The LBW Rule Explained: When Is a Batter Out Leg Before Wicket?
A plain-English guide to leg before wicket in cricket: where the ball pitches, impact in line, hitting the stumps, shots offered and DRS review decisions.
Leg before wicket, abbreviated LBW, is one of cricket’s most discussed dismissals. It exists to stop a batter simply using their body as a second line of defence in front of the stumps. The relevant section is Law 36 of the Laws of Cricket, maintained by the MCC. The principle is simple, but applying it requires several separate conditions to be met.
The basic idea
A batter can be given out LBW when the ball, having been delivered legally, strikes any part of their person (not just the leg) without first touching the bat, and the umpire is satisfied that the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps. For an out decision, all of the key conditions must apply. The bowling side must also appeal, as the umpire does not give a batter out without one.
The conditions, step by step
- The delivery must be legal, not a no-ball.
- The ball must not pitch on the leg side of the stumps. If it pitches outside leg stump, the batter cannot be out LBW.
- The ball must strike the batter before touching the bat. If the bat has touched the ball first, it cannot be LBW.
- The point of impact must be in line between wicket and wicket, unless no genuine shot is played, as explained below.
- The ball must be judged to be going on to hit the stumps.
Pitching in line
The ball can pitch in line with the stumps or on the off side of the line. A ball pitching outside off stump is still capable of producing an LBW provided the other conditions are met. A delivery pitching on the leg side, however, rules out the dismissal.
Impact in line
The point where the ball strikes the batter is called the impact. It must be between the two sets of stumps for the batter to be out, except where the batter has not offered a shot. If the batter makes a genuine attempt to play the ball with the bat, impact outside the line of off stump means the batter is not out. If no genuine stroke is attempted, impact outside off stump can still result in a dismissal, as long as the ball would have hit the stumps.
Hitting the stumps
The umpire must be satisfied that the ball would have hit the stumps. Judging this requires estimating the ball’s path after impact, including any swing, spin or bounce. Under Law 36, the ball is considered to have been heading for the stumps if it would have struck any part of the wicket.
The role of DRS
The Decision Review System (DRS) uses ball-tracking technology to help with LBW calls. When a team asks for a review, the third umpire checks pitching, impact and the projected path. Where the system predicts that the ball would have clipped the stumps by only a small margin, the on-field decision stands. This is called umpire’s call. If the ball is shown to be hitting the stumps more clearly, the decision is overturned in favour of the bowler, and if it is clearly missing, the batter is reprieved.
Each side has a limited number of unsuccessful reviews, so teams treat them as valuable resources.
Common misconceptions
- The ball does not have to strike the batter’s leg; the pad, body or even the glove can count if it is not the bat or the hand holding the bat.
- A batter can be out LBW when moving down the pitch, although the further they advance the harder it is for the ball to be judged as hitting the stumps.
- A ball pitching outside leg stump never produces an LBW, even if it would have gone on to hit the stumps.
- If the ball hits the bat before the pad, the batter cannot be out LBW.
Why the rule matters
Without LBW, batters could plant their pads in front of the stumps and ignore any ball not directly hitting the bat. The law ensures that bowlers can attack the stumps and be rewarded for accuracy, which in turn pushes batters to play with the bat rather than hide behind it. Understanding the rule helps make sense of many appeals and review decisions in a match.
Frequently asked questions
Can a batter be out LBW if the ball pitches outside leg stump?
No. If the ball pitches outside the leg stump, the batter cannot be given out LBW.
What does umpire’s call mean?
It means the ball-tracking prediction shows the ball only marginally hitting the stumps, so the on-field umpire’s original decision remains unchanged.
Does the ball have to hit the batter’s leg?
No. It can strike any part of the batter’s body, as long as it did not first touch the bat.