Players with most catches in Test cricket

The list isn't about the great Waugh brothers. It most certainly doesn't have the name of the iconic Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and nor is there the famous names of Shane Keith Warne or Brian Charles Lara in this one; the list of the players with most catches in Test cricket despite some ballsy numbers against their respective catchers also tends to underline a huge observation about the talents that may generally have gone a touch unnoticed had one not paid close attention to a fact. And it's quite simply the fact that those responsible for the most catches in Test cricket happen to be not bowlers, but batters. Yeah, that's right.

Each of the name present on the list of players with most catches in Test cricket actually represents talismanic modern-day batters without whom the sport itself would look rather bleak especially where its longer format is concerned. That being told, which are the players with most catches in Test cricket and let's be frank- how many of these names did you already know a great deal about? Let us find out.

List of players with most catches in Test cricket history

Joe Root

You simply cannot imagine the current fold of the famous English national cricket team without someone like a Joe Root, former captain, current trendsetter with the bat and the man who, of course, now has the world record of being the player with most catches in Test cricket with 211. That's where his present tally is concerned.

Great men, frankly speaking, conduct themselves in an uncomplicated manner; the more difficult the circumstances around them, the quieter, unhurried by the ways of the world and calmer they become.

Root, a lanky and legendary Yorkshireman is a prime example of success coming to those who work hard for it. He's already taken 211 red-ball catches and despite having broken the record hitherto held by India's Rahul Dravid has hardly made a fuss about it all. That's also despite having recently struck a Lord's hundred. 

Rahul Dravid

He was and still is called "The Wall" for the large reserves of focus and a seemingly tireless approach he lent to the art of batting. Where many around him often made a big mess in terms of run-scoring especially in Test match cricket, Rahul Dravid rescued a cliched art of scoring runs, usually a mundane exercise in red-ball cricket, by lending a touch of gravitas to it.

There was a sense of patience about him, and it came with a touch of poise.

His rasp cuts, thoughtful leaves and patient stays at the wicket culminated in 13,288 Test runs, 36 Test centuries, a highest knock of 270 and that too, against Pakistan in Pakistan and not to forget, a career that would seem a touch inadequate without the 210 Test catches he took for India.

Dravid, ever the selfess hero made himself available to strive for his country when many around him, arguably more flashier with the bat, fell to the clutches of fame and the need to generate hype.

But on the other hand, Rahul Dravid, born in Indore, raised in Bangalore, and nurtured for India for the pride of the fans around the world soared in the sport like a simple hero who wanted to succeed for his country, not for his own records.

Anything else other than the relentless service for his country didn't quite appeal to him- perhaps not even his 210 catches that see the right handed batter second on the all-time list of players with most catches in Test cricket.

Mahela Jayawardene

Nearly always sporting a sign of peace on his face with malice towards none, Jayawardene, a throwback to the classic template of rocksteady batting that always lived by the classic rule of playing each ball to its merit is a reminder that success comes to those who are willing to strive. And forget not those with a stomach at striving for the best in the game! Isn't it?

With no fewer than 205 catches, not only did Mahela Jayawardene climb to the third spot on the list of players with most catches in Test cricket but pouched the most number of catches for any cricketer hailing from Sri Lanka.

As good a batter as he was an alert fielder often placed in the slips, it seemed that discipline was Mahela's middle name and rather unsurprisingly so!

Steve Smith

A dogged batter, a legend, a hero not just for the New South Wales region in Australia but one from Down Under who by sheer commitment toward excellence locked horns with the best names in the game; Steve Smith was dedicated to his craft and to his skill.

And that's true for both his batting as well as great fielding particularly from behind the wickets in the slip region from where he has pouched 200 catches.

Now, if you think about it- it's quite a number. For a batter who's always comforted his team given his solid technique suited to produce big runs in Test match cricket, the right hander has proven himself as both a gutsy batter as well as a safe pair of hands.

And 200 isn't a small number by any count, don't you think?

Jacques Kallis

Well, what do you get when you combine a physical frame that's akin to a giant of the game, literally speaking, great powers of concentration and ceaseless reserves of energy? The answer- and a straightforward one at that- is Jacques Henry Kallis, what else?

For someone who fired 45 Test tons, along with 58 fifties, was responsible for 280 innings from 166 Tests, Kallis rounded up as an excellent and safe pair of hands collecting not less than 200 catches for his national cricket team in cricket's longest format.

If that is not an envy inspiring number, then forget not 292 Test wickets. 

In a sport where greatness was perhaps always restricted to the most runs scored, Kallis scored 25,000 plus international runs for South Africa protecting their dignity and standing in the game like an unshakable rock. That is how legends play, don't they?

And with his tireless approach to fighting hard for his South Africa underlined by the effort he put in taking 200 Test match catches, Kallis features on the list of players with most catches in Test Cricket.

FAQ's

Is there an Englishman in the list of players with most catches in Test cricket?

Well, he's not just a fielder but a batter and a great one at that; someone who scored his 11th Test ton versus India of all teams and has already, by the way, overtaken the great Rahul Dravid, 'the Wall', in terms of most catches in the format with 211.

Which Indian fielder has the record of most Test catches for his country?

The name is Rahul Dravid, the nickname is 'The Wall' and when placed in the slip cauldron, specifically speaking, he was the master of slip catching showing great agility- the 210 Test catches serving a case in point.

Which Sri Lankan cricketer, fabled as a great all format batter, features with most catches in Tests?

The answer to that question is the gentle giant of Sri Lanka- Mahela Jayawardene, with no fewer than 205 catches in the red-ball format for his country.