Umpire's call and DRS rules in cricket, explained

Umpire's call is DRS's verdict when ball tracking shows an LBW is too close to overturn: the on-field decision stands and the side keeps its review.

Published 1 November 2026

What umpire's call means

Umpire's call is the verdict DRS gives when ball tracking shows an LBW is too close to overturn. The on-field umpire's decision stands, out or not out, and the side that asked for the review keeps it. It applies only to LBW reviews, and only to two of ball tracking's three questions: where the ball hit the batter and whether it would have hit the stumps.

What DRS is

DRS, the Decision Review System, lets the third umpire use replays and technology to help the umpires on the field. There are two kinds of review in the ICC's playing conditions:

• An umpire review, where an on-field umpire asks the third umpire about a decision such as a run-out, stumping, catch or boundary.
• A player review, where a side challenges a decision on whether a batter is out. Any mode of dismissal can be reviewed except timed out.

Only the batter given out can ask for a review of an out decision, and only the fielding captain can ask for a review of a not-out. The player makes a T sign with both forearms, and must do it within 15 seconds of the ball becoming dead. No signals from the dressing room are allowed.

DRS was trialled in a Test series between India and Sri Lanka in 2008 and launched by the ICC in a Test in Dunedin in November 2009. It is used where the playing conditions and the broadcast allow, so not every match has it, and domestic leagues set their own rules.

How many reviews a side gets

Under the ICC's playing conditions in force from October 2026, each side may have:

• three unsuccessful reviews per innings in a Test, men's and women's;
• two unsuccessful reviews per innings in a men's ODI or T20I;
• one per side in each Super Over innings.

A review that overturns the decision is successful and costs nothing. A review that leaves the decision unchanged is unsuccessful and counts against the limit, with two exceptions that matter here: an LBW decision that stands only because of umpire's call, and a not-out that stands because the ball turns out to be a no-ball. Neither costs a review. Teams used to lose a review for umpire's call; that changed in October 2017.

What the third umpire checks

The third umpire already watches the bowler's front foot on every ball. When a dismissal is reviewed, the third umpire first checks the delivery was fair in other ways too. Then it depends on the dismissal:

• Edges and catches: replays at any speed, sound from the stump microphones, and approved sound-based and heat-based edge detection. These show whether the ball touched the bat or glove.
• LBW: after checking for a no-ball and for any edge onto the pad, the third umpire turns to ball tracking.

If the evidence isn't clear enough to change the decision with a high degree of confidence, the third umpire says so, and the on-field decision stands.

Ball tracking's three questions

Ball tracking rebuilds the ball's path from camera images and answers three questions, matching the conditions for LBW in Law 36.

1. Landing: where did it pitch? The answer is in line, outside off or outside leg, judged by the centre of the ball against a strip between the two sets of stumps. Outside leg means not out, whatever else happens. There is no umpire's call here.

2. Impact: where did it hit the batter? If the centre of the ball was inside the line of the stumps, it is in line. If only part of the ball was inside, it is umpire's call. If no part was inside, it is outside. When the batter played a shot, impact outside the line means not out.

3. Wicket: would it have hit the stumps? The target is the outline of the whole wicket, from the base of the stumps to the top of the bails. If the centre of the ball would have been inside that outline, it is hitting. If the ball would have clipped the stumps or bails with its centre outside the outline, it is umpire's call. Otherwise it is missing.

Why the same ball can be out or not out

Here is the part that confuses fans. To overturn a not-out, ball tracking must show the ball in line and hitting, clearly. To overturn an out, it must show the ball pitching outside leg, the impact clearly outside the line or the ball clearly missing. Anything in between, the umpire's call band, sends the decision back to the umpire who made it.

So imagine a ball that would have shaved the outside of off stump. Given out, it stays out. Given not out, it stays not out. Ball tracking agreed with neither umpire firmly enough to overrule them.

There is one more limit for a not-out review. If the ball hit the batter 300 centimetres or more from the stumps, or between 250 and 300 centimetres away with less than 40 centimetres between where it pitched and where it hit, the not-out stands even if ball tracking says hitting. The prediction over that distance is too long to overrule the umpire on.

Why umpire's call exists

Ball tracking is a prediction. It can measure where the ball landed and where it struck the pad, but the path to the stumps is projected, not seen. No projection is perfect, and DRS was built to fix clear mistakes, not to replace the umpire's judgement on the closest calls.

Umpire's call is how the rules respect both. When the technology is sure, it overrules. When the ball is only clipping the stumps or the edge of the line, the human decision made in real time is allowed to stand. Critics say the same ball shouldn't have two answers; supporters say an umpire shouldn't be overruled by a margin smaller than the system's own error. Either way, it is why captains think hard before reviewing a ball that looks like it is only just hitting.

A quick way to read a review

When the graphics appear, read them in order:

1. Pitching: outside leg ends it.
2. Impact: in line, umpire's call or outside.
3. Wicket: hitting, umpire's call or missing.

If any step lands in umpire's call, the original decision stays. If you want to test your eye, try making the call yourself before ball tracking shows its answer.

Sources

• ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions, October 2026, Appendix D (Decision Review System)
• ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions, October 2026
• ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions, October 2026
• ICC Women's Test Match Playing Conditions, October 2026
• MCC Laws of Cricket, Law 36: Leg before wicket
• Wikipedia: Decision Review System (history)
• Business Standard (ANI): From Oct 1, teams will not lose a review for umpire's call (2017)

Play: Umpire of the Day: make the call in 3D