Caught
Also known as: caught out, caught behind, edged to slip
Caught is the most common dismissal in cricket — the batter is out when a fielder catches the ball on the full (without it bouncing) after it has come off the bat or glove.
Once the ball touches the bat or the glove (which is attached to the bat hand and counts as part of it), it becomes live for a catching dismissal. Any fielder — including the wicket-keeper — can take the catch. The catch must be clean: the fielder must maintain complete control of the ball throughout, and neither the ball nor the fielder can touch the boundary rope or go beyond it before the catch is completed. The most common caught dismissals are edges to the slip cordon (for pace bowlers) and catches to long-on or long-off (for spin bowlers or in limited-overs cricket). "Caught behind" means caught by the wicket-keeper from a fine edge. Catching ability is therefore one of the most crucial fielding skills.
Example
The batter edges an out-swinger to second slip, who dives to his right and takes a brilliant one-handed catch — the batter is out caught.
Why it matters
Being caught is the most frequent way batters are dismissed. SwingVantage's cricket analysis (in development) will link edge frequency to specific bowling types and batter technique to identify the swing-bowling matchups most likely to produce catches.
Related terms
- Slip CatchingSlip catching is the specialist fielding skill of catching edges from the bat in the slip cordon — the group of fielders positioned behind the batter on the off side — typically requiring exceptional reflexes and soft hands.
- Out-SwingOut-swing is conventional swing bowling where the ball curves in the air from leg to off (away from the body of a right-handed batter), enticing an edge towards the slip cordon.
- Catching PositionA catching position in cricket is the stance and body alignment a fielder adopts while waiting for a possible catch — soft knees, hands in front, eyes on the ball — to maximise reaction time and secure the catch.
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