Catches win matches — and slip catches win the close ones. A dropped first-slip chance on day one can cost you 80 runs and the game. Yet most club teams spend 90% of training on batting and bowling, and barely 10 minutes on slip work. This guide gives you a focused 20-minute slip routine you can run before every practice session, with drills that build the soft hands, fast reactions and shape needed to hold every chance.
Get the stance right first
Before any drill, fix your stance. Feet shoulder-width apart, weight on the balls of your feet, knees bent so your fingertips can brush the grass. Hands together, fingers pointed down, palms facing the batter. Eyes locked on the edge of the bat — not the ball, not the bowler.
Stay down until the ball passes the bat. The most common reason club slips drop catches is they stand up too early, then have to dive down to reach a low edge. Stay low; stand only when the ball is past you.
Drill 1: Tennis ball pairs (5 mins)
Partner stands 3 metres away with a tennis ball. They throw underarm, alternating left and right of your body at knee height. Catch with soft hands — let the ball come in, don't snatch at it. 50 catches each side.
Progression: partner throws faster, mixing heights from ankle to chest. The goal is to keep your head still and let the hands do the work. If you're moving your head to track the ball, you'll drop it.
Drill 2: Slip cradle or wall rebound (5 mins)
If your club has a slip cradle, use it — it's the single best tool for slip practice. Stand 2 metres away, partner throws the ball into the cradle, and it pops out at random angles and speeds. 30 reps.
No cradle? Use a wall. Throw the ball against a brick wall from 3 metres, and catch the rebound. The ball comes back fast and at unpredictable angles — exactly like a real edge. Do 5 sets of 20.
Drill 3: Reaction edges with a bat (5 mins)
Get into slip stance. A coach or teammate stands 5 metres away with a bat and ball, and gently edges the ball towards you — left, right, low, high. This is the closest you'll get to a real slip catch in training.
The coach should vary tempo: 3 quick edges in 10 seconds, then a pause, then another burst. This builds the start-stop reaction pattern of real slip fielding — long periods of focus broken by sudden action.
Drill 4: Diving catches on a mat (5 mins)
Lay a gym mat or thick blanket on the grass. Partner throws balls just out of your reach left and right. Dive, catch, roll, get back up. 10 catches each side.
Land on your forearm and shoulder, not your elbow or hip. The roll absorbs the impact. Practice both sides — most club slips can dive to their dominant hand but freeze on the weaker side.
Match-day warm-up routine
Before every match, do 5 minutes of slip work as part of the warm-up. Stand at first slip, get a teammate to gently edge or throw 30 balls at varying heights. The goal isn't conditioning — it's getting your eyes and hands switched on before ball one.
Two minutes of high-catches and two minutes of ground fielding rounds out a complete catching warm-up. Skip this and the first edge of the day has a much higher chance of going down.
Mental side of slip fielding
Slip is a position where you do nothing for 5 overs, then have 0.4 seconds to react. Stay engaged by predicting the ball: 'this is a length ball outside off — if he edges it, where does it go?' Talk to second slip and the keeper between balls.
If you drop one, forget it before the next ball. The worst slip fielders are the ones who replay the drop in their head and then fumble the next chance. Reset by tapping the ground, taking one breath, and re-focusing on the bat.
Slip catching is a learned skill, not a natural talent. Twenty minutes a week of focused drills — stance, soft hands, reaction edges, diving — will turn you into the slip fielder your captain trusts in the 9th over of a tight chase. Start this routine before your next session and track your catch percentage over the season. You'll be amazed how quickly the drops disappear.
773 words
Written by
CricketCore Editorial
Cricket Coach & Content Writer
Arjun is a former age-group cricketer turned coach who writes CricketCore's technical guides. Every article is reviewed for technical accuracy before publishing.
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