Thirimanne’s record

So England ultimately won the series against Sri Lanka 2-0, but there were some periods in both Tests where it seemed that the hosts had a chance of winning.

In the second Test, Lasith Embuldeniya took 7 wickets in the first innings and went on to take his first “tenner” in the match. It may have escaped notice that Lahiru Thirimanne took 5 catches as a fielder in the first innings, all of them off Lasith’s bowling.

See the scorecard: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-sri-lanka-2020-21-1242951/sri-lanka-vs-england-2nd-test-1243016/full-scorecard

There are several instances of non-keepers taking 5 catches in an innings:

However, Lahiru Thirimanne is the only one who took all 5 catches off the same bowler.

There are a few instances of a fielder taking 4 catches off the same bowler, as that of J Blackwood doing so against Sri Lanka off the bowling of KC Brathwaite. (That was a fluke instance as he never took 4 wickets in an innings in any other Test).

There is at least one instance for India. AL Wadekar took 4 catches off BS Bedi in an innings at Christchurch in 1967-68.

While Lasith took a further 3 wickets in England’s second innings, Thirimanne failed to take another catch. However, his 5 catches off the same bowler may also be a match record in all Tests.

Highlights of the Adelaide Test-1

First, the wicket-keeping records:

RR Pant now has a share in the most dismissals in a match.

Incidentally, AM Rahane has the record for most dismissals by a non-keeper in a match:

Also note Yajurvindra and Rahul here.

de Villiers actually took 8 catches as a keeper as the specified keeper (de Kock) was unfit.

Pant took 6 catches in the first innings and 5 in the second. The innings record is 7, shared by 4 keepers.

 

 

 

 

A small consolation for Steve Smith

During the third SA-Aus Test at Cape Town, SPD Smith perhaps became the first Test captain to be sacked in the middle of a match and told to hand over charge. However, he may draw small consolation from setting a minor fielding record.

These records are as of April 1, 2018. The ICC World XI v Aus Test is not counted.

Most catches in an innings by a captain (5 and above):

While wicketkeeper captains Latif and Dhoni have taken 6 catches in an innings, Smith equalled the non-keepers record for captains with 5 catches, along with VY Richardson, SP Fleming, GC Smith and DJG Sammy. There are a few non-captain fielders such as Yajurvindra Singh and AM Rahane who have also taken 5 catches in an innings.

We also look at match fielding performances by captains (6 dismissals and above):

While keeper Dhoni has the record of 9 dismissals (in his last Test), SP Fleming has the record of 7 for non-keeper captains. Smith has taken 6 catches in this Test and in one earlier match. In this case Rahane has the record for 8 catches by a non-keeper, though he was not captaining in that Test.

Finally, we look at overall fielding performances by captains (70 dismissals and above):

While Dhoni has the highest number of dismissals, he is followed by several non-keepers led by GC Smith and SP Fleming who have over a hundred catches. Steve Smith is fairly high up here, sandwiched between MA Taylor and Lara.

 

 

Catching records in Tests

Note: This was written in August 2015 and has not been updated.

Fielding statistics do not get as much prominence as batting and bowling statistics. Even then, usually the wicketkeeper’s figures are usually given more prominence than that of ordinary fielders.

The present record for catches in the field in an innings is 5 (shared by several, starting with VY Richardson) and in a match it is 8 (where AM Rahane stands alone, followed by several with 7).

Here is a chronological list of all those who have taken 5 catches in an innings:

And a chronological list of all those who have taken 7 or more catches in a match:

VY Richardson had  reasonable success at a batsman for Australia in the 1920s and 1930s, including the Bodyline series. He became the first of several to take 5 catches in an innings in his final Test at Durban. He took one catch in the first innings and 5 in the second.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/7346.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/62637.html

Later generations would know him better as the maternal grandfather of the Chappell brothers. One can see some family resemblance.

When he passed away in 1969, he had seen Ian well set in the Australian team although Greg and Trevor were yet to play for their country.

In 1974, Greg Chappell became the first to take 7 catches in a match. This came in the series which some called “Reverse Bodyline” where Lillee and Thomson swept all before them in a 4-1 win. He took 3 catches in the first innings and 4 in the second.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63137.html

Thus both the records remained within the family until early 1977, when Yajuvendra Singh made his debut.

It had been a traumatic series for India with England winning three Tests in a row, thus sealing the fate of the series before the 4th Test started. India batted first, but YS did not do much, scoring 8 and 15 in the match. He equalled the innings record in the first innings with 5 catches, and added 2 more in the second to equal the record. India won this Test and the final result was an England win at 3-1.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63177.html

After this, the feat of taking 5 in an innings and 7 in a match became common. But Yajurvindra Singh remains the only one to achieve these on his debut, a small consolation for a disappointing 4-Test career though he did well enough in first-class cricket. He was distantly related to Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/36072.html

We finally move on to the anti-climactic Test at Galle in 2015 where India failed to chase 176-but this was on a ground where the highest winning fourth-innings chase was 99. AM Rahane took 3 catches in the first innings an 5 in the second, thus getting a share in the innings record and becoming the only one to take 8 catches as a fielder in Tests.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-india-2015/engine/match/895773.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/277916.html

In all first-class cricket, the record is 7 catches in an innings. There are several with 6 catches:

While the record for a match is 10 by Hammond. Rahane just gets into the top part of the first-class record: