Third umpire to call no-balls as Pakistan bat in first Test

The International Cricket Council announced Wednesday front-foot no-balls in the England-Pakistan Test series will be monitored by the third umpire.

It marks the first time the technology will be used in Test cricket and is set to be reviewed after the three-match series before a decision is made on its future in the five-day format.

Front-foot no-ball technology has been used in the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup Super League and now makes its debut in Test cricket.

England's bowlers will be the first to be put under the spotlight after Pakistan captain Azhar Ali won the toss and elected to bat in the opening Test at Old Trafford.

England enter the first clash with an unchanged XI from the side that defeated the West Indies last week to seal a 2-1 comeback series victory.

Pakistan, playing their first Test since February, have picked 17-year-old Naseem Shah as part of a strong bowling unit led by Muhammad Abbas.

For fans in Australia, the first Test will be live streamed for free on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app. 

England XI: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

Pakistan XI: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Yasir Shah, Muhammad Abbas, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah

The decision to hand the no-ball responsibilities to the third umpire is set to please former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who questioned whether the standing officials were checking for front-foot indiscretions following several missed calls in the 2018-19 summer.

Ponting's comments came after several no-balls were missed by the on-field umpires on day four of the first Test between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval in December 2018.

"I've said this for a lot of years; I honestly don't think the umpires look at the front line anymore," Ponting told cricket.com.au at the time.

"Some of the ones we've seen today … he was 4-6 inches over the line.

"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 ones.

"And as we know now, they'll only ever look at them if a wicket falls, which as far as I'm concerned is not right.

"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."

Ponting was on deck last summer when Channel 7 Sport found Pakistan's bowlers had overstepped 21 times in the first two sessions on day two of the Gabba Test match against Australia, with only one front-foot no-ball called on the field.

All wicket-taking deliveries are checked for a front-foot infringement, but under the new system, all deliveries will be monitored by the third umpire.