Who is the best slip catcher in the game today?
This is far from a golden era of slip catching, but there are still some players who make a habit of taking stunners in the cordon
![Steven Smith takes a catch to dismiss Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka v Australia, 3rd Test, SSC, 1st day, August 13, 2016](https://img1.hscicdn.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_ds_w_1280,q_70/lsci/db/PICTURES/CMS/249700/249789.5.jpg)
Steven Smith: Reflexes? Check. Agility? Got that • AFP
Andrew McGlashan, deputy editor
There are few better sights in cricket than a packed slip cordon - well, maybe it's just me. But does this feel like a golden era of slip catching? I'm not going to delve into the percentage of dropped catches right here, but the gut feeling is no. A recent social media poll by our digital gurus posed the question of the dream cordon: Darren Gough's was Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff. It's an all-timer, for sure.
Alan Gardner, deputy editor
There's probably a distinction to be made between great slip catchers and takers of great slip catches. Some of those vying for the all-time cordon pouched almost everything that came their way with soft-handed surety, but may have been less likely to fling themselves bodily for the one-percenters. And if there are fewer in the never-drop-a-chance category these days, perhaps it's because the modern cricketer is more likely to get close to ones that would have zipped straight through in the past.
Karthik Krishnaswamy, senior sub-editor
It's obviously no hindrance to be a natural athlete, but you don't have to be one to be a good slip fielder. Think Mark Taylor.
Shashank Kishore, senior sub-editor
I wonder if there's a happy coincidence between being a good slip fielder and wearing either a cool floppy hat or a worn-out cap that has absorbed buckets of sweat over the years. Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh come to mind in the 1990s. In the 2000s, it's hard to look beyond Mahela Jayawardene and Rahul Dravid.