Cricket Catching tips | How to Catch Tips

Everyone's heard the phrase: 'Catches win matches'. And you found out whoever told you that phrase whether it be your coach or your Dad, were right. Cricket is about scoring runs and taking wickets, that's how you win. So what's the most common way batsmen get out? Caught. If you drop em you don't win - that's pretty much it.

So in my next cricket tips blog I'm going to cover the basics on catching.
There's two different types of catches - outfield and infield catches. The only main difference is that outfield catches are higher and require some distance to be covered, whereas infield catches are flatter, faster and require little/any movement at all. However, there is a similarity between catches and that is the positioning of the hands (the most important body part involved in taking a catch - good idea not to forget that). Here are some things to remember:

1. Relax - Keep your hands 'soft'. This will help in preventing the ball caning the palms of your hands which normally result in some sort of excruciating pain and a dropped catch.

2. Give - Give with the ball. As the ball enters your hands it isn't a good idea to just leave your hands where the ball is going to land - this also means pain and a dropped catch. What you want to do is to reduce the amount of force the ball has on your palms, so by bringing the arms towards the body during the catch, you aren't going to feel the full force of a flying cricket ball.

3. Fingers - One of the basic principles of catching. For low catches below the chest, the fingers are pointing down when in its cupped position, whereas the fingers should point up for those catches above the chest.

4. EYES ON THE BALL! Coping one to the face isn't something nobody enjoys. Enough said.