Take a look at this.

Now this.

And this, which remains astonishing nearly a decade since it happened.

And then there's this.

The first clip above is of New Zealand's Glenn Phillips, charging in from deep cover and throwing himself, like Superman, in the words of the commentator, to take a two-handed catch a little above the turf to send back Australia's Marcus Stoinis in the 2022 T20 World Cup. The second clip is another Superman impression, in which Sydney Sixers fielder Jordan Silk runs several yards to his right from deep midwicket at Bellerive Oval and then leaps over the boundary full stretch to save a six in what, if he had pulled it off, would have been the catch of the century.

The third and fourth are twins efforts by the Jonty Rhodes of T20 cricket, Kieron Pollard. In the first of the pair, Pollard, in the blue and gold of Mumbai Indians, jogs back calmly, leaps with his right hand stretched to intercept what seems a certain six from Rajasthan Royals' Kevon Cooper, catches the ball but goes over the rope with the momentum of the stroke, tossing the ball back into the field of play as he does, before scrambling back to catch it diving forward. That was adjudged the catch of the 2014 IPL.

Nine years later, this time in the PSL, Pollard, playing for Multan Sultans, pulled off a similar stunning effort at long-off, this time just stepping over the rope before coming back in unhurried to complete the catch, cutting short Tom Kohler-Cadmore's innings.

Kieron Pollard turned Kevon Cooper's certain six into a wicket with a juggled boundary catch in the 2014 IPL © BCCI

These are just a few examples of the art of boundary fielding in the T20 age. And it is an art, make no mistake: the skills, fitness and lightning-quick instincts involved make these feats not just material for Instagram Reels but also the difference between winning and losing games. We spoke to Phillips and Silk, two of the best boundary riders in white-ball cricket to find out how they do what they do.

What are the basics required to be a good boundary fielder?
Glenn Phillips: A lot of it's to do with anticipation. I don't watch the ball being bowled at all, I watch the batter the whole time. You get certain bodily cues when the ball is going to come out in your direction. I usually field either deep cover or cow corner most times, and it's two very distinct bat swings when the ball comes out in that direction.

So it's firstly understanding that, okay, by the line or by the way the batsman's shaping up, it's probably coming to me. And then, secondly, it's trying to pick up the line of the ball as soon as possible and making the first initial movements as fast as possible and then adjusting from there. You see the initial line of the ball and try and make a quick decision of whether it's reaching you or whether it's going over your head. I don't know how the brain figures that out, I just imagine it's from time on the field and understanding when you see a ball move in a certain way, you have an instinct as to whether it's landing short or whether it's going over your head.

When it comes to taking catches like the Marcus Stoinis one, it has a lot to do with moving effectively as soon as possible to be able to make up enough ground to take the catch. From the early movement, it then comes down to putting in as much yardage while the ball's in the air as possible. And after that it just comes down to reactive stuff: you take so many catches in training, so your hands and your body know how to take a catch. The toughest part is actually getting there, timing your run properly to be able to have the right distance. Sometimes if you jump too far [forward] then obviously the catch is too close, or if you leave it a little too late then you don't quite get there and you get it on the ends of the fingers.

It is very difficult to make a judgement when you are running in at full tilt. That's why I will say probably it's a 60% catch rate from full-length dives. And that's sometimes mainly just because you have either over-dived and you get [the ball] a little bit on the palm or you have under-dived and you get it on the fingers.

Batters' kryptonite: Glenn Phillips goes full Superman to send Marcus Stoinis back in the 2022 T20 World Cup © ICC/Getty Images

Sometimes fielders get it wrong, especially on the boundary. From a bowler's perspective, if you see a fielder charging in and trying to take a catch that's going to land short, you would much rather have that than watch them sitting on their heels and not even make the attempt.

What are the basics for an overhead catch on the rope?
Jordan Silk: It's important to try and have as much control of the catch as possible. That then actually gives you options because if you do have someone that's nearby, you are able to get it away to them cleanly as opposed to only ever thinking about trying to slap the ball back.

The force of the cricket ball is often quite hard to control. I'm always a believer in trying to catch it firstly. And then if I've got time or the presence of mind to be able to flick the ball back into play, then that's a bonus. Like the [Colin] Ingram and [Pete] Handscomb [in a BBL game, where Silk parried what seemed like a certain six from Handscomb back into the ground] efforts - they are bonuses, just being able to get them back into play. A lot of practice goes into it.

Phillips: Getting your hands high out in front of you so that you have the chance to have a bit of depth perception with the ball coming in, whether you catch it reverse cup or conventionally. Also, getting your body position right on the boundary: if the ball looks like it's going over the rope, it's about being a bit more side-on so that you can potentially jump backwards [outwards], or your other option is to try and get as much in line with it as possible and jump up and back. You need to create a strong, stable base position for over-the-rope catches or the relay efforts.

How much of a part does instinct play in the timing of the jump?
Silk: It's hard to describe other than just being on pure instinct. That and a lot of training through the years - perfecting a dive or perfecting a jump. You try and get yourself into an athletic position and give yourself a base to be able to explode either way or up and down, or move sideways like the Ingram one, where I had to sort of jump up and across, or you try and have the power to be able to just jump straight up and parry something back in.

Hands up: getting your hands out in front of and above you while taking a catch gives you better depth perception in relation to the approaching ball Adrian Dennis / © AFP/Getty Images

I've practised from a very young age. I don't know why. I have an older brother and we would practice this stuff a lot at home and we'd film it. I never really had any coaches that would teach me how to dive or anything like that. It was just probably firstly through watching cricket, watching the best fielders in the world, your [Ricky] Pontings, your Mark Waughs, and then trying to emulate that in the backyard. It's not necessarily been a technique thing that I've learned over time, it's just through hard work and I guess my own skill that I have, and maybe a decent-sized pair of hands have helped me. (chuckles)

The hot zones for fielders in the outfield are usually deep midwicket, long-on, long-off. You field in some of these places. Can you talk about the challenge posed by the trajectory at which the ball comes at you in those positions?
Silk: I certainly enjoy fielding at deep midwicket for spinners. That's probably a favourite position of mine and one that I've patrolled for the last five or six years. It's funny because it can be pretty quiet out there for certain periods and then you know once you get into the last five overs, if they've got wickets in hand, you are going be pretty busy. So I get excited for those moments.

A lot of it is purely ground-dependent. We play on some really big grounds here in Australia, where at the MCG you might be 20, 30 metres in off the boundary, but then you go to Adelaide Oval and you're right on [the rope] most of the night. So it's just having that awareness around what ground you are playing at, awareness around which batters are in and what they are trying to do and what their strengths are. And then once a ball's been hit, it's trying to pick up the cues of, all right, how well have they hit that ball, and you are trying to just listen to the noise, almost try and rely on the noise and then figure out its path. Okay, it looks a bit top-edgy, I might have to sit back a little bit. Or, he's hit that with a bit of topspin, so that's going to dip on me, so I've got to make sure I get in quickly.

They are just things you sort of learn over time - you see how batters hit different shots and how it looks when it comes off the bat. If he's hitting with sort of backspin on the ball, you know the ball's going to travel a bit further and you might just have to sit back a little bit. If he's hitting with topspin, then you know that it's going to drop on you.

Someone like a Tim David, I know he is going to hit with backspin, so I know I probably don't have to be in as far off the fence, but then there's other players, I guess, that probably hit with more topspin, where I know if I'm in off the fence then I'm a good chance of catching it. But having that awareness of how far in off the fence I need to be is purely probably a ground-dependent/batter-dependent thing, as to where you need to position yourself.

Rope rules: where you stand in relation to the boundary marker often depends on what ground you're fielding on and who the batter is © Getty Images

Phillips: Long-on and long-off have a more flat trajectory. Cow corner often has the dipping trajectory, where you have to be able to judge at the last minute how much dip there is on the ball. A lot of cow-corner fielders, including myself, get done by the ball that we think is going to end up about waist height, but then it dips on you at the last second and you end up having to sort of dive and roll forward to it. The understanding of that, and how the ball is going to curve if it is hit square of the wicket, plays a big part - it is then trying to get your body in a position when you see the ball hit your way. And then it's also the element of being there for the catch, but also having to be able to adjust quickly to guys who mishit it and it only goes to the 30-metre circle, and you go try and save two as well.

So it's a fine balance of understanding where you need to be. You can probably be a little bit closer in off the boundary at cow corner than at long-on and long-off because of that dipping nature of the spin on the ball. If the ball goes over your head, it's usually a long way over your head or generally pretty short. So you don't see a lot of cow-corner catches ride on the ropes. All those throw-back catches, those all happen at long-on, long-off or even fine leg and third man.

Do you take a start as the bowler bowls?
Phillips: I personally don't. I usually backtrack, have a quick glance at where the boundary is, and then find the ball again. Usually, I'll do [that routine] very early on, though: as soon as the ball is hit, if I deem that it is going over my head, I'll have a quick look so that I have plenty of time to readjust.

I have heard of the idea of walking in five or six steps off the boundary so that you know that you have got five or six steps back. It's something that I think I should probably use more. But I am usually probably ten metres in on most boundaries. And when you are off the rope that far, it's pretty hard to adjust and understand how far ten or 12 metres is off the rope. With a shorter boundary, when you only have to be three or four metres in, it's probably a little bit easier to mark it and go, okay, I've got three steps back towards the rope. It's a balancing act of understanding how far to come in.

That overheard save off Peter Handscomb in the BBL - can you talk about judging the trajectory and the difficulty involved?
Silk: I maybe might have mucked that one up slightly by probably being a little bit too far in off the fence, but it was a big pocket. I have always tried to challenge myself to be further in off the fence to be able to get that catch that no one could get to maybe, coming in. So I've always tried to test myself that way. On that occasion I maybe got found out - I wasn't quite in the best position to be able to take the catch. Instead, I had to turn to just being able to parry it back in. I'm back-pedalling a lot more when I didn't necessarily have the speed to back-pedal.

And doing that you don't get enough height on your jump either. But I had a bit of an understanding of where the boundary rope was, and again, it was another instance where I thought, well, I'm probably not going to be able to complete a catch here, but I want to make sure that I get it in my hands first before I can release it back into the field of play. Again, very similar mindset: just catch the ball first, give yourself an opportunity to be able to release it back into the field of play.

What do you do to make sure you're fit enough to field on the boundary?
Phillips: The fitness element is a big part of it: to be able to do things at high speed for a long period of time throughout the day, to be able to come in, save two, jog back to your mark, and be able to do the same thing the next ball, or to be able to take a catch that potentially nobody else would be able to get to.

I would say a 100% effort is worth more than anything else. You can have guys who are incredibly fit and very lazy in the field, or you can have someone who is really slow in the field but gives 120% every time they chase after the ball or every time they do something. That really equates to what makes a good fielder: it's probably more the intent as opposed to the actual physical fitness side of things.

What do you focus on in training?
Silk: At training I just try and take the hardest catches. I often see guys that will just say, "Can you just hit five high balls up to me?" and they just sit underneath five high balls and they catch that and they are done. It just doesn't work for me that way. I catch the hard catches at training just so it prepares me well for a game. If I have to run and take a catch, then I know that I've done the work to do it. I'm often practising catches where maybe I'm looking directly into the sun or directly into a light - anything to try and make a catch feel tough.

I feel like that then gives me absolute confidence when I get to a game. I don't do probably as much volume as I used to do when I was younger, but what I do is quality: I'm catching on the run, I'm catching at full speed, I'm running in, I'm running back, I'm getting five, ten catches of those things where it's maximal effort. And knowing that I can catch those at training just gives me confidence that if a ball does go straight up in a game then I never feel like I'm going to drop it. More importantly, the ones that you're supposed to catch feel incredibly easy.

Working on core strength is important for a boundary fielder, and most exercise in an elite cricketer's training regimen engages the core in various ways Mark Keaton / © PA Photos/Getty Images

How important are core exercises for power, speed and agility?
Phillips: Not as much as you'd expect. The bulk of your core work is done from the big-muscle-group exercises that use your whole body, and your core is constantly being used for stability. Your squats, your deadlifts, your bench press, your powerlifting, all of those things use your core the whole time to be able to balance, to be able to provide strength in the movement of the exercise. I would say that probably makes up 90% of my core work. And then the actual core stuff, like rotational exercises, cable pulls, wood chops, they are more your 10%, icing-on-the-cake, make-you-look-good kind of exercises.

And then in sprint work as well, because your core is constantly being fired. I think a lot of people get caught up in "I need to do core, I need to do core, I need to do core", but a lot of it is actually done in the big-movement exercises if activated properly.

Tell us more about sprint work.
Phillips: Speed is probably the biggest element of fielding that takes some guys into another league in terms of fielding standard. Being a consistent fielder is one thing, but to be able to change a game, being able to do things fast, is just another element that the bowlers really appreciate from a fielding perspective. So speed and probably the agility side of things - being able to move and change direction or dive distances at full speed, which, sometimes, is a little bit genetic - some guys are just of more of a genetic disposition to be able to move and have agility.

You can't expect a big fast bowler to be able to have the same agile ability as someone who's smaller and can move a little bit quicker across the ground. Because I have that ability, it then is my responsibility to keep working on the speed and the agility and power element of things, and to be able to keep providing that to the team.

Silk: It's important. If I was to look at how I play cricket, I've relied heavily on speed. I find cricket is a game of acceleration - short acceleration movements. I have always tried to maintain a good level of speed and I'm now aware, going into the later stages of my career, that that's one thing I need to try and maintain, because without that, my impact potentially as a cricketer will drop down a bit.

It starts with some lifting in the gym and continually getting some high-speed metres in for my training weeks - just things like that to make sure that I'm ticking the boxes of staying healthy and strong in my legs, because I feel like that gives me the best chance of maintaining speed and my athleticism. They are just little things that I try and do, but obviously I'm really well looked after by plenty of support staff who organise these programmes for me.

There was that catch you took of Chris Green at the SCG in 2015, where you ran in full tilt before diving. How do you keep a still head while running at that speed, which is important for balance? And then timing the dive and making sure you keep your hands off the turf so the ball doesn't spill?
Silk: I probably look back at that catch as my best catch, just because if you ask any cricketer about what's difficult, they'll always say running in, possibly, or running back. If you watch that catch, I stay quite low to the ground, almost like I'm skating (chuckles). It's just always how I've sort of run - quite low to the ground, so whether that maybe helped me get to that position that allowed me to catch it or to keep my head at a lower level, definitely played a part.

I just remember catching that and popping up and thinking, "I think I've caught that." But yeah, like you said having a lower centre of gravity when I'm running in, knowing that it's going be probably a low, diving catch, so getting in a low athletic position certainly helped.

Your Superman save of a six off Colin Ingram in the 2021 BBL is one of the most spectacular boundary fielding efforts in the game. Can you break it down for us?
Silk: It was at Blundstone Arena [Bellerive Oval, Hobart] and as I am from there, I knew the ground well. I am not sure if it was a free hit. I just remember it going up and the sound off the bat was... it sounded good. I was probably just running more in hope that I could possibly get there. He was hitting into the wind, so I just saw the ball starting to hold up fractionally and I thought, oh, maybe I'm half a chance of getting to this. Your instincts take over and it felt like I was within range and I then took a big leap at it firstly.

What you can sort of get caught up is thinking about how you are going to get it back in play. I knew the catch was probably unrealistic, but it still felt like I had the presence of mind that I need to catch it first before thinking about throwing it back in, just because it felt like it was going to be super hard to reach that far and be able to parry it back in, due to the height that the ball was coming down at. Luckily enough, I was able to parry it back in. Unfortunately, there wasn't another fielder a bit closer to me that I could have thrown it through to, to make it even more spectacular for a catch. But that's one that I'm pretty proud of, to have been able to keep that down to the two runs in the end.

Silk picks Glenn Maxwell as one of his favourite fielders: "He's got a great arm, and that's where he really sets himself apart" © Getty Images

The key there, was it in how you ran?
Silk: When you see a ball that's going into a gap, the first instinct is, you just try and make as much ground as possible, as quick as you can. So I'm just trying to sprint to wherever I think the ball is going to end up. When you see a ball come off the bat, you have a feeling of maybe where it's going to end up, so over time I've been able to learn that, okay, I can sort of take my eye off this just momentarily to try and get that extra bit of speed to get to that point where I think the ball will drop, and then reconnect my eyes with the ball to be able to pull something off. There's a trust element and I back myself to be able to reel most things in.

Does it matter whether it is a large ground, like the MCG, or a smaller one? What's the difference?
Phillips: The difference comes down to the number of twos that you can save. At a big boundary, like the MCG, you will be in nearly 20 metres off the rope. You have a chat with your bowlers at the beginning of the game or the night before and understand: would they rather have five twos be hit to you or would they rather have you save a couple of twos, and if one gets hit over your head and is a one-bounce four… you are thinking usually you are probably going to get back enough in time to be able to take that catch anyway. So it's taking an element of risk into it and saying, do we want to put the intent on being closer [in] and stopping twos or do you want to have me further back on the rope and giving up a few twos but the catching side is going to be a bit easier?

On a small ground, if the boundary is 60 or 62 metres, you are probably on the rope more often than not because you will be able to get in to save two regardless.

Silk: The SCG is one of the easiest just because I have played there a lot and I have got familiar with it, so I do like catching there. A lot of people would say that Marvel Stadium [Melbourne], with the low lights and the roof on, can sometimes be a difficult place to catch. Optus Stadium in Perth, you are often playing afternoon games there, it's often 35 degrees, deep blue sky, no clouds, plus crowd noise, so that often makes it pretty tricky for high ball catching. Then I have always found at Adelaide Oval, if you bowl first there, you have got the sun setting, like, just above the stadium, I remember those first five to six overs, it could be a nightmare out there - you can sometimes lose the ball.

Who do you think are the best boundary fielders around at the moment?
Silk: Glenn Phillips is one that's really setting the benchmark at the moment. Just purely on his speed, his athleticism, and he's also got an amazing pair of hands. He's also showing a range in fielding positions, so he's not just an outfielder who's amazing at faster speeds. In the Test series, Australia and New Zealand, he took an absolute screamer to get rid of Marnus Labuschagne in the gully. So he's not a one-trick pony: he can field in a stationary position and still be able to pull off these amazing catches. So at the moment he is probably up there as the best fielder in the world.

Phillips: "Because I have the ability [to field well], it is my responsibility to keep working on the speed and the agility and power, and to be able to keep providing that to the team" © ICC/Getty Images

From an Australian perspective, I have always really admired Glenn Maxwell in the field. We've seen him pull off some amazing things. Again, someone that's not a one-trick pony - he can go and do it at first slip if he wanted to. He's got a great arm and that's where he really sets himself apart, and his throw is quite powerful. Jordan Cox in the UK is someone who is maybe slightly under the radar. He obviously has some wicketkeeping background too, but he's someone that's pretty special with his outfielding in particular. Then there is Pollard - unbelievable reach. Ben Stokes has taken some amazing catches on the boundary.

Phillips: Probably [Ravindra] Jadeja and [Glenn] Maxwell. If I'm going to pick top five or six, Cameron Green, Chris Jordan, Hayden Walsh and Rovman Powell.

What are the top boundary efforts, including catches and saves, you have seen or performed yourself?
Phillips: There's so many different kinds of boundary catches. If we are talking relay catches, there was a catch taken in the Super Smash in New Zealand, where Troy Johnson was running back [from mid-on] chasing the ball [hit by Will Young of Central Districts] over his head, took the catch, slid, saw he was going into the boundary and threw it back over his head to Nick Kelly, which was incredibly good.

Logan van Beek in the 2021 Super Smash - big, long, full-stretch diving catch at full tilt, out at long-on.

In fact, some of the best catches I have seen haven't actually been in international cricket. There was in the T20 Blast in England - one fella from Sussex, I don't know who it was [Brad Currie], but he took another big, running one-handed diving catch.

Devon Conway in the [2020-21] T20 World Cup, running to his left, big Superman dive.

My personal best will include Stoinis at the World Cup, closely followed by the Kyle Mayers one [in the second T20I in 2020] if we are talking boundary catches. Actually, no, I took a catch in the T20 Blast against Gloucestershire. It was the [Steve] Eskinazi one: full tilt, full jump, full stretch. I dived to my best side, my left.

Silk: One recently was Marnus Labuschagne taking one at long-on for Glamorgan in the Blast. That's a catch that I would love to be able to take: when you are sort of running full steam and you can throw out one hand and just hang on to it. A lot of cricketers will understand that that's an incredibly hard catch. So Marnus' catch was probably one that I was a bit jealous of that. I'd like to take a catch like that (laughs).

Phillips rates Logan Van Beek's one-handed diving catch in the 2021 Super Smash among the best he's seen © Getty Images

Has boundary fielding become vital enough to be the point of difference between winning and losing, especially in T20s?
Silk: 100%. I have always sworn by fielding having a huge say in games, and not just a catch but it might be a diving stop here or there, where it's [not just saving] one or two runs, but you keep a set batter off strike, which can just change the game slightly. That was often advice that was passed down from my dad - hey, if you are not contributing with the bat, you have got to find other ways to contribute. I was never really a bowler, so I always had to try and find it in the fielding .

I take great joy in trying to pull off something special to help the team. I often think that it almost adds to how many runs I have made. If I got 20 in a game, how can I then make that 30 by saving a few runs here or there? I've always sort of seen cricket in that lens, and I've always thought that there's nothing better than when you walk with a team having some trust that, hey, we are a pretty good fielding unit here and we are going to make it incredibly hard for oppositions to get past us. That's a really good feeling, one that every team really strives for. I don't think the impact of fielding is lost, certainly on coaches when picking teams. So it's always had a big impact on my life.

Phillips: It's the understanding that you are going to drop a few in the attempt of taking them. It ultimately comes down to the fear element of failure: is the fear of dropping a catch while diving at full stretch too great to warrant the risk of going for it? Is the reward of taking an amazing catch worth the risk of potentially dropping a catch or knocking it for four? I would much rather go for the catch and have the attempt at doing something great and [accept] you are going get it wrong sometimes. It definitely sends [positive] body language vibes to the team if you are putting in that sort of effort.

If I'm having to dive full stretch to get to a ball and I don't catch it, well, at least I gave it a chance to take a screamer that I wouldn't have if I just sort of thought, I'm not going to get there, I'll just take it on the one-bounce. It comes down to that entertainment piece of: what do the crowd want to see? Would they rather see me just run around, let it bounce, pick it up and be safe, or throw in a big dive? And if you get it, you get it and you look amazing. And if you don't, people just appreciate the effort. That's what it mostly comes down to: it's just an effort thing.

Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

 

RELATED ARTICLES