 The definition of leg before wicket ( lbw ) is currently Law 36 in the Laws of Cricket , written by the Marylebone Cricket Club ( MCC ) . Before a batsman can be dismissed lbw , the fielding team must appeal to the umpire . For the batsman to be <unk> lbw , the ball , if it <unk> , must pitch in line with the wickets , or on the off side of the stumps . Then the ball must strike 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 . The batsman may also be out lbw if , having made no attempt to hit the ball with his bat , he is struck outside the line of off stump by a ball that would have hit the wickets . The umpire must assume that the ball would have continued on the same trajectory after striking the batsman , even if it would have bounced before hitting the stumps . However , if the bowler delivers a no ball — an illegal delivery — the batsman cannot be lbw under any circumstances . 
