Laws
This method of dismissal is covered by Law 33 of the Laws of cricket which reads:
The striker is out Caught if a ball delivered by the bowler, not being a No ball, touches his/her bat without having previously been in contact with any fielder, and is subsequently held by a fielder as a fair catch,..., before it touches the wicket and ground.This means that the batsman cannot be out caught if:
The ball is called a no-ball or dead ball. The batsman does not hit the ball with his bat or a gloved hand holding the bat. The ball, having been hit, makes contact with the field before a fielder catches the ball. The ball does not remain under the control of the fielder. The ball is hit and lands beyond or on the boundary; (six runs). A fielder taking the catch makes contact with the boundary rope or the area outside the boundary, with any part of his body, equipment, when touching the ball. An airborne fielder taking the catch, having not previously legally touched the ball, had his last contact with the ground not entirely within the boundary.Note that if a batsman could be given out both caught and by another method, caught takes precedence, unless the other method is bowled.If a batsman is out caught, any runs scored off that delivery are voided.
If a batsman is caught, the bowler is credited with the batsmans wicket and the catching fielder is credited for the dismissal, there is no catch assists for a saving boundaries before catch, or deflecting the ball to a different fielder in the slips cordon. If the two batsmen cross each other, in attempting to take a run, before the catch was taken, the non-striking batsman at the time remains at the opposite end of the pitch as the new incoming batsman comes to the crease at his former end. This means, unless it is now a new over, he is now on strike and the incoming batsman is not. Adjudication
If the catch taken is pronounced or obvious, the players need not appeal to the umpire; the batsman normally chooses to acknowledge the dismissal himself. However, if the ball brushes the edge of the bat, or the catch is taken very close to the ground, or the ball appears to have bounced off the batsmans foot (so it has not touched the ground), or the ball appearing to come off the bat very close to the pitch surface (bump ball), or if the batsman is reluctant to accept that he has been dismissed, then the fielding team has to appeal to the umpire for this decision. In international competition, if neither field umpire can clearly decide if a catch has been made or not, they may refer to the third (television) umpire for a review.