Picture perfect

It adorns the wall at Haverfordwest Cricket Club framed for posterity enabling generations to come to marvel at its brilliance.

For those at the game it was a blink and you’ll miss it affair all over in a trice as a future test player was caught by a keeper at the height of his game proving, if any were needed of how good he is.

Debate will always range as to whether it is the finest catch ever seen in a Harrison-Allen final but one thing is for sure, it’s the best photograph taken at the event and most probably the best ever taken at a local cricket ground. Even now, 17 years later and it still manages to beguile.

The man behind the lens was Martin Cavaney

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“I’d always arrive at the final for the second innings so I could take some action shots and then take pictures at the presentation ceremony and this was no exception.

“I’d stand in one spot with my back to then sun as this stops reflections and offers better light. You can see a spectator shading his eyes from the low lying sun in the background. I’d focus the camera on the stumps as this helps me frame the shot and to do this I always like to get a tight angle on the picture but not so tight as to annoy the bowler or batsman.

“The camera was set on a tripod with a long lens and with it all in focus I saw what was happening, took the picture and with a great bit of luck this is the shot I got. Cricket is not an easy sport to photograph as everything happens so quickly and you never know which way the ball is going to go but this one came out ok.

“What I like about this picture, apart from the diving catch is that it’s got three main players in the frame. The Bowler (Paul Thomas) has his hands in the air in celebration, the batsman (Brendan Nash) looks back a bit startled while the keeper (Huw Scriven) is diving full stretch claiming the ball in his fingers and it’s taken the moment the ball hits his gloves.

“I didn’t know I had such a good picture until the day after when I took it to Tesco to get it developed. Today, you can shoot all you want, check the picture as you take them and choose your favourite as you go but back then in a way it was all a surprise and this was a good one.”

What happened next?

The catch helped inspire Haverfordwest to victory and Scriven went down in local folklore. Debate has always raged about who was better behind the stumps, him or Kilgetty’s Ian Poole and while that one will go on, no-one could deny his talent deserved to framed for immortality.

Still the number one choice behind the stumps for Haverfordwest and still one of the county’s finest he finally got international honours for his ability by being selected for Wales’ over 40’s.

Nash meanwhile went on to play for the West Indies despite growing up in Australia thanks to a Jamaican born father. He played 21 tests, scored 1103 runs with a highest score of 114. He now pays for Kent.

Paul Thomas, a quality bowler that troubled the best with his pace and vicious bounce from just short of a length retired from cricket a few years ago.

Martin Cavaney is still one of the County’s premier photographers and although he was the man behind the lens of this iconic shot, he admits cricket isn’t even his favourite sport to photograph. That accolade goes to motorsport with rally cross a particular favourite of his. He can be contacted on 01646 622 213.

I got no idea what came of the spectator in the background or whether he ever invested in a pair of sunglasses.