‘Not human’: Legends, teammates stunned by ‘freakish’ Smith

Steve Smith left everyone in awe on Sunday night (AEDT), including teammate Nathan Lyon who labelled the star’s slip-catching heroics as “freakish” as Australia took control of the first Test against South Africa.

The vice-captain equalled Joe Root’s record of 220 Test catches when he caught captain Temba Bavuma for 3 off Lyon’s bowling, before overtaking the England star’s record with an amazing diving catch to dismiss David Bedingham.

Smith wasn’t done there and saved the best for last, anticipating a reverse-sweep from Kyle Verreynne after the lunch break and diving out with one hand.

The catch was described as “out of this world” by commentators, while Matt Renshaw exclaimed “oh my god Smudge” while Marnus Labuschagne screamed in excitement after watching Smith pull off another trademark effort.

“You can’t do that. That is not human. That is an unbelievable grab,” former South African bowler Vernon Philander said on commentary.

“You shouldn’t be able to do that. Do not enter that region because there is a guy called Steve Smith. Wow, ladies and gentlemen, that is absolutely exceptional.”

Mark Waugh, one of the greatest slips catchers in cricket history, said those types of moments were “bread and butter” for a player like Smith.

“That’s what great fielders do. They can anticipate, and they make something out of nothing,” he said on Fox Cricket.

“I think some players have got it and some haven’t, and Steve Smith’s a great catcher. Bread and butter for him ... he makes hard catches look easy.

“Sometimes he drops the odd easy one, but he catches a lot of really tough ones very easily. He’s a tremendous fielder and he’s the best.”

Speaking to media at the close of play, Lyon heaped praise on Smith, explaining why it’s more than just skill and luck that makes him elite.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have him stand at first slip or leg slip for the majority of my career, and I’m extremely grateful for that,” Lyon said.

“He’s an incredible thinker of the game, but the way he moves and premeditates for those type of catches, they’re freakish – there’s not many people within that change room who would be able to pull off what he does.

“The amount of catches that he does at training is incredible. You look at the likes of when I first came into Test cricket – Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke – how much they caught balls, Steve is exactly the same.”

Australia took control after skipper Pat Cummins snagged three wickets to lead an even spread of bowlers, knocking over South Africa for 284.

Nic Maddinson and Travis Head then added a quickfire 33-run partnership in the final session, before bad light again called a premature end to the day’s play, with fewer than six overs bowled in Australia’s second innings.

The visitors lead by 139 heading into day four in Durban.