CRICKET AID TO INSTRUCTION IN LEG-BEFORE-WICKET L

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28981, 24 August 1959, Page 13

CRICKET AID TO INSTRUCTION IN LEG-BEFORE-WICKET L

Cricket umpires from throughout New Zealand who were in Christchurch at the week-end attending a two-day conference of the New Zealand Cricket Umpires’ Association, were shown a unique piece of equipment designed to illustrate the complexities of the leg-before-wicket law. This law probably causes more confusion among umpires, players and spectators alike than does any other law in the game. The equipment, which was built at. the Christchurch Boys’ High School after the design of the lbw machine commonly in use in England, Ms designed to test the accuracy of umpires' estimations and decisions, and to show beyond doubt those circumstances under which the batsman should be declared "out.” .

Essential parts of the equipment include a painted stand to represent the wickets, one to represent the batsman’s pad which is supposedly hit by the ball, and a tall stand to represent the bowler’s arm as it releases the ball upon its flight. The stands are all life-size, and are placed in their correct positions on a 22yd strip of board or grass. Tapes

Tapes are drawn through the representation of the bowler’s hand, down to a plate on the ground representing the spot where the ball pitches, and up again to where the ball would strike the batsman’s pad. A student umpire can then be asked whether or not the ball, if it had not hit the pad, would have continued on to strike the wicket. After the student umpire has made his decision on this question, the tapes can be extended through to prove him right or wrong. The pitch of the ball can be varied by moving the plate along the ground into different positions, and the height of the bowler’s arm can also be varied on this other piece of equipment A ball hitting the batsman on the full can be shown by dispensing altogether with the plate which represents the pitch of the ball on to the ground. Every variation of delivery, break and rise can be demonstrated with this equipment, but it cannot cater for the swerving ball. The equipment and its use were demonstrated to the umpires in

Latimer square on Saturdaj noon by Mr D. P. Dumbk Hutt Valley. Mr Dumbletor some years in the United dom, where he was an exa* for the Association of C Umpires, to which body the Zealand Cricket Umpires’ . ciation is affiliated. In emphasising the value of machine in the instruction student umpires, Mr Dumble said that the Umpire must sch himself ,to prepare for the p sibility of an appeal for lbw every ball which pitches on wicket or to the off-side. As s as the ball hits something o> than the bat or the hand wh holds it, the umpire should asking himself questions in p paration for an appeal, if c should be made. By the time an appeal is mac said Mr Dumbleton, the umpi should already have worked o the answers to three of the foi important questions which have bearing upon his decision. Thes are, did the ball pitch on th wicket or to the off-side, did i hit first something other than th bat or hand, and was the part hi on a direct line between wicket and wicket? If the answer is “yes” to all these questions, the umpire should then be able to decide the fourth, which is—would the ball have hit the wicket? If an appeal is made, the four questions are all correctly answered, then the batsman may properly be given "out."

This machine will be kept at the Christchurch Boys’ High School, for the instruction of umpires among the pupils.