BBC Radio Test Match Special

Could the batsman stand behind the stumps to hit a free hit after a no-ball?

"He can stand wherever he likes."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

Do you like the fact the DRS decision-making can now be heard on TV and radio?

"Not really. It's more intrusion into umpires' decision-making. I'm not a lover of DRS. DRS has reversed wrong decisions which is a good thing, but it's not a perfect system and these last-ball scenarios are where it's going to cause confusion. In front of 90,000 at the MCG or Eden Gardens, it could cause a riot."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

A few years ago in a limited-overs school match, the batting side need six to win from the final ball. The captain sent all 10 fielders to the boundary, the batsman top-edged a hook and the ball was caught at deep fine leg by the wicketkeeper. The batting side claimed that this was unfair and said the keeper had become an outfielder, but the umpire disagreed and said I was out. Was this right?

"Once you go so back so far, you cease to be keeper. It becomes a farce when the keeper can go out so far back with the gloves. That shouldn't have been allowed."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

This has been bothering me since 1986. When bowled after a ball ricocheted onto my stumps from where the artificial turf wicket met the natural grass, should I have been given out?

"The umpires should agree exactly where the wicket is. If it hits the ridge, it should be a wide. But if you don't agree it, you get a grey area."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

A batsman is attempting a run, the fielder shies at the stumps and the ball deflects off the bat or the batsman onto the stumps, with the batsman still out of his ground. Is he out?

"Yes, he's out. The ball is still live. Another nonsense is the non-striker leaving his ground early. He's only doing that for one reason, to gain a yard or two - and if he's already been warned for it, you should be run out. You're coached that you turn and watch the bowler, and you leave the crease as he bowls."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

Adam Lyth tried to kick the ball yesterday when he had played it and it nearly went onto his stumps. Could he have put his hands on the bails to stop them coming off?

"No. That is unfair play, he would have been out obstructing the field."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

Someone rushes up, doesn't complete the single for whatever reason, comes back for a second run and it is called one short, but a single is given, where is the logic of giving the batsman a run when he has not completed a run at either end?

"You have to contact the MCC and get them to change the Laws of Cricket. But he can't run short deliberately."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

Play is suspended for bad light, but can play be suspended for bad heat, if it's dangerously hot or unseasonably cold?

"I umpired an ODI in Bombay between India and West India where we had to stop play because players were falling over in the heat, and we stopped for extra drinks."

Can fielders other than the wicketkeeper wear gloves in the cold?

"No."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

What if a plastic bag blows onto the ground and the ball is hit into the bag and runs down to third man? Is it a dead ball?

"No, it's the same as if a ball hits a bird flying by, it's an act of God. If it hits Spidercam it's a dead ball, that's a regulation brought in by the ICC."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

Can you be out handled the ball off a no-ball?

"Yes."

What if you play the ball and it then trickles towards the stumps?

"Once you've played the ball with the bat, you can kick it away, but you cannot touch the ball with your hand, even if it's a no-ball. You have no right to handle the ball with the hand off the bat."

Former international umpire John Holder: "I haven't umpired since last summer. I stood in the Lancashire leagues for three years and I saw more bad behaviour in those three years than I did in 20 years standing in first-class cricket."

BBC Radio Test Match Special

Stand by your beds for Ask the Umpire with John Holder on TMS.

You can send in your questions to tms@bbc.co.uk (with "Ask the Umpire" in the subject line), or tweet @bbctms with the hashtag #askumpire - thanks in advance.

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

"This morning session was just as good as all the other sessions. You think you know what's going to happen and you don't. Southee and Boult bowled beautifully, and just when you thought New Zealand were going to get quite a substantial lead, they fell into the same trap as England: bouncing the tail-enders."

Image source, AFP/GETTY

Ben Dalton: Saying first-innings parity is a waste is like saying a 2-2 draw at half-time is too. Test cricket joy is in the building tension.

Sue: Re: 13:09. Two days of entertaining matchplay "a waste", Scott? Maybe you'd be better suited to watching a different sport?

Broad concedes his first run as Guptill guides a single down to Mark Wood, patrolling the fine leg boundary. Broad follows Anderson in switching to bowling round the wicket to the left-handed Latham, and brings Adam Lyth over as a second gully fielder in a six-man cordon. But he sees the Black Caps through to lunch unscathed.

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

"I think the result of this match will depend on which set of bowlers can be disciplined and patient throughout the innings."

Anderson shines the ball furiously on his flannels, while Latham fidgets long enough at the crease to suggest that both wouldn't mind if this is the last over before lunch. Boycott Bingo, external followers can tick off the "the best way to face fast bowling is from the other end" box on their bingo cards as Anderson sends down a probing over from round the wicket. A maiden - and time for one more, in fact.

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

"I've always said, it's a great skill bowling out tail-enders quickly and cheaply. It should be easy but it isn't for some bowlers. It's real asset if you have bowlers who can do it in your team - it lifts spirits and takes the pressure off the opening batsmen."

Stuart Broad, fresh from his 46 with the bat, is soon yelling for lbw but the ball - the very first he delivered - looked to be slanting down the leg side. Guptill is stout in defence, seeing out a maiden over.

Ben Thomas: The scores might be exactly the same, but the way both teams went about getting them could not be more different.

Scott Keene: Both on 350. Almost a waste of two-and-a-half days.