Caught Out in Cricket Explained: The Most Common Dismissal

A caught dismissal in cricket occurs when the ball comes off the batter's bat (or glove while the glove is holding the bat) and is caught by a fielder before it touches the ground. Caught out is the most common way a batter is dismissed in international cricket — more wickets fall to catches than to any other mode of dismissal across all formats. Understanding when a catch is valid and when it is not is essential to understanding the Laws of Cricket.

Valid Catch Requirements

For a catch to be valid and the batter to be dismissed, several conditions must be met: the ball must have come from the bat or batter's glove (while the glove is gripping the bat); the fielder must catch the ball before it touches the ground; the fielder must have complete control of the ball with their hands (not resting it against their body); and neither the fielder nor the ball can touch or cross the boundary line while the fielder is in the act of completing the catch. The final condition is important for boundary catches: a fielder who touches or crosses the boundary rope while catching the ball concedes a six, not a wicket.

Caught Behind

A caught behind dismissal is when the wicketkeeper catches a ball edged off the bat. This is one of the most common catching dismissals in cricket: the ball nicks the edge of the bat (a thin edge) and travels to the wicketkeeper standing behind the stumps. Caught behind decisions require a thin edge to have occurred — a ball that passes close to the bat without touching it is not caught behind. The third umpire uses ball-tracking technology (Snickometer and Hot Spot) to determine whether the ball touched the bat edge in DRS reviews.

Caught and Bowled

A caught and bowled dismissal — abbreviated as c & b — is when the bowler takes the catch themselves, off their own bowling. This occurs when a batter plays a defensive shot or a mishit and the ball travels back toward the bowler, who dives or reaches to take the catch. Caught and bowled dismissals require quick reactions from the bowler as the ball returns quickly to them. Unlike a caught behind or slip catch, the caught and bowled credit is shared between the bowler (who both bowls and catches) — it counts as a wicket for the bowler and a catch for the bowler.

No Ball and Catches

If a bowler bowls a no-ball (overstepping the crease, bowling above waist height full toss, etc.), the batter cannot be dismissed caught on that delivery — even if the ball is caught cleanly by a fielder. The no-ball takes precedence over the dismissal: the batter is not out, a no-ball is signalled, and the delivery must be rebowled as a free hit (in T20I and ODI cricket). This rule is important to know: watching a catch taken off a no-ball delivery can be confusing until the umpire's no-ball signal clarifies what has happened.