Modern cricket catches often involve sliding, diving, boundary ropes, relay throws, and soft signals replaced by review protocols. The question is not only whether the ball entered the hands, but whether the fielder completed a fair catch.
If the ball touches the ground before being controlled, it is not a fair catch. Low catches are difficult because replays may show fingers under the ball or the ball brushing the turf.
A fielder must complete the catch. If they drop the ball while still tumbling, sliding, or trying to avoid the boundary, the catch may not be complete.
If a fielder is touching the boundary, grounded beyond it, or carrying the ball into boundary contact before completing the catch, the result is usually six rather than out.
A fielder near the rope may release the ball before boundary contact and complete or assist a catch after returning inside the field of play. Competition rules can also limit how often an airborne fielder who has gone beyond the boundary may touch the ball. The ICC introduced that restriction in its playing conditions in 2025, while the matching MCC Laws edition is due to take effect on 1 October 2026. Check the rules in force for the match rather than treating every spectacular relay as automatically fair.
Caught applies only when the delivery is not a no-ball and the ball makes lawful contact with the striker's bat, or with a hand or glove that is holding the bat, before a fielder completes a fair catch. A ball may deflect from the batter's body, helmet, or another fielder on its way to the catcher without automatically ending the chance, provided it has not touched the ground. If the striker is both caught and liable to another dismissal from the same delivery, caught generally takes precedence. That ordering matters to the scorecard and to which batter is recorded as dismissed.
A hand touching the turf does not by itself make a catch unfair; the decisive question is whether the ball itself is grounded. After taking the ball, the fielder must also obtain complete control over both the ball and their own movement. A later, unrelated act does not normally undo a completed catch, but losing the ball while still sliding, falling, or recovering balance can show that control was never complete. Slow motion is useful for locating contact, yet it should be read as one continuous sequence: first determine whether the ball stayed clear of the ground, then decide when the fielder's movement became controlled.