Get tough over no balls, Paine implores umpires
PERTH: Tim Paine has implored umpires to crackdown on noballs in the second Test, having taken the unusual step of raising the matter midmatch at the Adelaide Oval.
The scorecard from the first test shows Ishant Sharma delivered five no balls in India’s 31run victory.
Closer examination of footage reveals that Sharma bowled 16 no balls in Australia’s first innings, including an over in which all six deliveries were illegal.
It has reignited debate about how umpires can better police overstepping and whether the International Cricket Council (ICC) should do more, such as funding technology.
‘‘I’m glad it’s been brought up and certainly been spoken about,’’ Paine told reporters on the eve of the second test.
‘‘I don’t think it’s a great look for the game when things like that are happening. You put your trust in the people that are in those jobs to control it.
‘‘Hopefully they police it really well this game.’’
Paine revealed he spoke with officials at Adelaide Oval regarding the issue, which former skipper Mark Taylor suggested has the potential to ‘‘embarrass the game’’.
‘‘I was watching the telecast in the change rooms [and it showed some of the noballs that weren’t called],’’ he said.
‘‘[It was] just to get an idea of whether they were communicating to the umpires in the middle. Which they said they were.
‘‘It’s not an easy job ... as long as we’re aware of it and looking at solutions that can help that process, then I’m all for it.’’
One school of thought is that the responsibility of calling noballs should fall to the third umpire, which would release the standing umpire to focus on the action in front of them.
The ICC conducted a successful trial in 2016 that involved a dedicated camera focused on noballs but didn’t introduce the innovation.
‘‘It will embarrass the game if it becomes something we’re focusing on too much,’’ Taylor told wwos.com.au
‘‘I’d love to see a system where a red light comes on if it’s a noball, and we know within seconds that it wasn’t a legal delivery.’’
Sharma was denied the scalp of Aaron Finch in Australia’s second innings of the first test because of a no ball then overstepped again when he looked to have captured the final wicket of the thrilling match.
As India celebrated in Adelaide, the veteran paceman was still filthy with himself.
‘‘He’s a responsible cricketer, he’s been around a long time and he understands what needs to be corrected,’’ India captain Virat Kohli said.
‘‘He’s keen to rectify it. I don’t think it was something that needed to be spoken about again and again.’’ — AAP