TV Umpire To Call Front-Foot No-balls In England-Pakistan Tests

For the first time in the history of Test cricket, front-foot no-balls will be called by the TV umpire during the England-Pakistan series which begins on Wednesday (August 5). The system will be trialed in Test cricket for the first time during this series with a view to further use in the future.

The system of TV umpire calling front-foot no-ball was recently introduced as part of the ICC World Cup Super League, which began with the just-concluded England-Ireland series.

The ICC had allowed the third umpire to exclusively call the front-foot no-balls for the first time during the T20I series between India and West Indies in late 2019 and the limited-overs series between West Indies and Ireland in the Caribbean in January 2020.

Earlier this year, the governing body of the game had previously used the front foot no-ball technology at this year Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia. It was the first use of such a technology at a major ICC event.

However, it had not yet been implemented in Test cricket. But the ICC has decided to implement it in the longest format of the game due to the increased cases of on-field umpires’ failure to spot the no-balls. Under the system, all calling of front-foot no-balls is left to the TV umpire who then alerts the on-field officials of any overstepping within a matter of seconds.

“Front foot no ball technology to be used in ICC World Test Championship series featuring England and Pakistan, with the support of both teams. Performance of the technology in these Tests will be reviewed before any decisions taken on its future use in Test cricket,” ICC tweeted.

Front foot no-ball technology to be used in ICC World Test Championship series featuring England and Pakistan, with the support of both teams.#ENGvPAK | #WTC pic.twitter.com/M3G2LjChr4

— ICC (@ICC) August 5, 2020

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