN SMITH STOP IT! pic.twitter.com/MfSmeEVtc9

— Cricket Wellington (@cricketwgtninc) November 26, 2021

There was nothing special on that delivery from Hamish Bennett. In fact, it was on the pads asking for punishment. McClure flicked it off his pads and got decent timing too but unfortunately for him, Smith, standing in the fine-leg boundary had other ideas. He took a few quick steps towards his right, used his height to sort of fist the ball up in the air. The momentum took him over the boundary but he had the athleticism and the presence of mind to jump back inside to complete a stunning catch. McClure had to take the long walk back for a second-ball duck.

Wellington kept getting wickets in regular intervals as Canterbury could never really recover from the early blow and in the end, the 178-run target proved to be too much as they could only manage 150 for 9 in their 20 overs. Wellington won the match by 27 runs.

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Smith, however, did not have the best of times with the ball in hand. He was the most expensive bowler for Wellington, conceding 40 runs in his full quota of four overs. Towards the end of the Canterbury innings Smith picked up a couple of wickets to end the day on a high.  Michael Bracewell was the most impressive bowler. He ended up with figures of 3 for 22.

Earlier, a swashbuckling fifty by Finn Allen (57 off 30) powered Wellington to 177 for 7 after being asked to bat first.