Take a look at the following extract from Jonathan Agnew’s blog on the BBC website:

From 138-2, England slipped to 149-4 when Pietersen was despatched by Mr Rauf, lbw to Vettori for 41 despite being well forward. The ball was straight and would probably have hit half-way up middle stump. Five years ago, umpires would not have considered giving it out but, thanks to Hawkeye, times have changed.

The significant part of this extract is the way in which Aggers is suggesting that the lbw law is now being interpreted completely differently. When players like myself, Sheridan, and Mat played in the same school team nearly 20 years ago it was a given that you would not be given out lbw if your front foot had taken a significant stride down the pitch. However, it now seems that in the professional game this “Safe house” no longer exists.

So where does this leave us now in the amateur game ?

As a general rule, I still think most amateur teams accept that a large stride down the pitch gives the element of doubt to the batsmen.

But can we rely on that ?

Well maybe we can, because at our level it must be remembered that we umpire our own innings. Therefore it will be one of your team mates making the decision.

Although the benefit of doubt will almost certainly be given, batsmen should be very aware that it can no longer be relied upon.

If any of you are in serious doubt as to what the hell this article has just been about, please ask myself, Sheridan or Mat the next time you see one of us.