5 best Australian slip catchers of all time

#1 Mark Waugh

Mark Waugh is unarguably the best slip catcher in the history of cricket

Much like his mellifluous array of shots on either side of the wicket, Mark Waugh cut an elegant figure on every inch of the turf. When he was not making splendid saves in the latter phases of ODI cricket, the all-rounder was truly at home in the slip cordon. While 244 ODIs fetched him 108 catches, his Test record makes for even more remarkable reading. From 128 Tests, he snaffled as many as 181 catches. The vast majority of those came behind the stumps.

Mark Waugh held the all time Test record for most catches until Rahul Dravid went past his tally in 2009. Thus far, the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting have also bettered his mark. While they appear to claim an edge on the guise of statistics, none of them could match Waugh's grace and awareness in the slip cordon. The Australian was simply better than the best.

Be it grabbing succinct edges off Glenn McGrath or sharp chances off Shane Warne, Mark Waugh pouched them in a seemingly nonchalant manner. The ease with which he converted even half-chances into decisive catches earned him numerous admirers across the globe. A catch-per-innings ratio of 0.738 vindicates his fielding legacy in Test cricket.