Cricket Umpires and Appeals Explained: How Decisions Are Made on the Field
How cricket umpiring works — the two on-field umpires, the third umpire (TV umpire) and DRS reviews, what constitutes a valid appeal ('Howzat?'), why umpires cannot give decisions without appeals, and the standard of 'benefit of the doubt to the batsman.'
Cricket uses two on-field umpires who make all dismissal decisions in real time, plus a third umpire (TV umpire) who reviews appeals referred by the on-field umpires or under the Decision Review System (DRS). The on-field umpires are positioned at the bowler's end (standing behind the stumps at the bowling end, giving the best view of LBW and caught-behind decisions) and at square leg (positioned square of the batting crease, giving the best view of run-outs at the batting end). All significant decisions in cricket — dismissals, wides, no-balls, run-outs, byes, penalties — are made by the umpires.
The Appeal: 'Howzat?'
Under Law 31 of the Laws of Cricket, an umpire cannot give a batsman out unless the fielding side appeals — the traditional call is 'Howzat?' (a contraction of 'How's that?'). This is one of cricket's fundamental constitutional principles: the umpire does not proactively detect and signal dismissals. The fielding side must appeal, and the umpire then makes their decision. If no appeal is made (even for an obvious dismissal visible to everyone), the batsman is not out. In practice, fielding teams appeal for almost every potential dismissal including obvious non-dismissals (to pressure umpires and cover any uncertain cases); this is accepted as part of the competitive game as long as it does not constitute aggressive misconduct.
Benefit of the Doubt
When an umpire is uncertain about a dismissal (particularly LBW and caught-behind decisions), the Law provides that the benefit of the doubt goes to the batsman — the batsman is not out unless the umpire is sure enough that the appeal is valid to give it. This principle: (1) Protects against false positives (wrongly dismissed batsmen); (2) Means some valid dismissals are not given; (3) Creates the standard against which DRS UltraEdge and Hawkeye are measured — in DRS, 'ball-tracking impact' reviews use a 50%+ probability of hitting the stumps to support an LBW review; catches require 'conclusive evidence' that the ball carried to the fielder without bouncing. The DRS 'umpire's call' zone — a grey area around the stumps where the technology shows the ball clipping the stumps — preserves the on-field decision even if a review is taken.
Umpire Signals and Communication
On-field umpires communicate all decisions through standardised hand signals (described fully in the umpire signals guide article): raising one finger = out; both arms extended horizontally = wide; one arm extended at shoulder height with palm facing the ground = no-ball; arms crossed at chest = dead ball; raising both arms above head = six; pointing finger at boundary = four; etc. These signals are communicated to the scorers (who sit in the scoreboard area) and to television broadcasters. In modern cricket, umpires also wear microphones and communicate verbally with players about no-ball warnings, field restriction counts, and lighting condition assessments. The ICC appoints Elite Panel Umpires (approximately 12 of the world's best on-field umpires) for all ICC events and bilateral Test series.
Frequently asked questions
How many umpires are there in a cricket match?
Three — two on-field umpires (one at the bowler's end, one at square leg) who make all real-time decisions, and a third umpire (TV umpire) who reviews run-outs/stumpings referred by on-field umpires and handles DRS review technology. In international cricket, a match referee is also appointed to oversee player conduct and Code of Conduct compliance — but the match referee has no decision-making role in the game's technical conduct (that's exclusively the umpires).
Why must players appeal in cricket?
Law 31: an umpire cannot give a batsman out without the fielding side appealing ('Howzat?'). Even an obvious dismissal (e.g., a batsman hitting a catch to mid-on) is not out if the fielding team doesn't appeal. This Law exists to preserve the principle that dismissals require active confirmation — protecting against umpires acting unilaterally. In practice, teams appeal for virtually every potential dismissal, making this rarely a practical issue, but the legal requirement means accidental non-appeals have occasionally cost fielding teams dismissals.
What is 'benefit of the doubt' in cricket umpiring?
When an umpire is uncertain about a dismissal — particularly LBW (whether the ball would have hit the stumps) or caught-behind (whether the ball touched the edge) — the benefit of the doubt goes to the batsman. The umpire gives 'not out' unless they are sufficiently certain the appeal is valid. In DRS, this is formalised: 'umpire's call' preserves the on-field decision when technology shows marginal contact with the stumps or edge — reflecting that the original umpire applied benefit of the doubt correctly within the margin of uncertainty.