England win thrilling 4th ODI against Australia; Glenn Maxwell's boundary catch sets internet on fire

Eoin Morgan dives to make his ground on way to his 92-ball 92

England have won the 4th ODI against Australia at Headingley by 3 wickets with 10 balls to spare, levelling the series 2-2.

Batting first, the Australian innings was rocked by early inroads by David Willey, being reduced to 30/3 in the 9th over. Glenn Maxwell (85 off 64) and George Bailey (75 off 110) combined to steady the innings. Maxwell powered his way to his 12th ODI fifty, before falling to an attempt to reverse sweep the ball.

The 25-year-old Willey, who had played only 4 matches before this, was the pick of the English bowlers with figures of 3/51, but seemed to lose steam towards the end.

David Willey's found a new stance when appealing for a wicket! #ShotOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/0JlC5jiEHi

— ICC (@ICC) September 11, 2015

There was, yet again, some great death overs batting by Matthew Wade (50 off 26 balls), who blasted the final Australian score to 299.

England started off their reply in a positive manner, despite losing regular wickets. A partnership between Eoin Morgan (92 off 92 balls) and Ben Stokes (41 off 54 balls) formed the bulk of their score.

Morgan lost his wicket to a screamer of a catch by Glenn Maxwell, this being the 3rd time he was dismissed in the 90s. The previous two instances where he had been dismissed in the 90s was when he was turning out for Ireland.

Maxwell back into the attack now after this stunning catch #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/BpuDtcm72U

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) September 11, 2015

Morgan also became England’s highest scorer in ODIs against Australia during the course of his innings, crossing Graham Gooch’s 1395 runs.

Maxwell’s miracle catch and whether it was legal

Glenn Maxwell was however not done with his share of on-field miracles for the day. The catch he took on the boundary ropes to dismiss Liam Plunkett soon after is one that deserves to enter the annals of the greatest shows of athleticism ever seen on a cricket field

A video of the catch:

Glenn Maxwell, flipping Physics the bird... #EngvAus pic.twitter.com/TeE93wcaD8

— Vithushan (@Vitu_E) September 11, 2015

Glenn Maxwell takes a stunner on the boundary line against England #EngvAus #Cricfit pic.twitter.com/94Izlk2gfS

— Cricfit (@CricFit) September 11, 2015

That is insane by Maxwell!!!#ENGvAUS

— Ajit Agarkar (@imAagarkar) September 11, 2015

There is already a debate on whether Maxwell’s catch was a legal catch, and here is an interesting tweet sent out by the cricketer himself on a previous occasion:

That's not out!! U can't jump from over the rope to take the catch! The rule has changed, otherwise u can catch one 20m back from the rope!

— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) January 17, 2015

The rule, as before September 2013 when it was modified, was that the fielder must step back into the field of play before completing a catch. Maxwell, after having flipped the ball, caught it with his second attempt while still airborne – before his feet had landed within the boundary ropes. The modification was done to reward exceptional shows of athleticism on the boundary ropes.

Going by the rules he had himself spoken out for, Maxwell’s miracle catch should not have stood.

Miracles notwithstanding, Moeen Ali and David Willey took England home with 10 balls still left to play. England and Australia will go into the match at Old Trafford with the 5-match series tied at 2-2.

85 off 64 after coming in at 30/3 2 of the best #ridicucatches you'll see this year 1 wicket World-class today from Glenn Maxwell!

— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) September 11, 2015