2019 World Cup: Photographer does a Ben Stokes, catches Faf one-handed

Ian Kington was on duty at the pavilion end of the ground, when South African captain Faf du Plessis hit a six and the ball flew in his direction

London: A photographer rose to fame at The Oval stadium on Sunday after he grabbed a stunning one-handed catch during Bangladesh vs South Africa match in ICC World Cup 2019.

Ian Kington was on duty at the pavilion end of the ground, when South African captain Faf du Plessis hit a six and the ball flew in his direction. du Plessis went to score fifty with a soaring straight six off Mosaddek Hossain.

Kington, who was keeping eyes on the lenses to grab the moment, instantly caught the ball with one hand and couldn't resist showing the crowd the catch as he acknowledged the cheers from the stands.

“That is a good grab, that is a classic catch,” said television commentator Mark Nicholas said.

“I had two frames (photographs) of him (Du Plessis) hitting the six and then the instinct is to look up and see where the ball is,” Kington said.

“Obviously it's quite tight for space where we sit and I couldn't move,” the 49-year-old from Kent added.“I had my long lens camera in one hand and I just sort of reached up and it stuck and I caught it.”The interesting part of Kington's catch is that he never played professional cricket.

“I've never played cricket in an actual team, I've just joined in a bit with my mates,” he explained.

Talking about his newfound celebrity image, Kington said, "My phone keeps going off. It's nice to do something that means you've got a story to tell, but I guess that's my five minutes of fame.”