The leg-before-wicket law had existed in cricket's code since 1774 — and had been tightened in 1839 to require the ball to pitch in line — but in the 1830s it was rarely applied. Umpires of the era were generally unwilling to give a batsman out leg-before unless the ball had hit the pad in the most blatant manner; lbw dismissals were a small fraction of those given by modern umpires.
The LBW law had been on the books since 1774. Umpires of the 1830s were old players who had grown up in an era when leg-before was effectively unknown; their reluctance to apply it was cultural rather than technical.
The first LBW law had been added to the cricket code in 1774, requiring only that the batsman 'puts his leg before the wicket with a design to stop the ball' for him to be out. The law was famously tightened in 1788 (requiring the ball to be pitched in a straight line from wicket to wicket) and was further refined in 1839 (requiring the ball to pitch in line as well as to be heading for the stumps). Through the 1830s the law existed but was applied with great reluctance. Umpires were almost always old players who had grown up in an era when leg-before was effectively never given; bats were narrow and pads did not exist, so a batsman who got his leg in front did so at considerable physical risk and was felt to have suffered enough already. Contemporary scorecards show lbw dismissals as a small minority of all dismissals — typically one or two in a match where modern umpires might give six or eight. The under-application of the law would persist into the late nineteenth century and would only begin to shift with the rise of pad-play in the 1880s, when batsmen with proper leg protection began deliberately kicking the ball away.
1774: First LBW law added to the cricket code
1788: Tightened to require ball pitched in straight line
1830s: Law rarely applied; few lbw dismissals per season
1839: Law further refined to require ball pitched in line
1880s: Application of lbw begins to rise as pad-play develops
1774
First LBW law added
1788
Law tightened to require straight-line pitching
1830s
Law rarely applied in practice
1839
Further refinement of pitching requirement
The under-application of the law persisted for most of the nineteenth century. By the 1890s it was estimated that batsmen were kicking away as many balls as they were missing with the bat. The 1937 amendment to the law (allowing lbw to a ball pitching outside off) would be the next major change.
An existing but rarely-applied law that reflected the umpiring culture of the era and the absence of leg protection.
The 1830s under-application of LBW is part of the explanation for the era's low scoring — bowlers had no recourse to a leg-side defensive batsman, and the slow pitches and narrow bats already gave the bowler the upper hand. The modern application of the law dates from the 1890s onwards.
Pakistan, England
1987-12-09
Days before the Mike Gatting-Shakoor Rana finger-pointing row, Chris Broad refused to leave the crease for over a minute after being given out caught behind, an incident that helped poison the 1987 Faisalabad Test.
England vs South Africa
1960-06-25
On 25 June 1960, the 21-year-old South African Geoff Griffin took the first Test hat-trick ever recorded at Lord's — and was no-balled eleven times for throwing in the same match. After the Test ended early on the fourth day, the umpires no-balled him repeatedly in the exhibition match staged to fill the unused time, forcing him to complete the over underarm. He never played another Test.
Australia vs South Africa
1963-12-06
On 6 December 1963 at the Gabba, in his first over of the first Test against South Africa, Australian left-arm fast bowler Ian Meckiff was no-balled four times by umpire Col Egar — for throwing. Captain Richie Benaud removed him after the over and never bowled him again. Meckiff retired from all cricket at the end of the match. He was 28.