How does DRS work in senior men's Proteas Tests, ODIs and T20Is? Review limits, umpire's call, ball-tracking for LBW, what the third umpire checks, the WTC points table and slow over-rate penalties.
A player can review any on-field decision about whether a batter is out or not out, with one exception: Timed Out can't be reviewed. No other umpiring decisions can be reviewed by players, so for example a wide or a call of four can't be challenged by a team.
Common reviews are LBW, caught (did the batter hit it, was it a clean catch) and, once the umpire has chosen not to refer it themselves, run outs and stumpings.
A review is a two-way consultation: the third umpire looks for anything that shows the on-field umpire should change the decision, then the on-field umpire makes the final signal. A reversed decision is shown with the "revoke last signal" before the new signal. If the evidence is inconclusive, the original decision stands.
DRS is used only where the match is broadcast with the required cameras and approved ball-tracking and edge-detection technology. Without that, the third umpire can still rule on referrals from the on-field umpires (such as run outs) using camera replays, but players can't review.
The limit is on unsuccessful reviews per team, per innings:
| Format | Unsuccessful reviews per innings |
|---|---|
| Test | 3 |
| ODI | 2 |
| T20I | 2 |
| Super Over (ODI or T20I) | 1 per Super Over innings, whatever was used in the match |
What doesn't count against the limit:
A review where the batter is still out, but by a different mode of dismissal, does count as unsuccessful.
Reviews don't carry over to the next innings, and the scoreboard shows how many each team has left in the current innings.
These limits are from the ICC men's playing conditions effective from October 2026.
"Umpire's call" is what ball-tracking reports on an LBW review when the evidence is too marginal to overturn the on-field umpire, so the original decision stands, whether that was Out or Not out.
It applies in two places:
Does the team lose the review? No. A review of an LBW where the decision stands only because of umpire's call is recorded as "Unchanged – Umpire's Call" and doesn't count towards the team's limit of unsuccessful reviews.
Example: the umpire gives Not out, the fielding side reviews, and ball-tracking shows the ball clipping leg stump (umpire's call on Wicket). The batter stays Not out and the fielding side keeps its review. Had the umpire given it Out, the same evidence would have kept the batter Out.
The third umpire first checks the delivery was fair and that the ball didn't hit the bat first. Ball-tracking then reports three things:
1. Landing (where the centre of the ball pitched)
2. Impact (where the ball first hit the batter)
If the batter was playing a shot, the impact must be in line to be given out on review, and must be wholly "outside" to overturn an out decision. If the umpire says the batter made no genuine attempt to play, an impact outside the off stump can still be out.
3. Wicket (would it have hit the stumps?)
To overturn Not out, it must be Hitting. To overturn Out, it must be Missing.
Long-distance rule: a Not out decision stands, even if ball-tracking shows Hitting, when the impact was 300 cm or more from the stumps, or more than 250 cm from the stumps with less than 40 cm between pitching and impact.
If the ball hits the batter on the full, ball-tracking projects its straight-line path but says nothing about its height after bouncing. That stays the on-field umpire's judgement.
These are umpire reviews. They don't use up a team's reviews, and players aren't allowed to appeal for one (doing so can be treated as dissent).
The on-field umpires can refer or consult on:
The third umpire can also contact the on-field umpires on their own initiative about a missed boundary infringement or the ball hitting an overhead camera.
The third umpire shows the decision with a red light (out) or green light (not out), or on the big screen.
Front-foot no balls, every ball: the third umpire watches replays of the bowler's feet landing on every delivery. If the back foot touched or landed outside the return crease, or no part of the front foot landed behind the popping crease, they tell the bowler's end umpire, who calls and signals No ball straight away. So this check has already been done before any wicket is reviewed.
On a referral or review of a dismissal, the third umpire first checks that the delivery was fair (other no-ball types, such as height), apart from whether the bowler's action is legal. If it was a no ball, the batter is Not out.
Then the dismissal itself, for example:
If the third umpire sees the batter is out another way (or not out by any mode), they must say so. Any other mode is judged using the on-field umpire's original decision as the starting point.
The batter can be asked to wait at the crease while the on-field umpire checks the fairness of the delivery after a dismissal. If a no ball is found, the batting side gets the no-ball run and the dismissal is cancelled, but no other runs from that ball.
During a player review the third umpire may use:
Other technology can be added if the ICC is satisfied it is accurate and quick enough. Any technology that proves unreliable can be withdrawn before or during a match; the ICC Match Referee makes the final call with the ICC Technical Official.
For full DRS, the minimum requirements are the specified broadcast cameras plus approved ball-tracking and sound-based edge detection, and an ICC Technical Officer is present at every series that uses DRS. In Tests and ODIs with DRS, the third umpire is appointed by the ICC and is not from either competing country; in T20Is the home board appoints the third umpire from the ICC Elite or International Panel.
If some or all of the technology is unavailable or fails, the third umpire tells the on-field umpire and still passes on whatever facts can be worked out from the replays and technology that are working. The on-field umpire then decides.
Is the review lost? A review marked "Unsuccessful" can be reinstated by the ICC Match Referee, at their sole discretion, if it couldn't be properly completed because the technology failed. The decision is final. A review is not reinstated if:
If the third umpire can't decide with a high degree of confidence that the decision should change, they report the replays as inconclusive and the on-field decision stands. The third umpire doesn't give likelihoods or percentages.
For an on-field umpire's own referral, a white light (where available) shows that third umpire reviews are temporarily unavailable, and the on-field umpire makes the decision.
The 2025-27 World Test Championship ranks teams by points percentage, not total points, because teams play different numbers of Tests.
Points per Test:
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Win | 12 |
| Tie | 6 |
| Draw | 4 |
| Loss | 0 |
Points percentage = (points from wins, draws and ties, minus points deducted for Penalty Overs) ÷ (12 × Tests played).
Ties on percentage are broken by most series wins, then the higher points percentage in away Tests, then position in the ICC Men's Test Team Rankings after 1 April 2027.
The top two teams at the end of the window play the WTC Final, scheduled for five days. If the Final is drawn, tied or abandoned, both teams are declared joint champions.
The minimum over rate in a Test is 15 overs per hour, averaged across both of the opposition's innings. Time is allowed for injury treatment, all reviews and third umpire referrals, batters wasting time, other things outside the fielding side's control, 2 minutes per wicket (not the last wicket of an innings or one just before an interval) and 4 minutes per drinks break.
Exemptions:
Penalties: a side incurs one Penalty Over for each full over it is short. In the World Test Championship, each Penalty Over costs 1 championship point. Each player in the side is also fined 5% of their match fee per over short, capped at 50%.
Stop clock: the fielding side must start each over within 60 seconds of the previous one ending (the clock is cancelled for a new batter, drinks, injury treatment and the like). The first and second failures in an innings bring a warning and a final warning; the third and every later one brings 5 penalty runs to the batting side. The warnings reset to zero after every 80 overs in an innings.
There are two penalties: one during the match and one afterwards.
During the innings: the fielding side must be in position to bowl the first ball of the final over by the scheduled (or rescheduled) cessation time. If it isn't, then from the next over until the end of the innings only four fielders may be outside the 30-yard fielding circle. In an interrupted match where 3 or more overs have been cut, the target is the first ball of the penultimate over. This in-match penalty doesn't apply if the innings is cut to fewer than 25 overs (ODI) or 10 overs (T20I), unless it was already in force, or if the innings ends before the cessation time.
Minimum over rates:
| Format | Minimum rate |
|---|---|
| ODI | 14.28 overs per hour |
| T20I | 14.11 overs per hour |
Time is allowed for injuries, reviews and referrals, batters wasting time and other things outside the fielding side's control.
After the match: if the rate is still short, every player in the fielding side is fined 5% of their match fee per over short, up to a maximum of 50%. No demerit points are given for over-rate offences. There's no fine if the fielding side bowls the batting side out within the time allowed for the innings.
Stop clock: the fielding side must start each new over within 60 seconds of the last one finishing. Failing to do so brings a warning, then a final warning, then 5 penalty runs to the batting side for the third and any later offence in the innings.