 Further discussion on altering the law took place in 1899 , when several prominent cricketers supported an amendment similar to the 1888 proposal : the batsman would be out if the ball would have hit the wicket , where it pitched was irrelevant . At a Special General Meeting of the MCC in 1902 , Alfred <unk> formally proposed this amendment ; the motion was supported by 259 votes to 188 , but failed to secure the two @-@ thirds majority required to change the laws . A. G. Steel was the principal opponent of the change , as he believed it would make the task of the umpires too difficult , but he later regretted his stance . <unk> 's brother , Robert , supported the alteration and campaigned for the rest of his life to have the lbw law altered . As evidence that pad @-@ play was increasing and needed to be curtailed , he cited the growing number of wickets which were falling lbw : the proportion rose from 2 % of dismissals in 1870 to 6 % in 1890 , and 12 % in 1923 . In 1902 , the proposed new law was tried in the Minor Counties Championship , but deemed a failure . An increase in the size of the stumps was one of several other rejected proposals at this time to reduce the dominance of batsmen over bowlers . 
