Series to trial no-ball technology in Tests

MANCHESTER: Front-foot no-ball technology that will see the TV umpire alone deciding whether a bowler has over-stepped is to be used for the first time on a trial basis in Test cricket during the England-Pakistan series, the International Cricket Council has said.

Currently, the responsibility for calling no-balls lies with the on-field umpires. They can, however, call on their colleague in the replay booth for assistance if they feel a wicket may have been taken with an illegal delivery.

Under the new system, however, the TV umpire will monitor the front foot after each ball and tell his on-field colleagues if an illegal delivery has been bowled.

“Front foot no ball technology to be used in ICC World Test Championship series featuring England and Pakistan, with the support of both teams,” the global governing body tweeted Wednesday.

The new procedure should also avoid the kind of situation umpire Richard Illingworth, one of the standing officials in the first Test between England and Pakistan at Manchester’s Old Trafford, found himself in 2016 when he incorrectly called New Zealand’s Doug Bracewell for a no-ball that had bowled Australia’s Adam Voges during a Test in Wellington.

There was no way of rectifying Illingworth’s mistake and Voges, who was on seven at the time, went on to score a double century.