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Slip fielding is a difficult art to master, as it demands extreme levels of skill and concentration. It has to be one of the most thankless jobs in world cricket today, as many catches taken in the slip cordon are worth their weight in gold. Cricket has seen legends like Mark Waugh, Rahul Dravid , Mahela Jayawardene taking up the coveted position behind the keeper and setting a benchmark for themselves.
In modern times though, slip catching has been on the wane and a dropped catch is often attributed to a team's victory or defeat in the end. Let us take a look at some of the better slip fielders in modern day cricket today.
# Ben Stokes
The burly all rounder from Durham has to be one of the most athletic fielders in world cricket today. He could field anywhere, from manning the deep boundaries to standing in the slip cordon.
With England's test bowling unit comprising Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, edges are bound to come frequently, and Stokes has made the gully position his own in Test cricket, taking incredible catches every now and then.
His diving catch to dismiss Adam Voges is still fresh in the minds of fans across the globe. However, his catching off the spinners has been the major highlight, as he has developed into a quality catcher at first slip.
With talented spinners like Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in the team, Stokes has to be on his heels all the time, expecting thick outside edges . He is also an excellent fielder off his own bowling, which adds weight to his ever growing resume.
# Joe Root
The English test skipper has one of the safest pair of hands in world cricket today. He usually stands in the 2nd slip to the faster bowlers, and has taken many splendid catches in the past year or so.
The key to his success is staying low and watching the ball till the last moment without taking his eyes off.
He also has amazing reflexes, and is always aware of the situation. He has taken 132 catches across all formats, with most of them coming in tests.
Being the champion batsman that he is, Root's catching ability is second to none in world cricket at the moment and with the Ashes down under starting sooner, he will be eager to get a jumpstart.
#3 Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane has to be the best slip fielder to spinners in modern times. With India boasting of two champion bowlers in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the longer format, the slip position becomes so crucial.
Since the retirement of Rahul Dravid, India were searching for a safe pair of hands to fill in for him. Rahane has transformed into an amazing slip fielder, taking incredible catches in India's home season of 2016/17.
His bowler-fielder combination with Ashwin has been exemplary, and his success could be hugely attributed to his low and wide stance, helping him take catches inches off the turf. He holds the record for taking the maximum catches in a test, holding onto 8 catches against Sri Lanka in 2015.
He stands at the gully position for the pacers and holds onto most catches that come his way. He is an excellent outfielder too, as he saves vital runs in the limited over formats manning the boundaries.
# Faf du Plessis
The South African skipper is an absolute live-wire on the field. His fielding exploits were on display right from the start of his career, and he became synonymous with Indian crowds as well.
He plucked out catches from thin air - or so it seemed, while playing for the Chennai Super Kings. He stands in the 2nd slip in test matches, taking stunning catches every now and then.
His agility and street smart thinking are contributors to his huge success. His out fielding is quite remarkable tooin limited over formats, as he is very athletic and quick on his feet.
# Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook is already a legend in test cricket, scoring a mammoth number of runs and has a great chance of surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's tally of most runs in the longest form of the game. But what Cook brings to this English side with his slip catching is tremendous, since he has made that position his own in the past decade.
He has remained one of the safest first slip fielders ever, and could be easily counted as one of the greats in that position, a list that includes the likes of Mark Waugh and Rahul Dravid.
He makes excellent use of his bucket hands and seldom drops a catch, and has taken a total of 190 catches in all formats. Even with age catching up to him, Cook still inspires a lot of confidence with the bat and in the field.
