Stats: Most catches in Test cricket

Rahul Dravid takes a spectacular catch at slip

Most catches in Test history is taken by the man considered to be one of the greatest batsman India has ever produced Rahul Dravid. He became the first man to pouch 200 catches in the format.

Most of the fielders in the top list are players who have stood in slips which isn’t easy in Test cricket as you need tremendous levels of concentration and patience.

Here is a list of top 5 players with the most number of catches in Test matches.

Player	Matches	Catches	Catches/innings
Rahul Dravid (IND)	164	210	0.697
Jacques Kallis (SA)	166	200	0.634
Ricky Ponting (AUS)	168	196	0.597
Mahela Jayawardena (SL)	143	194	0.751
Mark Waugh (AUS)	128	181	0.738

 

1. Rahul Dravid (India)

Is he the best slip fielder ever? That will be debatable, but he certainly is India’s best ever fielder in that region. He took some blinders even during the fag end of his career when he was 38 to 39 years old. Kumble and Harbhajan will always be grateful to this man.

2. Jacques Kallis (South Africa)

South Africa’s own version of Dravid was Kallis. He had the safest pair of hands in the side and became only the second man to breach the 200 mark and retired immediately from the format.

3. Ricky Ponting (Australia)

Ponting not only makes it to the Test list, but also to the one day list. With 196 catches to his name, he surpassed his old team mate Mark Waugh as the most successful Australian fielder.

4. Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka)

Jayawardena’s catches per innings ratio stands at a terrific 0.751 which is the best among the top 5. With the top 3 having retired, he stands a very good chance of over taking them since he still has a couple of more years left in him.

5. Mark Waugh (Australia)

Mark in his time was regarded the best slip fielder in the world. His catches to innings ratio also looks impressive at 0.738 and for a long time he was holding the world record until Dravid broke it in 2010.

 

Note: Stats updated till 19th May 2014.