Umpires and Match Officials in Cricket: Who Decides What

Edited by Nayan Makvana · Last reviewed 24 October 2026

A televised international has five officials: two umpires on the field, a third umpire watching replays, a fourth umpire in reserve and a match referee. The Laws of Cricket require only the first two; the ICC's playing conditions add the rest. This guide sets out what each decides, using the 2026 edition of the Laws and the ICC playing conditions current at the date of review.

The two on-field umpires

One umpire stands at the bowler's end and the other at the striker's end, usually at square leg. Under the Laws they control the match with absolute impartiality, they are the sole judges of fair and unfair play, and together they decide whether the ground, weather and light are fit for play. Neither can give a batter out unless the fielding side appeals.

Bowler's end umpire

Answers almost every appeal, including bowled, caught and LBW, and calls and signals wides, most no-balls (front foot, high full tosses, short-pitched bowling), boundaries, byes and leg byes.

Striker's end umpire

Answers appeals for stumpings, hit wicket and run-outs at the wicket-keeper's end. Calls no-ball if more than two fielders are behind square on the leg side or the keeper comes in front of the stumps too soon, has the main responsibility for judging whether the bowler's arm action is legal, and in limited-overs cricket calls no-ball when too many fielders are outside the circle.

If an umpire is unsure about a point the colleague was better placed to see, they consult, and if doubt remains the decision is not out. An umpire may change a decision, but only if they do so promptly.

The third umpire

The third or TV umpire sits in a room with the replay feeds and the review technology. In internationals the third umpire:

• runs player reviews under the Decision Review System, working through replays, edge detection and, for LBW, ball-tracking;
• decides the umpire reviews that the on-field umpires refer: run-outs, stumpings, bowled and hit wicket, whether a catch was clean, whether the ball reached the boundary and for four or six, and which batter made their ground when both run to the same end;
• checks every call of short run automatically;
• watches the bowler's front foot on every delivery, tells the bowler's end umpire to call a no-ball, and checks other kinds of no-ball when asked;
• starts the 60-second stop clock between overs.

The third umpire is also the stand-by if an on-field umpire is ill or injured, except in ODIs that use DRS, where the fourth umpire takes that role.

Why the soft signal was dropped

Until 2023, an on-field umpire who referred a catch had first to give a soft signal: a provisional out or not out that stood unless the replays showed conclusively that it was wrong. The ICC's cricket committee concluded the signal was unnecessary and at times confusing, because replays of low catches are often inconclusive, and it was abolished from 1 June 2023. The on-field umpires now consult the third umpire, who decides from the evidence.

The fourth umpire

The fourth or reserve umpire, appointed by the home board, handles the match balls and access to the pitch: supervising the fielding captain's choice of match ball from a box of new ones, controlling who may walk on the pitch before play and during intervals, and supervising work on neighbouring pitches. In Tests and T20Is the fourth umpire is also the stand-by third umpire.

The match referee

The match referee is appointed by the ICC for every international and makes no decisions on the field. The referee supervises the toss, approves concussion replacements, rules on disputes about the pitch, including whether a damaged pitch can be repaired, and can award the match to the other side if a team refuses to play. After the match the referee confirms with the umpires whether each side met the minimum over-rate, rates the pitch and outfield, and hears most disciplinary charges.

Neutral umpires

For most of Test history both umpires came from the home country. The ICC began appointing a neutral umpire to every Test in the early 1990s, and from 2002 both on-field umpires in a Test came from countries not involved in the match. The requirement was suspended in 2020, when pandemic travel restrictions made it impractical. Neutral officials returned to Tests in 2022, when the match referee, the third umpire and one of the two on-field umpires again had to be neutral.

Under the current playing conditions the ICC appoints the match referee, both on-field umpires and the third umpire for a Test. In ODIs it appoints the referee, one on-field umpire and, where DRS is used, the third umpire, while the home board appoints the other on-field umpire. In T20Is the home board appoints both on-field umpires.

Slow over-rates

Fielding sides must bowl at a minimum rate of 15 overs an hour in Tests, 14.28 in ODIs and 14.11 in T20Is, with allowances for time lost to things outside their control, such as reviews and injuries. Falling short is punished in several ways:

• Fines. Every player in the fielding side loses 5% of the match fee for each over the side is short, up to a maximum of 50%. Over-rate offences carry no demerit points.
• World Test Championship points. In a WTC Test the side also loses one championship point for every over it is short; see the WTC guide.
• The in-match fielding penalty (ODIs and T20Is). Each innings has a scheduled finishing time. If the fielding side is not ready to bowl the first ball of the final over by then, only four fielders instead of five may stand outside the 30-yard circle in every over that starts after that time. It applied first in T20Is from January 2022 and has since been extended to ODIs; the powerplay guide explains the circle.
• The stop clock. The fielding side must start each over within 60 seconds of the previous one ending. The first two breaches in an innings bring warnings, and the third and each later one costs five penalty runs. Permanent in ODIs and T20Is since June 2024, the clock was extended to Tests in June 2025, where the warnings reset every 80 overs. It is not used when a new batter arrives between overs, at drinks or during approved injury treatment.

Batters are held to a similar standard. A striker must be ready when the bowler is, and an incoming batter must be ready within two minutes of a wicket falling in Tests and ODIs, or 90 seconds in T20Is. Since October 2026 a batter who delays play gets a warning, then a final warning, and from the third offence in an innings the fielding side is awarded five penalty runs.

The code of conduct

Behaviour in internationals is governed by the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. Offences are graded from Level 1, the least serious (excessive appealing is one example), to Level 4, the most serious. A report can be lodged by the match umpires, by the chief executive of either board or by the ICC. Level 1 to 3 cases are heard by the match referee, and Level 4 cases by an independent judicial commissioner.

Sanctions run from a warning or a fine, set as a percentage of the match fee, up to suspension, and each one adds demerit points that stay on the player's record for 24 months. Four or more demerit points in that period convert into suspension points, a Test counting as two and an ODI or T20I as one, so the first threshold means a ban from one Test or two white-ball internationals, applied to the matches the player is next likely to play.

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