Most catches in international cricket

Catches win matches! The phrase that comes to mind every time when a catch is dropped in the field. With the fans arriving in numbers for the international games, the pressure is always on the fielder to ensure he or she holds onto the catch as the game can change by one poor effort on the field. Hours and hours of fielding sessions take place before the game; however, it’s quite different in the match and here is the list of most catches in international cricket. Some cricketers had a reputation for being a safe fielder. On that note, here are the players with the most catches in international cricket:

Ross Taylor

One of New Zealand’s greatest cricketers, Ross Taylor had the third-most number of catches in international cricket at the time of his retirement this year. The 38-year-old had phenomenal numbers across formats with the bat and he finished with 351 catches in 546 innings with 0.642 catches per innings. He was always a safe fielder in the slips and had good hands,  which allowed him to hold to the ball comfortably.

Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting had taken some flying catches throughout his international career. The right-hander finished with 364 catches in 717 innings with 0.507 catches per innings. The Australian was a live wire in the field and affected a lot of run-outs alongside holding onto some sensational catches inside the circle. He was arguably the best fielder of the Australian era in the 2000s that dominated the world with tough competition from Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke.

Mahela Jayawardene

Mahela Jayawardene was not one of the electric fielders inside the circle, however, he hardly dropped catches and was always a safe pair of hands. The former Sri Lanka captain had taken 440 catches in 768 innings at the rate of 0.572 catches per innings and he mastered the art of slip catching with mind-blowing fielding efforts.