Most catches as a fielder in Test cricket
Fielding is considered one of the most important elements of cricket as it allows players to contribute to the team even after failing to perform well with the bat or ball. Fielding plays an even more important role in Test cricket as a captain requires its players to pounce on any opportunity presented by the opposition.
Hence, he places his best men in the most crucial positions who can grab hold of the opportunity whenever the opposition makes a mistake. In the history of Test cricket, there have been many great fielders who have hardly let a catch down and were rated as the safest pair of hands in the world. On that note, let’s take a look at the top three players with the most catches in Tests besides wicketkeepers:
3. Jacques Kallis (200 catches)
The legendary South African cricketer is arguably the greatest all-rounder ever to grace the game. Kallis ranks on the third spot in the list of most runs scored in Tests, having 13,289 runs to his name at an average of 55.37 with 45 hundreds and 58 fifties to his name. Kallis has also scalped 292 wickets in his career as well and to completely fulfil the role of an all-rounder, the 47-year-old has also taken 200 catches in his career.
2. Mahela Jayawardene (205 catches)
The former Sri Lanka captain is the second-highest run scorer for his country in Tests with 11814 runs to his name at an average of 49.84. Jayawardene scored 34 hundreds and 50 fifties in his career and also had a safe pair of hands as he took 205 catches in his Test career. Furthermore, Jayawardene has claimed the most number of catches in international cricket, with 440 catches to his name across formats.
1. Rahul Dravid (210 catches)
The great wall of Indian cricket takes the first spot with 210 catches to his name from 164 matches. Dravid climbed to the top spot during the third Test between India and New Zealand in April 2009 in Wellington. On Day 4 of the match, Dravid surpassed Mark Waugh’s tally of 181 catches as he caught New Zealand opener Tim McIntosh off Zaheer Khan.
