I held my hands out to catch it...and heard the ball land two metres away!
MY CAREER took an unexpected trajectory, partly because of a ball that took an unexpected trajectory from MS Dhoni’s bat in Mumbai in 2006. At least 16 catches went down in that Test, but the one that sealed my reputation came in India’s second innings. I’d already dropped Dhoni in the first innings when he’d driven a ball that thudded into my chest. Now it looked as though he was planning to monster Shaun Udal. Dhoni shaped to hit a six but instead hit it almost vertically into the sun. I thought I had it, then it disappeared and I panicked. The sun was so bright, it was blinding, but I knew I had to do something, so I held my hands out. It was then that I heard a thud and saw the ball land two metres to the right of me. You couldn’t even call it a drop because I hadn’t got anywhere near it. It was probably the funniest thing you’ve ever seen on a cricket field, if you were anyone but me. Or Shaun Udal. The other person who failed to see the funny side was our coach, Duncan Fletcher. Duncan was good at failing to see the funny side of things. My team-mates were laughing. What could I do? I already knew this was going to be on a compilation of cricket’s biggest blunders. I didn’t realise I’d end up presenting the video. I think it set the tone for my fielding from then on. Clumsy mistakes were amplified and everyone scrutinised me for it. Would I have achieved the level of fame and popularity I did if I’d caught Dhoni? Probably not. But I still wish I’d caught it!