|Unravelling cricket's lbw law|
|Around the Academy:
The leg before wicket (lbw) law is to cricket what the offside rule is to football - confusing to plenty!
However, you don't need a PHD from Oxford University to work it out.
Here's the Academy's guide to make things a little simpler.
The umpire will consider an lbw decision if:
He believes the ball would have hit the stumps if it had not been obstructed by the batsman's pads.
But the umpire also has to take other factors into consideration.
The batsman cannot be given out if:
One of the most important rules when making an lbw decision is a batsman CANNOT be given out if the ball pitches outside leg stump.
It doesn't matter if the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps, it can't be given out.
Often an lbw decision looks out at first glance, but TV replays showed the ball pitched outside leg stump, even though it would've struck middle.
But the batsman can be given out if:
This is an important part of the lbw law to remember as a batsman CAN be given out playing no stroke - even if they're struck outside the line of the off stump - as long as the ball is going on to hit the stumps.
A batsman can still be given out lbw even if the ball hasn't hit their pads.
For example, a batsman can be given out lbw if they've been hit on the helmet.
But the ball MUST have pitched in line with the stumps and then go on to hit them.
Hope this clears a few things up!