How LBW Works

Leg before wicket, usually shortened to LBW, is the most argued decision in cricket. The idea is simple: a batter cannot use their body to stop a ball that would have hit the stumps.

The conditions

For an LBW to be given, several things must be true at once:

• The bowler must have delivered a legal ball.
• The ball must not pitch outside leg stump.
• The ball must hit the batter without first touching the bat or glove holding the bat.
• The ball must be judged to be going on to hit the stumps.

The impact rule

If the ball strikes the batter outside the line of off stump, they can only be given out if they were not attempting a shot. A batter playing a genuine stroke is protected outside off stump.

Why so many appeals are turned down

Height is the usual reason. A ball that hits high on the pad from a good length is often going over the stumps. Pitching outside leg is the other common reason, and it is an automatic not out however plumb it looks.

Reviews

Where ball-tracking is used, decisions have an umpire’s call margin. If the projection shows only a small part of the ball clipping the stumps, the on-field decision stands, whichever way it was given. This is why two similar-looking balls can produce opposite results.