Slip and gully catching is of utmost importance when it comes to having an edge over the opposition, especially in red-ball cricket, as the new ball moves a lot to test a batter's temperament and technique.
In the recent India vs England Test at Headingley, India dropped quite a few catches in the region that dearly affected how England went about things with the bat as they ended up taking advantage and winning the match by 5 wickets.
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A similar rate of dropped catches has been seen in the first West Indies vs Australia Test in Barbados, where the wicket is tough to bat on — making the catches even more crucial.
A safe pair of hands not only helps the team's cause in terms of wickets but also keeps the bowlers and fielders high on confidence while defending the lead or a target.
In this article, TSN takes a look at how efficient each Test team has been in slip and gully catching since the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023.
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What is each team's catch efficiency in slips and gully in Tests?
Despite some poor efforts in the recent match, India stands tall at the top of the table with 80.6% catch efficiency since 2023 in Tests.
They are closely followed by New Zealand's 78.5 and Sri Lanka's 78.3, while the West Indies sit at the bottom with 65.6% efficiency.
| Team | Catch efficiency (%) |
|---|---|
| India | 80.6 |
| New Zealand | 78.5 |
| Sri Lanka | 78.3 |
| South Africa | 75.0 |
| England | 74.5 |
| Australia | 72.3 |
| Pakistan | 68.0 |
| Bangladesh | 67.2 |
| West Indies | 65.6 |
Stats correct as of June 27, 2025.
India's new-look slip cordon that consists of Karun Nair at the 1st slip, followed by KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, will have big boots of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to fill in and continue the good work that has been done in the last WTC cycle.