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Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batsman out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket, but was instead intercepted by any part of the batsman's body (except the hand holding the bat). The umpire's decision will depend on a number of criteria, including where the ball pitched, whether the ball hit in line with the wickets, and whether the batsman was attempting to hit the ball. Leg before wicket first appeared in the laws of cricket in 1774, as batsmen began to use their pads to prevent the ball hitting their wicket. Over several years, refinements were made to clarify where the ball should pitch and to remove the element of interpreting the batsman's intentions. The 1839 version of the law used a wording that remained in place for nearly 100 years. However, from the latter part of the 19th century, batsmen became increasingly expert at "pad-play" to reduce the risk of their dismissal. Following a number of failed proposals for reform, in 1935 the law was expanded, such that batsmen could be dismissed lbw even if the ball pitched outside the line of off stump. Critics felt this change made the game unattractive as it encouraged negative tactics at the expense of leg spin bowling. After considerable debate and various experiments, the law was changed again in 1972. In an attempt to reduce pad-play the new version, which is used to this day, allowed batsmen to be out lbw in some circumstances if they did not attempt to hit the ball with their bat. Since the 1990s, the availability of television replays and, later, ball-tracking technology to assist umpires has increased the percentage of lbws in major matches. However, the accuracy of the technology and the consequences of its use remain controversial. In his 1995 survey of cricket laws, Gerald Brodribb states: "No dismissal has produced so much argument as lbw; it has caused trouble from its earliest days".〔 Owing to its complexity, the law is widely misunderstood among the general public and has proven controversial among spectators, administrators and commentators; lbw decisions have sometimes caused crowd trouble. Since the law's introduction, the proportion of lbw dismissals has risen steadily through the years. Statistics reveal that the probability of a batsman being dismissed lbw in a Test match varies depending on where the match is played and which teams are playing. ==Definition== The definition of leg before wicket (lbw) is currently Law 36 in the Laws of Cricket, written by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).〔 Before a batsman can be dismissed lbw, the fielding team must appeal to the umpire. For the batsman to be adjudged lbw, the ball, if it bounces, must pitch in line with the wickets, or on the off side of the stumps. Then the ball must strike part of the batsman's body, without first touching his bat, in line with the wickets and have been going on to hit the stumps. The batsman may also be out lbw if, having made no attempt to hit the ball with his bat, he is struck outside the line of off stump by a ball that would have hit the wickets. The umpire must assume that the ball would have continued on the same trajectory after striking the batsman, even if it would have bounced before hitting the stumps. However, if the bowler delivers a no ball—an illegal delivery—the batsman cannot be lbw under any circumstances. A batsman can be out lbw even if the ball did not hit his leg: for example, a batsman struck on the head could be lbw. However, he cannot be lbw if the ball pitches on the leg side of the stumps ("outside leg stump"), even if the ball would have otherwise hit the wickets. Similarly, a batsman who has attempted to hit the ball with his bat cannot be lbw if the ball strikes him outside the line of off stump. However, some shots in cricket, such as the switch hit or reverse sweep, involve the batsman switching between a right- and left-handed stance; this affects the location of the off and leg side, which are determined by the stance. The law explicitly states that the off side is determined by the batsman's position when the bowler commences his run-up.〔 According to MCC guidelines for umpires, factors to consider when giving an lbw decision include the angle at which the ball was travelling and whether the ball was swinging through the air. He must also account for the height of the ball at impact and how far from the wicket the batsman was standing; from this information he must determine if the ball would have passed over the stumps or struck them. The MCC guidance states that it is easier to make a decision when the ball strikes the batsman without pitching, but that the difficulty increases when the ball has bounced and more so when there is a shorter time between the ball pitching and striking the batsman.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Leg before wicket」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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