I had always assumed so myself, but the current Australia v South Africa series has destroyed this notion. Graeme Smith seems not to have a clue when fielding, and Mark Boucher when batting referred a caught-behind, only to be given out because he nicked it.

Still, I fail to see how someone at gully or even slip can appeal for LBW, or know whether a referral is reasonable. Half the time the keeper is blindsided by the batsmen and almost every bowler is adamant it is out.

As a side not, while researching I found an excellent explanation for the practical application of LBW in club cricket:
http://www.nothirdman.co.uk/leg-before-wicket-lbw-explained.aspx

http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-27-appeals,53,AR.html

Today God spoke to me!!!!

He said

“The ball is supposed to live outside the boundary, send it there.”

Cricinfo was just the messenger.

I’m not sure of the playing conditions elsewhere, but in Australia a referral to the 3rd umpire used to be instigated at the discretion of the centre wicket umpires in the event of a runout or stumping they were unsure on, or instances where they were unsure of whether a fielder held the catch or was in contact with the boundary. This could slow the game down considerably (if it was used) and did nothing to prevent Bucknor from ruining several test matches at the away teams expense.

Under the new system the onus is on the players.

As you would expect this works pretty well in the event of a runout, stumping or even a catch. Normally the fielders know what they hear or see, the batsman sure as hell knows when he has hit the ball.

Where it all breaks down is in the adjudication of LBWs. Under the laws of cricket only the bowler and the keeper can appeal for LBW with good reason – they are the only ones who can actually see whether the ball is in line. Unless the fielding captain is one of these two he can’t judge whether to use one of his referrals or not (the exception is when the captain is Ponting in which case he is ALWAYS right). On the other side no batsmen EVER thinks he is out LBW so the natural reaction for any primadonna top order player is to appeal the decision and waste one of his teams referrals for the innings

I think the referral system is a good idea in principle, but the current implementation is dreadful. Perhaps the players referalls should be limited to runouts, stumpings and catches where the impact (rather than the completion) is in dispute. The umpires could then be given the power to refer in the event of LBWs or where they are unsure whether a catch has been completed.

Probably wont completely prevent another umpire pulling a Bucknor and killing a test through poor decision making. What it may do is smooth the errors hopefully without robbing the fans of their moment when the umpire’s finger is raised.

“Harmison now comes in and bowls to Kasprowicz who paries down the leg side there’s an appeal for a catch is he caught down the leg side HE’S OUT! England have won by two runs!”

“Harmison now comes in and bowls to Kasprowicz who paries down the leg side there’s an appeal for a catch is he caught down the leg side HE’S BEEN REFERRED! Meanwhile, there’s a bus just going down the road, a number 28 I think…”