1. What the Soft Signal Was
The soft signal was the on-field umpire's initial decision on a contentious catch, given to the TV umpire before the review. When a catch was too close to call on the field — often a low grab near the ground — the bowler's-end umpire would consult their colleague, then signal "out" or "not out" to the third umpire as a starting point. Crucially, the TV umpire could only overturn that soft signal if the replays showed conclusive evidence against it.
The word "soft" was the point: it was a provisional call, not a firm one, meant to give the review a default answer for when the technology could not settle the matter.
2. How It Worked
The sequence was always the same:
- A catch looked doubtful — usually a diving or low catch where it was unclear whether the ball carried.
- The on-field umpires conferred and agreed on a soft signal, either out or not out.
- They referred it upstairs, communicating that soft signal to the TV umpire.
- The TV umpire reviewed the replays. To change the decision, they needed conclusive evidence. If the replays were inconclusive — as catch replays often are — the soft signal stood.
That last step is where all the trouble lived.
3. Why It Was Controversial
The umpire making the soft signal frequently could not see the catch clearly, yet their call became the default the technology had to overturn. A fielder diving forward for a low catch is often side-on and forty metres from the standing umpire. The umpire might have a worse view than any of the cameras — but because catch replays are so often inconclusive, their provisional guess would stand anyway. Decisions were effectively being made by the person least placed to make them.
The most-discussed cases were the ones where a soft signal of "out" survived review even though no replay could actually confirm the catch was clean. The batter walked, not because the evidence showed a fair catch, but because the evidence could not disprove one. Fans, players and commentators found that hard to accept — technology was supposedly there to get decisions right, yet it was deferring to an on-field guess.
4. Why It Was Scrapped
The ICC abolished the soft signal from 1 June 2023, on the recommendation of its Men's Cricket Committee, chaired by Sourav Ganguly, and endorsed by the Women's Cricket Committee. The committee's conclusion was blunt: soft signals were unnecessary and, at times, confusing, precisely because catch referrals so often look inconclusive on replay.
The change took effect at the Lord's Test between England and Ireland, and the World Test Championship final between India and Australia later that month was played under the same conditions. It arrived alongside two other tweaks — mandatory helmets in certain high-risk positions, and a small change to the free hit rule so that runs taken when a batter is bowled off a free hit now count.
5. What Happens Now
On-field umpires no longer give any soft signal. When a catch is too close to call, they refer it straight to the TV umpire and consult with them before any decision is made — with no provisional on-field call for the replays to overturn. The third umpire, with every camera angle available, simply makes the decision. If the evidence is inconclusive, the decision is made on the balance of what the technology does show, rather than defaulting to an umpire's guess.
For anyone learning the game's signals today, the soft signal is history — you will see it in old highlights and hear it referenced by commentators, but it is no longer part of how a match is officiated. The current signals, the ones actually in use, are covered in our guide to every cricket umpire signal explained, and the review (DRS) signal itself is on our printable signals chart.
It is a neat example of how cricket's Laws and playing conditions keep changing — which is also why a scorer or fan is best served by a reference that stays current rather than a memorised list that slowly goes out of date.