Is Steve Smith the greatest slip fielder? Ranking the best close catchers in Test Cricket history

Is Steve Smith the greatest slip fielder? Ranking the best close catchers in Test Cricket history originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Australia’s Steve Smith took his 221st Test catch on Sunday, the most by any non-wicketkeeper in Test history. 
• Mark Waugh heads our list of the greatest slip fielders, with 181 Test catches in 128 Tests. 
• Mahela Jayawardene’s 440 international catches are the most by a non-wicketkeeper across formats.

Steve Smith passes Joe Root to take the Test catching record

Slip catching rarely gets the attention that batting and bowling do. However, on Sunday, a couple of catches in Durban put the craft in front of everyone.

Steve Smith dived at the first slip to remove David Bedingham off Pat Cummins on day three of the Test against South Africa. It showed his agility and superb reflexes as he plucked the ball out of the air.

That was his 221st Test catch in his 126th Test. It took him past Joe Root, who has 220 from 169 Tests. Smith’s 220th had come a few moments earlier, a sharp reaction catch to dismiss Temba Bavuma off Nathan Lyon. The South African had reverse-swept, but Smith judged his intentions early and adjusted his position to make that catch look simple. 

However, the best of the lot was the one-handed catch that dismissed Kyle Verreynne. The batsman hit that with his might, but Smith’s sublime reaction helped him grab it and complete a sensational catch in the cordon. The Test is still in progress, so the count can still rise.

Fans were elated on social media as the former Australian captain pulled off three difficult catches and tilted the match in his team’s favour. 

@thewobbleseam wrote: “Steve Smith’s great catch in today’s match. South Africa vs. Australia | Test Cricket 🏏.”

Steve Smith’s great catch in today’s match. South Africa vs. Australia | Test Cricket 🏏 https://t.co/odlYf3HEWO

— The Wobble Seam (@thewobbleseam) October 11, 2026

@TUnlimitedd analysed and wrote: “This video sums up how much Steve Smith is engrossed and focused on the game. His anticipation is worth watching. There is a tendency for players to switch off just for a bit and when an opportunity comes their way they shell a catching opportunity.”

This video sums up how much Steve Smith is engrossed and focused on the game. His anticipation is worth watching. There is a tendency for players to switch off just for a bit and when an opportunity comes their way they shell a catching opportunity. https://t.co/wO2QeFs3LQ

— Troll cricket unlimitedd (@TUnlimitedd) October 11, 2026

@Neyfiction wrote: “We are witnessing greatness courtesy of Steve Smith.”

We are witnessing greatness courtesy of Steve Smith https://t.co/PqTmtb0jQA

— ARNOLD (@Neyfiction) October 11, 2026

@stevensmithclub added: “STEVE SMITH IS AN ALL TIME GREAT SLIP FIELDER. 🐐🔥Another day, another reminder that the GOAT is built different. The man is elite in every department! 😮‍💨”.

STEVE SMITH IS AN ALL TIME GREAT SLIP FIELDER. 🐐🔥 Another day, another reminder that the GOAT is built different. The man is elite in every department! 😮‍💨 https://t.co/SQVQgwPJww

— Honey (@stevensmithclub) October 11, 2026

Whereas, @Shanks63331148 made a comparison with Joe Root and wrote: “Show me ONE catch like this from Joe Root in those 221 catches. I’ll wait. 😭 Glenn Phillips is a gun fielder, no doubt, but he’s still not on Steve Smith’s level. And these are just a few of the absolute screamers Smith has pulled off. #SAvAUS.”

Show me ONE catch like this from Joe Root in those 221 catches. I’ll wait. 😭 Glenn Phillips is a gun fielder, no doubt, but he’s still not on Steve Smith’s level. And these are just a few of the absolute screamers Smith has pulled off. #SAvAUS https://t.co/ZlVVaMLLsq

— Charlie (@Shanks63331148) October 11, 2026

The record raises an old question. Who is the best slip fielder the game has seen? The cordon is where Tests are often decided, and one dropped edge can undo a bowler’s plan.

Here are five who defined the position across different eras, followed by four more worth a mention.

The greatest slip fielders in international cricket history

Mark Waugh

Waugh took 181 catches in 128 Tests and another 108 in 244 ODIs, a total of 289. He stood at second slip to the quicks and at silly point to the spinners. After Mark Taylor retired, he moved to first slip for the spinners. He passed Taylor’s Test record of 157 in the 2001 Ashes.

Former wicketkeeper Darren Berry called Waugh the best slip fielder he had seen. Berry said Waugh stayed relaxed when the edge came, kept his hands behind the line of the ball and let it settle into soft hands. 

Rahul Dravid

Dravid took 210 catches in 164 Tests and 196 more in ODIs, a total of 406. He was the first man to reach 200 Test catches and went past Waugh’s non-wicketkeeper record in 2009. Fifty-five of his Test catches came off Anil Kumble and 51 off Harbhajan Singh, which is an example of just how much “The Wall” mattered to the Indian Test side.

John Wright, who coached India from 2000, also called Dravid the best catcher he had seen. Wright said India dropped three or four slip chances in his first Test in charge. According to him, it was Dravid’s work at the first slip that really helped with the team’s improved results overseas.

Steve Smith

Smith’s rate is the best on this list. He has 221 catches in 240 fielding innings, or 0.92 per innings. Root needed 323 fielding innings to reach 220, which works out to 0.68. Smith crossed 200 Test catches in Galle in February 2025, and he now sits ahead of Dravid (210) and Jayawardene (205).

He takes most of his catches at first slip to a pace attack led by Cummins and a spinner in Lyon. That mix of bounce and turn tests a slip fielder’s reactions in both directions. At 126 Tests, he is still adding to the number.

Jacques Kallis

Kallis took 200 catches in 166 Tests and 131 more in ODIs. He is fifth on the all-time Test list, ahead of Ricky Ponting’s 196. The workload makes the figure more impressive, because he also scored 13,289 Test runs and took 292 wickets.

South Africa’s slip cordon was one of the most dependable of its time. Kallis stood beside Graeme Smith for most of the 2000s, and the two held a steady run of chances for South Africa through that period.

Mahela Jayawardene

Jayawardene took 205 Test catches in 149 Tests and 218 in ODIs. His 440 international catches are the most by a non-wicketkeeper. He stood close to the bat, slight and low to the ground, and he moved quickly to either side.

His link with Muttiah Muralitharan is the stand-out. Jayawardene played 96 Tests alongside Murali, and the scorecard line “c Jayawardene b Muralitharan” appeared 77 times. 

Honourable mentions

Stephen Fleming took 171 catches in 111 Tests and 133 in ODIs. He is New Zealand’s most successful fielder in both formats. His rate of 0.859 catches per Test innings is among the highest of any fielder with 100 catches.

Graeme Smith took 169 Test catches in 117 Tests and 105 in ODIs. He stood at first slip, with Kallis beside him, for South Africa. Only a handful of fielders have taken more Test catches than he has.

Mark Taylor took 157 catches in 104 Tests and held the Test record for a non-wicketkeeper when he retired. Fifty-one of those catches came off Warne’s bowling. His rate of 0.796 per Test innings was among the best of his era.

Mohammad Azharuddin took 105 Test catches in 99 Tests and 156 in 334 ODIs. His ODI total is higher than his Test total, which reflects how much he fielded in the covers as well. His profile describes him as peerless in the field, whether in the covers or at slip.

Why Waugh still leads on the strength of his peers’ verdict

The numbers favour Smith. He takes 1.75 catches per Test, the best rate among the nine fielders here, ahead of Fleming (1.54) and Taylor (1.51). Waugh sits fifth by this measure with 1.41.

PlayerTest catchesTestsCatches per TestSteve Smith2211261.75Stephen Fleming1711111.54Mark Taylor1571041.51Graeme Smith1691171.44Mark Waugh1811281.41Mahela Jayawardene2051491.38Rahul Dravid2101641.28Jacques Kallis2001661.20Mohammad Azharuddin105991.06

Raw rates tilt toward fielders who played on pitches with bounce and carry. Dravid and Jayawardene took most of their chances on slower surfaces, where the ball arrives low and the reaction time is shorter. Wright made this point himself when defending Dravid.

“Some critics have argued that most of his catches came against spinners, which they say compares unfavourably to others like Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh,” wrote the former Indian coach in Cricinfo. “But I would argue the job is more difficult in the subcontinent. You get a lot less time to see the ball. When there is bounce in the wicket, like in Australia, you can stand further back. The ball might come at you at a higher velocity, but you get more time to sight it.”

Whereas Waugh’s case rests on how the catches were taken. Darren Berry ranked him at the top.

“Waugh, though, was the best,” he wrote. “He was relaxed but always ready to swoop when a chance was presented. He took them high, low and wide.

“His stance was well balanced, his hands as soft as butter. Australian bowlers, fast and slow knew when they found the edge they were in safe hands with Waugh in the cordon.”

However, we can only wonder what Wright and Berry might have to say about Smith’s heroics, after the Aussie not only statistically established himself as the greatest of all time, but also reached the milestone with a couple of catches of the highest calibre. 

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