During the first semi-final match of the Vitality T20 Blast at Edgbaston, Northamptonshire captain David Willey took one of the best catches in cricket history. He along with his teammate Saif Zaib achieved the impossible with a stunning relay catch under pressure in the knockout game on Saturday.
The incident occurred when Somerset batsman Craig Overton was bowling to Ben Sanderson for Northants; The bowler bowled a perfectly slow ball, Overton thought he could get the maximum, before Willey did the impossible by catching the ball in the air and throwing it towards his partner Zab, who caught it with ease.
david wiley becomes spiderman
This catch can become the catch of the tournament. This happened in 17.3 overs when the game was tied and 33 runs were required from 16 balls.
See here:
David Wiley This is incredible!!!
The most outrageous relay catch you’ll ever see! pic.twitter.com/DFm4D4X426
— Vitality T20 Blast (@VitalityBlast) July 18, 2026
Under pressure, David Willey became Spiderman for his team as the captain’s catch led the team to win the game and qualify for the final, as Overton failed to bowl the ball on the previous ball after taking it past the boundary and was out for 5.
Northamptonshire defend low score
Talking about the match, Somerset won the toss and decided to bowl first. They had a good start with the ball, with Northamptonshire losing three wickets early. Chris Lynn played a solid inning of 39 runs and then contributions of 26 and 21 runs from Saif Zaib and Lewis McManus helped the team put good runs on the board with 143/10 in 20 overs.
Somerset got off to the worst possible start chasing the target and Willey dismissed Tom Banton for a golden duck on the very first ball as they were 12/3 at one stage. He then formed a good partnership with Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Will Smeed, scoring 62 runs between them and stabilizing the collapse.
Smeed made 49 and missed his half-century, Kohler-Cadmore made 29. Following the collapse of this partnership, Somerset could not sustain the run chase as David Willey completed a spell of 3/17 and Ben Sanderson also took 3/28, allowing Somerset to score only 126/9 and lose the match by 17 runs.
“It’s like a red rag on a bull for me,” said David Willey after the semi-final win.
After winning the match, David Willey said that the Somerset team felt that they had won the match despite making such a low score because they were overconfident, which served as a motivation for him and his team.
“I think we’ve been absolutely devilish against them for two and a half games and the last hour and a half we’ve turned it on,” Wiley said.
“Look, do you know what? There was a moment when I walked out there when we were going out for the second half, and they looked like they thought they had won it. I felt the same way, and it’s like a red rag to a bull to me.”
“Coming from a slightly older Northampton, I don’t like it. It’s really excited me and I usually play my best cricket when I’m excited, so it was very satisfying.”
