The drop that cost Durham 483 runs
Chris Scott, who dropped Brian Lara on 18 before he went on to make 501, talks about the long-lasting effect that moment has had on his life
ESPNcricinfo staff
07-Jun-2016
Despite having 300 first-class dismissals to his name, wicketkeeper Chris Scott is mostly remembered for dropping Brian Lara on 18 before he went on to make a record 501. The Guardian's Andy Bull chats with Scott, who relives the famous spilled catch, and talks about how he has become a point of reference whenever a batsman is dropped and then scores big.
Scott has played back that next split-second many times in his memory. He still can't quite make sense of it. "Now, some people say I was celebrating, trying to throw the ball up before I actually caught it. But I have never quite known what happened. I just wonder if I …" He searches for the right word. "… if I froze. Somewhere in the middle. Suddenly I just froze. And then the ball was on the floor."
If you've ever dropped an easy catch you'll have an idea how Scott felt, how his stomach must have emptied out as his blood flooded up to his blushing face. I'm a bad catcher myself. Especially under a high ball, one that gives you too much time to think as it rises but, somehow, far too little to act as its falls. Few things are quite so humiliating. But for Scott, cricket wasn't just a game, but a job. The drop wasn't just an embarrassing slip, but a professional screw-up.
Later, the story would come about that Scott said: "I bet he'll go on and get a hundred now." That was a line he gave to Simon Hughes at a party a couple of years later, which Hughes then used on TV. Maybe Scott did say that. He isn't certain. "I may have said it. But I'm sure it wasn't the first thing I said. The first thing I said wasn't fit for publication."