Leg before Wicket or LBW law is one of the most controversial modes of dismissal given that it is totally based on the judgment of the umpire. Even with the modern usage of the Decision Review System and technologies like ball trackers and other things, umpires are still getting LBWs wrong.
Therefore, former Australia captain Ian Chappell has suggested some radical changes to the LBW law to make it simpler. He stated that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.
“The new lbw law should simply say: ‘Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire’s opinion, would go on to hit the stumps is out regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted’,” he wrote in a column for ESPNCricinfo.
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“Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it’s going to hit the stumps, it’s out,” he added.
Dismissing the notions of batsmen coming up in arms against this proposition, Chappell mentioned, “There will be screams of horror - particularly from pampered batsmen - but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game. If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury, not dismissal.”
“It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat wrist-spinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander’s leg stump,” said Chappell.
He cited Sachin Tendulkar’s aggressive approach to counter Shane Warne on a rank turner in Chennai in the 1998 Test and asked what would fans watch- a batsman kicking balls outside leg stump or what Tendulkar did to Warne to counter this threat.
“The current law encourages “pad play” to balls pitching outside leg while this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field,” he said.
Chappell also batted for the changes in LBW law and said that it would speed up the game, by cutting down on frivolous DRS challenges.
“This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times. It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first-innings totals would be virtually non-existent,” Chappell pointed out.
