The man who prematurely curtailed Kevin Pietersen’s 100th Test match celebrations holds the rare distinction of claiming more Test match catches than he’s played first-class matches.
Chris Sabburg lived up to his reputation as the best fielder in Queensland when he made a cameo appearance on the fourth morning of the first Test and claimed himself a place in Commonwealth Bank Ashes folklore by intercepting a top-edged fly ball off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson.
The 23-year-old, who won a rookie contract with Big Bash League franchise Brisbane Heat in 2012 under the guidance of current Australian coach Darren Lehmann, has yet to represent his State at either Bupa Sheffield Shield or RYOBI Cup level.
But while the Baggy Green cap he has donned when making regular dashes on to the field to administer drinks, fresh batting gloves and breakthroughs will need to be returned at match’s end, he now has a priceless memorabilia moment to frame and hang at home.
“It wasn’t a hard catch,†Sabburg said of the dismissal, which saw him run in from the fine leg boundary rope to snare a key breakthrough after Pietersen had scored 26.
“I saw it all the way, I just had to pretty much settle myself and watch it in (to my hands).â€
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