No-ball third umpire trial for England v Pakistan ODIs

The ICC wants to see if no-balls can be "called more accurately and consistently"

Front-foot no-balls will be called by the third umpire in the upcoming England-Pakistan one-day international series, as part of an International Cricket Council (ICC) trial scheme.

The TV umpire will have a split-screen view of the four side-on cameras.

This will allow him to signal the on-field officials via a vibrating watch within a few seconds of the delivery.

On-field umpires will not call front-foot no-balls without the TV umpire's advice unless cameras are unavailable.

The five-match series, which begins in Southampton on Wednesday, will be the first in which the third umpire has been given such authority.

The advance of technology in recent years has meant that unless the overstepping is very clear, international umpires have often tended to wait until a wicket falls before checking whether a no-ball has been delivered, and asking the dismissed batsman to wait before walking off.

This has led to accusations that some bowlers were getting away with entire overs of marginal no-balls.

Adrian Griffith, the ICC's senior manager of umpires and referees, said: "This trial is being carried out to ascertain if there is a way in which front-foot no-balls can be called more accurately and consistently, while also assessing the TV umpire's workload and identifying the impact it will have on the flow of the game.

"The ICC will conduct training sessions with the umpires and match referee in Southampton on Monday and Tuesday."

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