‘Aren’t the umpires calling no balls anymore?’ Outrage as India’s paceman repeatedly oversteps the line without any penalties
- India’s Ishant Sharma repeatedly overstepped the line when bowling to Australia
- At one stage he bowled six in one over without the umpire calling any
- Ex Aussie captain Ricky Ponting says failure questioned relevance of umpires
Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has questioned the relevance of on-field cricket umpires after India’s Ishant Sharma bowled a number of no balls which went uncalled.
Speaking on cricket.com.au, the Channel 7 analyst was scathing in his assessment, with pace bowler Ishant Sharma repeatedly overstepping the line on day four of the first Test in Adelaide.
‘Some of the ones we’ve seen…he (Sharma) was four to six inches over the line,’ Ponting said.
Indian bowler Ishant Sharma (pictured) bowled a number of no balls which were missed by the on field umpires
‘I don’t think the umpires are looking, and I certainly don’t think they were looking at those ones because they were blatantly obvious.
‘Part of umpiring is to get the no-ball decisions right as well. I’m not asking for everything to be spot on, but if you’re six inches over then surely you can call it.’
Chasing 323 in its second innings of the first test at Adelaide Oval, Australia made what appeared the worst possible start when Sharma trapped opener Aaron Finch in front with his second delivery.
However Finch was given a reprieve when replays showed Sharma had again overstepped the mark.
TV footage clearly showing Indian quick Ishant Sharma (pictured) bowling yet another no ball
Former Australian Test captain Ricky Ponting (pictured right) was scathing in his assessment of the on-field umpires during the first Test in Adelaide
A TV package later released to the public showed a number of illegal deliveries from Sharma missed or overlooked by the umpires.
All deliveries that result in dismissals are reviewed to see if they were no-balls, so bowlers can not get illegitimate wickets.
However, the failure to call no-balls aids bowlers in delivering more unplayable balls, and they are getting away with no penalty when a no-ball should result in one run being given to the batting team.