Caught Behind: When the Wicketkeeper Takes the Catch
Caught behind is one of cricket's most common dismissal modes — in Test cricket, approximately 25-30% of all dismissals are caught by the wicketkeeper. It is also one of the most disputed: whether the ball touched the bat edge before being caught is often ambiguous, leading to DRS reviews and edge-detection technology becoming essential tools in resolving close calls.
A caught-behind dismissal occurs when the ball touches the batsman's bat (or glove, if it was in contact with the bat at the moment of impact) and is caught by the wicketkeeper before touching the ground. It is credited to the wicketkeeper in the scorecard (the bowler also gets credit for the wicket). The edge can be very faint: a thin inside edge off the outside of the glove, or the ball grazing the handle as it passes — the sound is often a faint 'nick' that is audible on stump microphones but not clearly visible to the naked eye of the on-field umpire. This ambiguity is why caught-behind reviews are among the most common DRS challenges.
How Umpires Decide
The on-field umpire decides a caught-behind appeal by assessing: whether there was an audible nick (the ball grazing the bat's edge produces a distinctive sound); whether there was a visible deviation in the ball's trajectory (a thick edge deflects the ball noticeably; a thin edge barely changes its path); and the fielding side's body language (an appeal that is immediate and vocal suggests the wicketkeeper heard an edge). The umpire's decision without DRS technology relies primarily on the audio and visual information available in real time — approximately 0.3 seconds of information from the moment the ball passes the bat. With DRS, UltraEdge provides a synchronised audio waveform and high-speed video to confirm or deny the edge beyond the on-field umpire's perception.
Glove Caught Behind
A glove caught behind: if the ball touches the batsman's glove while it is in contact with the bat handle, the batsman is out caught (the glove is considered part of the bat when in contact with it). If the ball touches the glove when it is not in contact with the bat — for example, the batsman has their glove off the handle at the moment of impact — this is not out caught. This glove-bat contact rule creates a very specific legal grey area: a batsman who reacts to a short ball by ducking with their glove still on the handle may be caught off what appears to be a body hit. The umpire (or third umpire under DRS) must determine whether the glove was in contact with the bat at the moment of ball-glove contact.
Caught Behind vs Stumped
Caught behind and stumped are both wicketkeeper dismissals but differ fundamentally: a caught behind requires the ball to touch the bat or bat-in-contact glove before being caught; a stumped requires the batsman to be out of the crease when the wicketkeeper gathers the ball and breaks the stumps, and the batsman must not be attempting a run. The two can be confused when a batsman steps out of the crease and the wicketkeeper gathers the ball after it passes the bat — the umpire must determine whether there was an edge (caught behind) or no edge (stumped). If there was an edge, it is caught behind; if the ball passed the bat cleanly, it is stumped.
Frequently asked questions
What does caught behind mean in cricket?
Caught behind in cricket means the batsman was dismissed by hitting the ball to the wicketkeeper who caught it before it touched the ground. The ball must have touched the bat (or the batsman's glove while it was in contact with the bat) before reaching the wicketkeeper. Caught behind is one of the most common forms of caught dismissal — approximately 25-30% of Test wickets fall caught to the wicketkeeper. It is also one of the most disputed dismissals, as thin edges (the ball barely grazing the bat's outer edge) are often inaudible or invisible to the naked eye, requiring DRS edge-detection technology to confirm.
Can you be out caught off a glove in cricket?
A batsman can be out caught if the ball makes contact with their glove while the glove is in contact with the bat. The glove is legally considered part of the bat when it is touching the bat handle at the moment of ball contact. If the ball hits the glove when it is not in contact with the bat handle (for example, the batsman's hand is removed from the handle), it is not out — the glove is then a separate object from the bat. This rule means that a batsman hit on the glove while playing a shot with both hands on the bat can be caught out, but a batsman who takes their gloved hand off the handle and is then hit on the glove would not be out caught.
How does UltraEdge detect bat-ball contact?
UltraEdge combines two data streams to detect bat-ball contact: a high-speed microphone (capturing the audio waveform — any bat-ball contact produces a distinct spike in the sound wave); and a high-speed video feed (synchronised with the audio waveform, showing the exact frame where the ball passes the bat edge). The system overlays the audio waveform on the video timeline — if a spike appears at the exact moment the ball passes the bat in the video, it indicates bat-ball contact. If the spike appears before or after the ball's passage, it may indicate contact with pad, helmet, or another object. UltraEdge is more reliable for thick edges (loud, clear spike) than thin edges (faint spike that may be ambiguous).