Ricky Ponting has recounted a hilarious Shane Warne story after Najmul Hossain Shanto almost failed to complete a catch off David Warner in Bangladesh's World Cup clash.
Shanto celebrated a catch which was eerily similar to Herschelle Gibbs' infamous effort in the 1999 World Cup semi-final when he failed to complete a catch off Steve Waugh. Waugh went on to score a century.
After Shanto claimed the dismissal, Ponting wasn't so sure about the validity of his catch.
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"It was chipped straight to mid-on but the fieldsman has taken it and in the act of trying to throw the ball in the air, it has come out of his hands," he said on commentary.
"Will this be counted as a completed catch or not? In it goes. Taken on to it long enough, definitely got control, but interesting, will that be given out?
Warner continued to walk off the field with the dismissal verdict not checked.
Ponting still questioned the catch despite Steve Smith walking out as the new batter.
"This is that replay of the catch, chipped straight to mid-on, taken and completed comfortably but it's only been in the last if months where we have actually seen one like in a Test match in the UK," he said.
"Ben Stokes was the man. He took a catch at second slip, I think, off the spinner of Moeen Ali. Jumped up … went to through to the ball up in the air and clipped his leg on the way down.
"David Warner I think was completely oblivious to everything that had happened. Straight in the middle of his hands, no doubt about it, but I think it is the completion of the catch and being in complete control of your movements I think is the way it is worded. Interesting."
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In comparing the Gibbs catch to Shanto's clumsiness, Ponting described them as different but went on to say the 1999 incident had been foreshadowed by Warne.
"So the story with that Gibbs dropped catch, we had gone through their team line up and talked about their batters and bowlers and everyone is about to walk out and Warnie stands up and says, 'Boys before you go, if any of you guys hit a ball to Herschelle Gibbs today in the field do not walk. He has been catching and releasing the ball really quickly out of his hands in this tournament. If you hit a ball to him do not walk'," he recounted.
"Sure enough, Steve Waugh hit that catch to him, he threw it in the air, flicked out of the bottom of his hands, on the ground and given not out.
"(Before that) we all stood up and said, 'What is Warnie talking about? What are you talking about?'
"But it happened and the rest is history, Steve Waugh went on and made a magnificent hundred. If it wasn't for that, Steve Waugh making that hundred, we probably wouldn't have progressed to the next stage and gone on to win that World Cup in '99."
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