Slip catching is one of the most important facets of fielding, especially when the ball is new. The bowlers rely on their slip cordon to hold on to tricky catches when the ball is seaming and finding the edge of the bat is common.
Not all good fielders thrive at the slips; it is a specialist's job. Throughout history, we have seen many great slip fielders -- Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Mahela Jayawardene, and Steve Smith, among the modern-day greats.
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But Michael Vaughan's answer to who is the best slip fielder in the history of cricket is different. Check out who the former England captain picked.
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Michael Vaughan picks his best slip fielder in cricket history:
On the morning of Saturday, June 28, the former England captain and batter, Michael Vaughan, took to Twitter to reply to cricket.com's question about the best slip fielder and named Mark Waugh as his pick.
"Mark Waugh — not even a debate," wrote Vaughan.
Waugh was famous for his effortless catches in the slip cordon during his time with the Australian team from 1988 to 2002.
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He was one of the most reliable fielders in the position across both formats and is still regarded as the benchmark for the youngsters.
See the tweet below:
Mark Waugh .. not even a debate https://t.co/FI3XSTcdFp
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 28, 2025
What is Mark Waugh's catching record?
In his 14-year career, the Aussie took 181 catches in the slips and once held the record of the most catches in the position. Currently, he stands 6th in the list with a better catches per innings record than everyone above him in the list. In ODI cricket, he took 108 catches in 243 innings.
| Format | Innings | Catches | Catches/innings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 245 | 181 | 0.738 |
| ODI | 243 | 108 | 0.444 |
| Overall | 488 | 289 | 0.592 |