“No Balls Will Not Be Decided By On Field Umpires”- ICC

Front foot no-balls for the upcoming Series T20 and One-Day International between India and the West Indies will be decided by the 3rd umpire and not by the on-field umpires, The International cricket council(ICC) announced on Thursday.

This series consists of three T20 Internationals and an equal number of ODIs, Starts on Friday in Hyderabad and technology to call front foot no balls will be put to trial in it. ICC said that the on-field umpires would be responsible for all other decisions “in the usual way” while the third umpire would monitor every ball for overstepping out of the crease

In the scenario where even the third umpire finds it hard to call a no-ball based on the pictures, the ICC has said the “benefit of the doubt” will be with the bowler. And in the case where a batsman has been ruled out on a ball that has been called a no-ball by the third umpire, he can be called back even after the ball has been called dead.

“Throughout the trial, the Third Umpire will be responsible for monitoring every ball to ball and identifying whether there has been any front foot disruption,” the ICC said in a statement.

“If there has been disruption on the front foot, the Third Umpire will communicate to the On-Field Umpire who will subsequently call a no-ball. As a result, the On-Field Umpire will not call a front foot no-ball without the advice of the Third Umpire,” ICC added.

If a late call has liaised with no-ball, then the On-Field referee will rescind a dismissal if it is applicable and then it is called no-ball. The On-Field Umpire will remain responsible for other in-game decisions in the usual way,” the ICC said.

“The outcomes of the trial will be used to gauge whether the system has a beneficial impact on the accuracy of no-ball decisions and whether it can be implemented while minimizing disruption to the flow of the game,” it added.

The decision to make the third umpire the adjudicator of the front foot no balls was taken in August this year.

The system was first trialed in the ODI series between England and Pakistan back in 2016.
The ICC decided to retest it after Cricket Committee endorses its use in as many limited-overs matches as possible.