"I just don't think that's right" - Ricky Ponting criticises lack of no-ball clarity

Naseem Shah believed that he had dismissed David Warner on his Test bow for Pakistan, only for a replay to reprieve the Australian opener en route to a 40th international century

Ricky Ponting bemoaned the current approach to calling no-balls in Test cricket after 16-year-old Naseem Shah had his maiden Test wicket chalked off for overstepping.

Shah believed that he had dismissed David Warner on his Test bow for Pakistan, only for a replay to reprieve the Australian opener en route to a 40th international century.

It was just one of 21 uncalled no-balls on the second day of Australia’s clash with Pakistan at the Gabba.

Three no-balls were called as Australia reached 312 for 1 at the close, while a solitary no-ball was called by Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough as the hosts bowled out their tourists for 240 on the first day.

“It was exactly the same with the first Test of last summer – Ishant Sharma, I think it was 30-odd for the day or for the innings that he bowled by himself,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.

“They’re just not being called. If you look at some of the footage and stuff that we’ve seen today, it’s not like they’re just over the line or on the line.

“There are some that are four or five inches over the front line; it just goes to show – or it says to me – that the umpires aren’t even looking at the front line.”

The consequences have been twofold, with batting sides missing out, essentially, on free runs, while bowlers have only become aware of their transgressions once wickets have been checked – and cancelled – due to the position of their front foot at the crease.

On the first day, the dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan was controversially upheld, despite Pat Cummins not appearing to have any part of his foot behind the line. Having not been called on the field, it was left to third umpire Michael Gough come to a judgement.

“It’s obviously a directive from above for them not to worry so much about the front line and only be more worried about the decisions down that end, but I just don’t think that’s right,” Ponting added.

^{Naseem Shah thought he had taken his first Test wicket}

“I understand the reason they’re not calling a lot of them. Obviously, if they call a no-ball and a wicket falls that’s shown not to be a no-ball, they can’t change it.

“I know they’re under pressure with that and I’m not blaming the umpires at all because if they had it their way, I’m sure they wouldn’t want to be making 21 incorrect decisions a day, which is what they’ve done. I put it to them on air today; I think they’re marked on every decision that they make.

“A no-ball decision is still a decision. If you look at it that way, they’ve made 21 incorrect decisions today and that’s not good enough, as far as I’m concerned.”

The example of Adam Voges’ charmed life at Wellington in 2016, perhaps, highlights the risk involved from the umpires’ perspective.

The former Australia man had made seven when Illingworth called a no-ball against Doug Bracewell as the ball clattered into the batsman’s stumps. Replays showed that Bracewell’s foot had been comfortably behind the line and was a perfectly legal delivery. With the umpire having called the no-ball on the field, however, the decision could not be changed. Voges went on to make 239.

Even then – three years ago, former Australia opener Chris Rogers said: “I don't understand it, why can we not get these decisions right? There's enough time for the third umpire to change the decision.”

It is a cause that Ponting has argued for some time.

“I’ve said that forever,” he added, “because the cameras are actually set up side-on anyway – they’re set up for stumpings and runout decisions anyway, so the camera’s there. You can’t tell me it’s going to take any amount of time.

“It will take half a second to have it relayed straight to the on-field umpire. But who knows? I know they’ve tried it. It would be interesting to hear what the umpires’ feedback from it was, but you’d think that would have to make the on-field umpire’s job easier as well, if the no-ball front-foot was taken out of their hands.”

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