Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the catch is taken by the wicket-keeper, then informally it is known as caught behind or caught at the wicket. A catch by the bowler is known as caught and bowled. This has nothing to do with the dismissal bowled but is rather a shorthand for saying the catcher and bowler are the same player. Caught is the most common method of dismissal at higher levels of competition, accounting for 36,190 Test match dismissals between 1877 and 2012, which is 56.9% of all Test match dismissals in this period. South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher holds the record for the most Test match catches, with 532, while Rahul Dravid holds the record for the most Test match catches by non-wicket-keepers, with 210.
The striker is out Caught if a ball delivered by the bowler, not being a No ball, touches his/her bat without having previously been in contact with any fielder, and is subsequently held by a fielder as a fair catch,..., before it touches the ground.
This means that the batsman cannot be out caught if:
The batsman does not hit the ball with his bat or a gloved hand holding the bat.
The ball, having been hit, makes contact with the field before a fielder catches the ball.
The ball does not remain under the control of the fielder.
The ball is hit and lands beyond or on the boundary;.
A fielder taking the catch makes contact with the boundary rope or the area outside the boundary, with any part of his body, equipment, when touching the ball.
Note that if a batsman could be given out both caught and by another method, 'caught' takes precedence, unless the other method is bowled. If a batsman is out caught, any runs scored off that delivery are voided. If a batsman is caught, the bowler is credited with the batsman's wicket and the catching fielder is credited for the dismissal, there is no catch assists for a saving boundaries before catch, or deflecting the ball to a different fielder in the slips cordon. If the two batsmen cross each other, in attempting to take a run, before the catch was taken, the non-striking batsman at the time remains at the opposite end of the pitch as the new incoming batsman comes to the crease at his former end. This means, unless it is now a new over, he is now on strike and the incoming batsman is not.
Adjudication
If the catch taken is pronounced or obvious, the players need not appeal to the umpire; the batsman normally chooses to acknowledge the dismissal himself. However, in the event that the ball brushes the edge of the bat, or the catch is taken very close to the ground, or the ball appears to have bounced off the batsman's foot, or the ball appearing to come off the bat very close to the pitch surface, or if the batsman is reluctant to accept that he has been dismissed, the fielding team has to appeal to the umpire for this decision. In international competition, if neither field umpire can clearly decide if a catch has been made or not, they may refer to the third umpire for a review. The third umpire may also be used if the Umpire Decision Review System is available and a team wishes to dispute a call concerning a possible catch.
Celebration
Before 2000, the Laws of Cricket defined a catch as being completed when the player had "complete control over the further disposal of the ball". In the very strictest sense, this meant that the player did not finish catching the ball until he threw it away, though the player doesn't have to throw the ball to anyone in particular in so doing. For this reason, even today many cricketers celebrate a catch by lobbing the ball into the air. In a Super Sixes match in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, South African Herschelle Gibbs caught Australian captain Steve Waugh but Waugh was given not out when Gibbs was ruled to not have control of the ball when attempting to throw the ball in celebration. Waugh went on to score a match-winning 120 not out to qualify his team for the semi-finals; Australia went on to win the tournament.
The wicket-keepers with the highest number of catches taken in Test matches are as follows. Note this excludes catches made while not fielding as a wicket-keeper.
Rank
Wicket-keeper
Catches
Test Career dates
1
Mark Boucher
532
1997–2012
2
Adam Gilchrist
379
1999–2008
3
Ian Healy
366
1988–99
4
Rod Marsh
343
1970–84
5
Jeff Dujon
265
1981–91
6
Brad Haddin
262
2008–15
7
MS Dhoni
256
2005–14
8
Alan Knott
250
1967–81
9
Matt Prior
243
2007–14
10
Alec Stewart
227
1990–2003
Source: . Last updated: 19 April 2019. The non-wicket-keepers with the highest number of catches taken in Test matches are as follows. Note this excludes any catches made while fielding as a wicket-keeper.
Brad Haddin
Alan Knott
Alastair Cook
Stephen Fleming
Graeme Smith
Brian Lara