Cricket legend Michael Slater missed the moment Mark Taylor described as 'absolutely magic'

Jiffy let out a scream as Lyon produced ‘unbelievable’ dismissal

Michael Slater missed the moment “magic” unfolded on day two of the opening Ashes Test at the Gabba, with Mark Taylor labelling Nathan Lyon’s miraculous dismissal of England’s Dawid Malan as “one of the best catches you’ll ever see”.

Slater had just sauntered off Channel Seven’s coverage for a comfort break when Lyon clung onto an absolute screamer at short leg off the bowling of Mitchell Starc to remove Malan for 82 and end a 162-run stand alongside Joe Root.

Taylor described the catch as “absolutely magic”, while Slater’s fellow commentator Ian Healy labelled it as “unbelievable”, before Jiffy produced a memorable spray for the ages live on air.

"Get up, get up, he has taken it! Ohhh this is beautiful. That is one of the best catches you'll ever see. How good was that? Unbelievable Nathan Lyon at short leg!" Healy bellowed.

"He probably had no right to take that, did he? Mark Taylor called it absolutely magic and I agree. It was all about the reflexes," Slater said.

"He flinched back and he's somehow got both hands to it. I don't know if he got his fingers underneath it. It was brilliant fielding. It's a reaction catch at short leg."

Lyon’s sensational grab came as England reached 2-220 at tea, having resumed at 1-15 without loss.

The tourists would finish the day at 4-294, with Root unbeaten on 128 and Ben Stokes alongside him on 34 - in what former captain Ricky Ponting believes is a crucial partnership for England.