A catch is complete only when the ball and the fielder's movement are controlled.

The ruleset used on this page

This page applies the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code, 3rd Edition (2022), especially Laws 5, 19, 31 and 33. It is the current general Laws baseline on 26 August 2026 and took effect on 1 October 2022.

MCC has published a 4th Edition for 2026, but it does not come into force until 1 October 2026. ICC international playing conditions have already adopted its tighter boundary-fielding rule. That difference is identified below; domestic leagues, tournaments and age-grade cricket may add other playing conditions.

Seven questions decide a caught appeal

1. Was it a legal delivery for this dismissal? The striker cannot be out Caught from a No ball.
2. Did the ball touch the bat? For this purpose, the bat includes a hand holding it and the whole glove worn on that hand.
3. Had the ball touched a fielder first? Law 33.1 requires the bat contact to occur before contact with any fielder.
4. Did the ball remain off the ground? It must not touch the ground between the qualifying bat contact and completion of the catch.
5. Was every boundary condition satisfied? Neither the ball nor a fielder in contact with it may be grounded beyond the boundary before completion.
6. Was the ball held in a permitted way? A hand catch is not the only legal form of holding.
7. Was complete control achieved? The fielder must control both the ball and their own movement.

If all seven tests are met and the fielding side makes a valid appeal, the striker is out Caught. Bowled takes precedence; otherwise Caught takes precedence over another dismissal available from the same delivery under Laws 32.2 and 33.5.

“Off the glove” depends on which hand holds the bat

MCC Law 5.6 and Appendix A.2.5 treat the bat itself, the hand holding it, and the whole glove on that hand as part of the bat. An edge from any of those can satisfy Law 33.1. A ball that touches only a glove or hand not holding the bat has not touched the bat for a caught dismissal.

After qualifying bat contact, the ball may touch the wicket, an umpire, another fielder, a runner or the other batter and still be caught, provided it has not touched the ground. It may also be caught after being lawfully struck more than once, or after rebounding from an obstruction inside the field that the umpires did not designate as a boundary.

The hand may touch the turf; the ball may not

Law 33.2.2.1 expressly permits a ball to be held in a hand that is touching the ground. “Fingers under the ball” is therefore useful evidence, but it is not a separate legal test. The question is whether the ball itself touched the ground before the catch was completed.

If part of the ball contacts the turf while it is also in the fingers, the catch is not fair. If the hand is flat on the turf and the ball remains supported clear of it, ground contact by the hand alone does not invalidate the catch.

A fair catch need not finish in two hands

Under Law 33.2.2.1, the ball can be held in one or both hands, hugged to the fielder's body, lodged in external protective equipment being worn, or lodged accidentally in the fielder's clothing. A ball bobbling between fielders can also become a catch when one of them finally holds it.

The word accidentally matters for clothing. Deliberately using detached clothing or equipment to field the ball is governed by Law 28.2 and is not a shortcut to a catch.

Movement does not have to stop, but it must be controlled

Law 33.3 starts the catching act when the ball first touches any part of a fielder and ends it when a fielder has complete control over both the ball and their own movement. A running fielder does not have to become motionless. The umpire must decide whether the movement is controlled rather than merely continuing through a fall, dive or stumble.

If the ball comes out while the fielder is still tumbling or regaining balance, that can show the catch was never completed. Once both forms of control have been achieved, a later deliberate release, such as throwing the ball to the umpire or celebrating, does not undo the dismissal. Control is a judgement of the whole action, not a fixed number of seconds.

The rope is part of the boundary

Under MCC Laws 19.4, 19.5 and 33.2.1, a catch is not fair if, before it is complete, the ball is grounded beyond the boundary or a fielder touching the ball is grounded beyond it. A fielder is grounded beyond the boundary when touching:

• the rope or another object marking the boundary;
• the ground beyond it;
• an object grounded beyond it; or
• another fielder grounded beyond it, when either fielder intentionally makes that contact to assist the fielding.

Accidental contact between two fielders does not automatically place both beyond the boundary. A displaced rope is treated as being in its original position until it can be restored, so the visible rope's temporary location is not always the legal line.

The last ground contact before the first touch must be inside

MCC Law 19.5.2 (2022) says an airborne fielder is grounded beyond the boundary if their final contact with the ground before their first contact with the delivered ball was not entirely inside the boundary. Jumping from on or beyond the rope and touching the ball in the air therefore makes the ball a boundary at once.

A fielder may jump from inside, touch or release the ball while airborne over the rope, and return it towards the field. For a catch, however, no fielder in contact with the ball may be grounded beyond the boundary before control is complete. A catcher who lands on the rope still holding the ball has not taken a fair catch.

ICC international conditions limit repeated airborne touches

The ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions effective July 2025, clause 19.5.2, use a tighter rule than the MCC 2022 baseline. After a legal first contact, a fielder who subsequently leaves the field may touch the ball only once more while airborne beyond the boundary. After that airborne touch, all of that fielder's ground contacts until the ball becomes dead must be inside the field.

If that fielder returns the ball to the field—whether to another fielder or onto the ground—the fielder must land and remain inside until the ball becomes dead; otherwise a boundary is scored. ICC announced this change in June 2025. The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Playing Conditions, clause 19.5.2, are one current women's competition example using the same revised wording.

From 1 October 2026: MCC Law 19.5.2 in the 4th Edition adopts the same approach for the general Laws. Until then, a match using the unmodified MCC 2022 Laws does not contain these added landing and repeat-contact restrictions. Always identify the appointed playing conditions before ruling on a relay.

A failed boundary catch is not automatically six

If a fair catch is completed, the striker is dismissed and the ball is dead. Under MCC Law 33.4, runs completed by the batters from that delivery are not scored, but penalty runs awarded to either side stand; the non-striker returns to the original end under Law 18.11.

If boundary contact invalidates the catch, Law 19 decides the score. It is normally a Boundary 6 only when the ball was struck by the bat and is first grounded beyond the boundary without first touching the ground inside, even if a fielder touched it in flight. If it first bounced inside, or was not struck by the bat, the ordinary boundary is 4. Agreed boundary allowances or an overthrow can alter the calculation.

Two important exceptions change the dismissal name

• No ball: Law 33.1 excludes Caught. Holding an edge does not dismiss the striker Caught, although another dismissal permitted from a No ball may still be possible and the ball remains live unless another rule makes it dead.
• A prevented catch: under Law 37.3, if a delivery is not a No ball and wilful obstruction or distraction by either batter prevents the striker being caught, the striker is out Obstructing the field, not Caught. The special no-ball wording in Law 37.3.3 differs, so the incident must be analysed under that Law rather than assumed to be a catch.

The Law and the evidence process are separate

MCC Law 31 requires an appeal before an umpire gives a batter out, although a batter who is out may leave the wicket without an appeal. The bowler's-end umpire may consult the other umpire on a fact the colleague saw better; if doubt remains after that consultation, Law 31.6 says the decision is Not out.

Television review is not part of every cricket match. In ICC matches where the applicable playing conditions provide a TV umpire or DRS, a doubtful fair catch can be referred under the relevant protocol. ICC removed the on-field “soft signal” from 1 June 2023: the on-field umpires consult the TV umpire before the decision. Technology changes the available evidence, not the Law 33 tests for ground contact and control.

A diving hand is on the grass

Situation: an edge carries to slip. The fielder's palm and fingers contact the turf, but the ball is visibly supported above it. The fielder then controls the ball and the dive.

MCC 2022 ruling: Out Caught on a valid appeal, assuming the delivery was not a No ball. Law 33.2.2.1 permits the holding hand to touch the ground; the decisive facts are that the ball did not and complete control followed.

The ball comes loose during the roll

Situation: a fielder takes the ball while diving, rolls twice and loses it while still trying to stop the fall.

MCC 2022 ruling: Not out Caught if the umpire judges that control of the fielder's movement had not yet been obtained. Momentary possession does not complete the catch under Law 33.3. If control of both ball and movement had already been achieved before an intentional release, the result would instead be Out.

A two-hop boundary relay

Situation: a fielder first touches the ball after jumping from inside. After landing beyond the rope without touching the ball, the fielder jumps and taps it in the air, lands outside again, then makes a second airborne tap back to a teammate inside, who completes the catch.

MCC 2022 baseline: the added one-touch and inside-landing restrictions are not yet in Law 19.5.2, so the relay can remain fair if every existing ground, boundary and control condition is satisfied.

ICC Men's T20I July 2025 ruling: Boundary, not a catch. The fielder made more than one airborne contact after leaving the field and also failed to keep subsequent ground contact inside. From 1 October 2026, the MCC 4th Edition reaches the same result.

The ball clips the free glove

Situation: the striker holds the bat only with the right hand. The ball touches the left glove and loops to the wicket-keeper without touching the bat or right glove.

MCC 2022 ruling: Not out Caught. The left glove was not on a hand holding the bat, so it was not part of the bat under Law 5.6 and Appendix A.2.5. A different dismissal can apply only if its own conditions are met.

Five shortcuts that produce the wrong ruling

• “The ball was in the hand, so it is out.” Complete control of the fielder's movement is also required.
• “A hand on the grass makes it not out.” The ball, not merely the hand, must remain off the ground.
• “Jumping from inside makes every boundary save legal.” Later grounding and the appointed competition's repeat-contact rule still matter.
• “A failed catch over the rope is always six.” A ball that first bounced inside, or was not struck by the bat, normally produces a Boundary 4.
• “Slow motion supplies a different definition of control.” Replay helps locate facts; the legal test remains control of both ball and movement.

Governing-body sources and effective versions

• MCC — Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code, 3rd Edition (2022), Law 33: Caught
• MCC — Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code, 3rd Edition (2022), Law 19: Boundaries
• MCC — Laws editions and official status of the 2022 and 2026 Codes
• ICC — Men's Twenty20 International Playing Conditions, effective July 2025, clauses 19.5.2 and 33
• ICC — Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Playing Conditions, clause 19.5.2
• ICC — June 2025 playing-condition update: boundary catches
• ICC — playing-condition change effective 1 June 2023: removal of soft signals
• MCC — 2017 Code, 4th Edition (2026), commencement notice for 1 October 2026
• MCC — Changes to the Laws for the 2026 Edition explained, Law 19.5.2

Checked on 26 August 2026 against MCC Laws 5, 18, 19, 20, 31, 33 and 37 in the 2022 edition, the published 2026 amendment effective 1 October 2026, and ICC Men's T20I conditions effective July 2025. ICC and domestic competition regulations may supplement or replace parts of the MCC baseline, so the appointed match conditions remain controlling.