Leg Before Wicket - Definition

Definition

The definition of leg before wicket (lbw) is currently Law 36 in the Laws of Cricket, written by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). For the batsman to be lbw, the ball must pitch in line with the wickets at either end of the pitch, or on the off side of the stumps. Then the ball must strike any part of the batsman's body, without first touching his bat, in line with the wickets and have been going on to hit the stumps. Alternatively, the batsman may also be lbw if he has not attempted to hit the ball with his bat, it strikes him outside the off stump and would have gone on to hit the wickets. It is assumed that the ball would have continued on the same trajectory after striking the batsman, even if it would have bounced before striking the stumps. Before a batsman can be given lbw, the fielding team must appeal to the umpire. A batsman cannot be out if the delivery is a no ball.

A batsman can be out lbw even if the ball does not hit his leg: for example, a batman struck on the head could be lbw. However, a batsman cannot be given lbw if the ball pitches on the leg side of the stumps ("outside leg stump"), even if the ball would have gone on to hit the wickets. Similarly, the batsman cannot be out lbw if the ball strikes him outside the line of off stump if he is trying to hit the ball with his bat. As some shots in cricket, such as the switch hit or reverse sweep involve the batsman switching between a right- and left-handed stance, and this impacts on where the off and leg side are located, the laws explicitly state that the off side is determined by the batsman's position when the bowler commences his run-up.

According to MCC guidelines for umpires, among the factors to consider when giving an lbw decision are the angle at which the ball was travelling and whether the ball was swinging through the air. He also must take into account how high the ball had bounced and how far from the wicket the batsman was struck; from this information he must determine if the ball would have passed over the stumps or struck them. The MCC guidance states that it is easier to make a decision when the ball strikes the batsman without pitching, but that the difficulty increases when the ball has bounced and more so when there is a shorter time between the ball pitching and striking the batsman.

The lbw law has a reputation among many who do not follow cricket of being extremely difficult to understand, of equivalent difficulty to association football's offside rule. Owing to the difficulty of its interpretation and the many factors to take into account in giving a decision, lbw is regarded by critics as the most controversial of the laws but also a yardstick by which the abilities of an umpire are judged. According to David Fraser, umpires' lbw decisions are frequently criticised and "arguments about bias and incompetence in adjudication inform almost every discussion about LBW decisions." Among the more controversial aspects of lbw decisions are the adjudication by the umpire whether the ball pitched outside the leg stump of the batsman, and in certain circumstances whether his intention was to hit the ball or leave it alone. Another problem arises from all decisions being based upon speculation over what might have occurred rather than the facts of what happened. Umpires are frequently criticised for their decisions by players, commentators and spectators.

Historically, trouble most often arose when a cricket team toured another country and came home frustrated by the decisions of the umpires against them. Among touring teams, there was often an assumption of national bias against them by home umpires; a study in 1981 concluded that umpires in some countries were statistically more likely to rule a visiting batsman lbw than a home player, but also umpires in some countries were statistically less likely to rule batsmen lbw whichever team they represented. However, Fraser points out that it is impossible to determine if any of the decisions were wrong, particularly as the lbw law can have different interpretations, or if other factors such as pitch conditions and technique were involved.