What's a Leg Behind (LB) in cricket?

Answer 1

Might want to check that link. People just LB for short for LBW.

Answer 2

The essence of the rule might be concisely stated as: If the ball hits the batsman (but not his bat or hand first) when it was otherwise going to hit the wicket, then it is judged out LBW, unless (1) it pitched (bounced) on the leg side or (2) it hit the batsman outside the off stump when he was adjudged to be playing a stroke.

Answer 3

That is when the bowler hit the the leg that in directly in front the stumps. If the umpire thinks that the ball would have hit it if the foot was not there then the batsman is out. I know it as LBW-leg before wicket.

Answer 4

LBW- leg before wicket

This is when the batsman puts his leg in front of the wicket and the ball hits the batsman's leg.

Answer 5

In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket (LBW) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a complex series of circumstances that primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body (usually the leg) when it would otherwise have continued to hit the wicket.

The LBW rule is designed to prevent a batsman simply using his body to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket (and so avoid being bowled out) rather than using his bat to do so.

Despite the word leg in leg before wicket, the rule applies if the ball hits the batsman on any part of his body, except for the glove of a hand in contact with the bat (which is considered part of the bat).

The conditions for a batsman to be given out LBW are:

1) The ball must be legal : The ball must not be a no ball.

2) The ball must not pitch on the leg side : The ball must either (a) pitch in line between wicket and wicket or on the off side of the wicket, or (b) not pitch at all before reaching the batsman. Therefore, any ball pitching on the leg side of the wicket should not result in the loss of a wicket by LBW . To determine the relevant 'pitching zone', an imaginary line is drawn parallel to the long axis of the pitch from the leg stump.

3) The ball must miss the bat : If the first contact the batsman has of the ball is hitting it with his bat, he should not be out LBW.

4) The ball must intercept a part of the batsman's person : If the ball hits any part of the body, it is a potential candidate for LBW (ie. it need not hit the leg). The one exception is a hand or gloved hand in contact with the bat, which is considered part of the bat.

5) The ball must hit in line : The ball must hit the batsman in the region directly between the two wickets. An important exception is that, if the impact is outside the off stump, the batsman can be out LBW if he does not make a genuine attempt to play the ball (that is, if he does not "play a stroke"). If the impact is between wicket and wicket, the playing of a stroke is irrelevant.

6) The ball must have been going to hit the wicket : If the ball's trajectory suggests that it would have missed the wicket had the batsman not been present, then he should not be out LBW.

There are three rules for the interpretation of these conditions: only the first interception of the ball by the body is considered; whether the ball would have pitched after interception is irrelevant; and the identities of the 'off side' and 'leg side' are to be determined by reference to the batsman's stance when the ball is delivered.

The exception to the fifth condition (ball must impact in line) involves the judgment of the umpire on whether the batsman has attempted to play a shot at the ball. It is designed to prevent batsmen from merely kicking the ball away outside the off stump, which provides no chance of giving up a catch off the bat. A common defensive tactic against spin bowlers is to use the leg pad to defend against balls on the off side, but the LBW rule means they must either have the bat placed near the pad, thus providing a chance for edging a catch to the slip fielders, or risk being ruled out LBW. Some observers, such as Richie Benaud, have suggested that the LBW law be changed so that a batsman can be out if the ball pitches just outside the leg stump, thereby assisting legspinners and preventing negative pad-play.

The LBW rule is always judged by the umpire at the bowler's end. If the fielding team believes a batsman may be out LBW, they must appeal to that umpire for a decision.

All the LBW conditions must be assessed for the delivery, which takes around half a second to reach the batsman. As in other aspects of the rules, the batsman is always given the benefit of any doubt so, if an umpire is unsure, the appeal will be turned down. An example of this is if the batsman takes a step forward before the ball hits the batsman's leg. The ball might well have gone on to hit the wicket, but it is very difficult for the umpire to be certain of this, as the ball would have been 1.5-2 metres in front of the wicket as it hit the batsman's leg.

With the benefit of television replays it is common to show whether or not all of the LBW conditions were satisfied, and thus some people complain that an umpire wrongly allowed a batsman to continue or wrongly gave him out. However since the umpire should be certain that a batsman is out in order to give him out, and he has no benefit of television replay, the umpire's decision is usually appropriate. Most players and commentators acknowledge this and criticism of umpires is minimal.

The LBW decision is arguably the hardest the umpires have to make, and can be a source for commentary and controversy amongst the spectators. In recent years, with the increasing amounts of pressure and money at stake in cricket, several people have been campaigning for a larger role of cameras and simulation technology such as Hawk-Eye to aid the umpire in the uncertain cases. For the moment, LBW remains a decision that falls solely under the purview of the on-field umpire. Change is in the air, however: in September 2005, the ICC authorized a trial run of the use by umpires of television replays to aid in making the call (see external link below).

It is worth noting that a batsman can be out LBW if the ball hits the pad first and then goes on to hit the bat (a so-called pad-bat), but not in the case where the batsman hits the ball with the bat but the ball then goes on to hit his pad (a bat-pad). However, in both cases, a batsman runs the risk of being out caught, as the ball may ricochet off at a relatively low speed for a close fielder (such as silly mid on) to catch.

Should the ball hit the batsman on the full (i.e., without hitting the pitch), then the umpire is to assume that the ball would have continued in a straight trajectory, irrelevant of the likelihood of the ball seaming or spinning if it did then hit the pitch before reaching the wicket.

Answer 6

the bowler bowls, the ball hits the batsman's leg... but if the umpire feels, that if his leg hadnt been there, then, the ball wud have struck the stumps, then he declares it as LBW (leg before wicket)....

If the batsman hadnt hit the ball with his leg & if the ball would have hit the stumps, then he is out, by LBW.

Answer 7

lbw = leg before wicket