Caught Dismissal in Cricket — Behind, Off the Bat, and in the Field
How the caught dismissal works in cricket: edges to the keeper, catches in the field, the carry rule, and what makes a catch legal under the Laws.
What Is the Caught Dismissal?
A batter is out caught when a fielder (including the wicketkeeper) catches the ball directly from the bat (or the glove holding the bat) before it touches the ground. It is the most common form of dismissal in cricket, accounting for roughly 50% of all wickets across formats.
What Makes a Catch Legal?
For a catch to count, three conditions must be met: (1) The ball must not touch the ground before or during the catch. (2) The fielder must be in full control of the ball throughout the catching action. (3) The fielder must not touch or cross the boundary rope while completing the catch. If any foot or body part crosses the rope while the ball is held, the catch is not out — four or six runs are awarded depending on whether the ball cleared the rope.
Caught Behind
Caught behind is a catch taken by the wicketkeeper from an edge off the bat — the batter gets a thin edge on a delivery that brushes the outside of the bat and carries through to the keeper. It appears in the scorecard as 'c Wicketkeeper b Bowler'. The keeper receives the fielding credit (a catch); the bowler takes the wicket.
Caught and Bowled
When the bowler takes the catch off their own delivery, the dismissal is recorded as 'c & b Bowler'. Both the wicket and the catch are credited to the same player. Caught-and-bowled dismissals require exceptional reflexes and are celebrated for the simultaneous skill they demand.
Using DRS for a Caught Behind Review
Many caught-behind decisions are reviewed using DRS, specifically the Snickometer (Snicko) and UltraEdge technologies. These tools display audio waveforms from microphones embedded in the stumps, revealing whether there was an audible spike — indicating bat contact — at the moment the ball passed the edge. A clear spike coinciding precisely with the ball passing the bat confirms an edge; no spike suggests the ball missed the bat.
Frequently asked questions
Is a catch valid if it bounces off a fielder's helmet?
No. If the ball bounces off the fielding side's helmet and is then caught, the dismissal is not valid — five penalty runs are instead awarded to the batting team. The ball must carry directly from the bat to a fielder without touching a prohibited object.
Can you be caught out from a no-ball?
No. A caught dismissal off a no-ball is void. The ball is rebowled and the delivery is noted as a no-ball in the scorecard. On a free hit (limited-overs cricket), a catch is also not out.
What does 'c sub' mean in a cricket scorecard?
A substitute fielder took the catch. Substitute fielders can field but cannot bat, bowl, or keep wicket — only take catches or run out batters. The bowler still gets the wicket; the dismissal is recorded as 'c sub (Fielder's Name) b Bowler'.