If you have a basic knowledge of the game of cricket, you’ll know that there are plenty of ways that batsmen can be given out. The most common way is to be ‘caught’. Being out caught means that you have struck the ball, and the ball was caught by a member of the fielding team before it hit the ground. When a batsman tries to smash the ball over mid-wicket for 6 and gets caught on the boundary, this is an obvious example of a ‘caught’ dismissal. However, what happens if the ball comes off the batsman’s pad and pops up to a nearby fielder? What happens if the ball hits the pad, then the bat, then gets caught? Those are the types of questions I’ll be answering for you in this post!
So, can you be out caught off the pad in cricket?
The answer is yes – but that ball has to make contact with the bat or the glove somewhere on its journey! For example, if the ball hits the pad first, then hits the bat or the glove and is then caught by a fielder before it bounces, this will be given out. Also, if the ball hits the bat or the glove first, then hits the pad and gets caught by a fielder, this will be given out too.
Dismissals like this often have to be settled by a video review due to the fine margins involved. Sometimes it’s incredibly hard for umpires to tell whether the batsman has got a small touch on the ball with their bat or glove when they view the delivery at full speed. Therefore, using a video review system to slow things down helps to ensure that an accurate decision has been made.
There are other areas of a batsman’s body that the ball can hit leading to them being given out too. For example, if the ball hits the bat, then hits the batsman directly in the chest, and is then caught by a close fielder without bouncing – the batsman will be given out. Another example is being hit on the boot, which happens more regularly than you may think! Imagine a batsman goes down to play the sweep shot and bottom edges the ball directly on to the top of their foot. Then, the ball bounces up off the foot and is caught by a fielder. This would be given out because the ball came off the bat and never touched the floor before being caught!
To summarise, a batsman can be given out caught if the ball bounces off any part of their body and is then caught by a fielder, but the ball has to have hit the bat or the glove at some point during the delivery. More often than not, the ball will strike the bat first and then go on to hit an area of the body before popping up to a fielder, but the opposite also happens too!
Other Frequently Asked Questions
If The Ball Hits The Pad & Doesn’t Touch The Bat Or Glove, Can The Batsman Be Out Caught?
The answer to this question is no. The batsman cannot be out caught if the only thing that the ball makes contact with is the pad. For a batsman to be given out caught, there are three main criteria that must be satisfied. They are as follows:
- The ball must make contact with the bat or the batsman’s gloves (glove contact must occur while the batsman is holding the bat)
- The ball must be caught cleanly by the fielder, without bouncing on the ground first
- The delivery must be legal (not a no ball)
If any of these three criteria are not met, the batsman will not be given out caught by the umpire. So, if a spinner is bowling and the ball spins on to the pad and pops up to the fielder at short leg, the umpire must give the batsman not out if they think that there was no contact with the bat or gloves. If the umpire thinks the batsman did get a little inside edge that knocked the ball into the pad, then they would give the batsman out.
Is A Batsman Out If The Ball Gets Stuck In Their Pads & A Fielder Picks It Up?
When I was younger and had just started playing cricket, one of my teammates told me that I could be given out caught if I edged the ball, causing it to get stuck in my pads and then a fielder picked up the ball before it had hit the ground. This made sense to me at the time, but allow me to reassure you, it simply isn’t true!
If a batsman hits the ball and it ends up being lodged in their clothing or part of the protective equipment like the pads or the helmet, the ball will be considered ‘dead’ by the umpire. When the ball is dead in cricket, a batsman cannot be given out caught. So, if you ever find yourself in the situation where you hit the ball and it ends up getting stuck behind your knee-flap on your pads, you don’t need to worry about pesky fielders approaching quickly to try and grab the ball. All you need to do is remove the ball in your own time and hand it to the closest fielder! As long as the umpire knows the rules of cricket (which they hopefully do), you’ll be fine to carry on with your innings!
How Can Bowlers Get Batsman Out Caught Off The Pad?
Batsmen are most often caught ‘off the pad’ when spin bowlers are bowling. When a spin bowler is in rhythm and bowling well on a spinning pitch, the fielding captain will usually place a ‘bat pad’ fielder close to the batsman on the leg side. This fielder will be in place specifically to catch any balls that the batsman accidentally inside edges on to their pad. If the ball goes on to the pad and then travels quickly towards this fielder, they will have the opportunity to take a quick reflex catch! This ‘bat pad’ fielding position can be seen in the diagram below, and it is more commonly known as ‘short leg’.
To get batsmen out caught off the pad, the spin bowler will usually be aiming to bring the batsman forward on to the front foot. When batsmen lunge forward in this way, they will often be bringing their bat and pad together. Some batsmen play with their bat at the side of their pad, and some like to play with the bat out in front. The bowler will be hoping that the batsman slightly misjudges the degree of spin, and as a result they will edge the ball. Ideally this will cause the ball to hit the pad and pop up in the air to the ‘bat pad’ fielder standing close by. This is a common method of dismissal for spinners, especially once the pitch gets older and starts to behave more unpredictably.
Conclusion
Once you’ve read this post you should be a lot more aware of the rules regarding how to be out caught in the game of cricket. If you have other questions about cricket rules and regulations, check out some of my other posts – you may find that one of them addresses a burning question you’ve always had!