Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has called for a drastic change to the lbw law, one of the more complex dismissals in the rule book.
Currently, you can only be dismissed leg-before if the ball doesn’t pitch outside the line of the batsman’s leg stump, and only if it strikes a batsman playing a shot in line with the stumps.
Chappell’s suggestion is for the law to be streamlined. “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 said in a column on ESPNcricinfo. “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.”
Chappell acknowledged the move would prove controversial, but felt it would make the game fairer. “There will be screams of horror – particularly from pampered batsmen – but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game,” he said. “Most important is fairness. 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.”
Additionally, Chappell feels it will force batsmen to be more enterprising and discourage negative play. “It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wrist-spinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander’s leg stump,” he said. ”Contrast Sachin Tendulkar’s aggressive and successful approach to Shane Warne coming round the wicket in Chennai in 1997/98 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?
“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.
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“The law, as it pertains to pitching outside leg, was originally introduced to stop negative tactics to slow the scoring. Imagine trying to stifle players like VVS Laxman and Mark Waugh by bowling at their pads. The law should retain the current clause where negative bowling down the leg side is deemed illegal.”
