Start with the delivery and the bounce
Law 36 first requires a delivery that is not a no-ball. If the ball lands before interception, it must first land between wicket and wicket or on the off side of the striker’s wicket. A ball pitching outside leg therefore fails that required condition, regardless of a later projection towards the stumps.
This bounce condition should not be confused with where the ball subsequently strikes the batter. The law also covers a ball intercepted before landing, so an explanation should not invent a pitching point when there was no bounce. Follow the actual sequence rather than asking one graphic marker to answer every question.
Then assess bat contact and impact
The ball must not previously have touched the bat. The law treats simultaneous contact with bat and person as bat first, and only the first interception is considered for its stated assessments. A later rebound onto a pad is not a fresh opportunity to disregard the earlier contact.
Impact normally needs to be between wicket and wicket. If the striker made no genuine attempt to play the ball with the bat, impact can instead be outside the line of off stump. That exception concerns impact on the off side; it does not remove the separate restriction on a ball pitching outside leg.
Keep the wicket projection and review protocol distinct
The final required condition is that the ball would have hit the wicket without the interception. Meeting that condition alone does not establish LBW: the earlier conditions also have to be satisfied. Equally, the off side is determined from the striker’s batting position when the ball comes into play for that delivery.
This is the MCC 2026 law framework checked on 4 November 2026. Technology procedures, review availability and any umpire’s-call protocol belong to the actual competition’s playing conditions. Preserve the full official decision and relevant replay sequence before comparing a commentator’s shorthand with the underlying law.