'No worse feeling': Aussies stung again by no-ball pain

Pace ace Pat Cummins says there is "no worse feeling" in cricket than taking a wicket off a no-ball and it happened again to the Australians on day three of the third Domain Test in Sydney.

Tearaway quick James Pattinson thought he had his first wicket of the match when he had debutant Glenn Phillips caught on the deep square leg boundary but while the hosts celebrated replays revealed no part of the Victorian's front foot was behind the popping crease.

Phillips made another 24 runs to finish with a maiden Test half-century of 52 before Cummins castled the right-hander with the second new ball six overs into the evening session.

It is not the first time Pattinson has taken a Test wicket only for a no-ball to be called, notably having New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum sensationally caught by Mitch Marsh behind the wicket in Christchurch four years ago before it was revealed he had overstepped.

McCullum, on 39 at the time of the reprieve, went on to make the fastest Test match century in history.

"Patto reckons that's about his ninth in Test cricket," Cummins told cricket.com.au after play at the SCG.

"We're always talking to the umpires about where our foot is and obviously trying to get it further away from that crease.

"Whether it's a bouncer – sometimes that's an effort ball where it just creeps a little bit closer – or it can be a one-off, Patto said he hadn’t even been that close up until that ball.

"It seems easy but when you're out there bowling when it happens there's no worse feeling."

However, Channel 7 Sport revealed Pattinson had overstepped four times in his previous two overs before capturing Phillips' wicket with a no-ball.

Overnight in Cape Town, England veteran seamer Stuart Broad also captured a wicket off a no-ball against South Africa, with England's quicks said to have overstepped as many as 12 times that session but were not called by the on-field umpires.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting watched both the match in South Africa and was on hand commentating on day three in Sydney and aired his frustration following the Pattinson no-ball.

"Without pointing the finger at anybody … I'm not having it for one minute that umpires are looking down at the front line," Ponting said on 7 Sport.

"They are not looking down at the line, they are looking at the striker's end only. For mine that's not good enough, it's part of umpiring and part of what comes with the job.

"It's still an on-field decision that the umpires have to make. It's an epidemic around the world at the moment."

But Pattinson is not the sole culprit to take a wicket off a no-ball this summer.

Opening batter David Warner was spared several times in the two-Test series against Pakistan when he was dismissed off a no-ball, while Cummins was millimetres away from overstepping when he captured the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan in the first Test of the summer at the Gabba.

That close call had Cummins refine his run-up so he does not suffer the same fate as Pattinson on Sunday.

"I find wherever I start my run up, whether it's 24.5 or 25 metres it normally doesn't really matter, it doesn’t change much down the other end at the crease," Cummins said.

"It's all a feel in comparison to where you are with the stumps and the umpires.

"At the start of the summer my feeling was I was right on close to the line, now I've brought it back to where I want it to be.

"It's a hard thing to change sometimes."

Domain Test Series v New Zealand

Australia squad: David Warner, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson

New Zealand: Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson (c)

First Test: Australia won by 296 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 247 runs

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (Seven, Fox & Kayo)