No-ball

Technical infringements, and practices considered unfair or dangerous, have been added for bowling, field placement, fielder and wicket-keeper actions.

The delivery of a no-ball results in one run – two under some regulations – to be added to the batting team's overall score, and an additional ball must be bowled.

Any of the many no-ball cases is at least 'unfair' to the extent that the batting team is given a fair ball and a penalty run in compensation.

When the ball is dead, the umpire will repeat the no-ball hand signal for the benefit of the scorers, and wait for their acknowledgement.

All such runs are scored as extras and are added to the batting team's total, but are not credited to the batter.

If this competition mandates a free hit for the type of no-ball adjudged, the bowler's end umpire will signal that the additional delivery is a free hit by making circular movements in the air by extending one raised hand above their head.

Law 41 gives the umpires specific duties to ensure the safe conduct of the game in the case of unfair bowling.

In some such cases, especially when the end of the match requires the completion of a specified number of overs, the fielding captain has encouraged the bowler to bowl deliberate no-balls by overstepping.

Sometimes it has proved to be an ill-judged idea that risked both bringing the game into disrepute and losing the match, e.g.[12] From Oct 2017, this specific resort is no longer available, as a side-effect of the fact that deliberate overstepping will immediately be ruled "dangerous and unfair" by the umpire, but no-balls that breach other parts of the Law might still be concocted deliberately without being ruled unfair.

Special complications arise in the professional game when technology is used to assist the umpires, and overturn a decision made on the field.

[10] It is now customary for a batter given out to stand at the edge of the playing area and wait to see if the video may discover a no-ball, in which case they are reinstated.

For such complications and other reasons, including concern to control the amount of time used in review, the ICC is experimenting with 'no-ball instant notification,' under which the umpire is immediately given the additional information to call no-ball while the ball is still live.

The previous Laws did not disbar either, but had been interpreted variously by umpires reflecting custom and practice, at some cost to the careers of the bowling innovators.

Other detail was codified by Laws 13 (not to count in over), 16 (scoring runs and protection from being out), 17 (scoring of extras), 35 (failed attempt at run out before delivery), 48A (umpire call of no-ball) and 48B (umpire to make call immediately) [16] A 1912 revision ruled that the batter could not be stumped from a no-ball.

The 1947 code removed the requirement for the bowler's back foot to be on the ground behind the bowling crease at the moment of delivery.

But it was felt that the tallest fast bowlers, able to bowl legally with their front foot well over the popping crease, were gaining too great an advantage.

The conservative instincts of cricket, and the intervention of World War II, may have been factors in the delay, but as the bodyline article explains, there was more than one reason for the change.

In old film footage, for example of Underwood's Test in 1968, close fielders can be seen in positions that would nowadays cause a no-ball to be called [2].

Previously the fielder could stand anywhere as long as they were still, did not distract the batter, nor interfere with their right to play the ball.

Umpires would conventionally intervene if a player's shadow fell on the pitch, which is still widely treated as a distraction, but not inherently a no-ball.

From 30 April 2013 (ICC playing regulation) and 1 Oct 2013 (Law) a no-ball results when the bowler breaks the non-striker's wicket during the act of delivery.

For a short period prior to this, umpires had adopted the convention of calling 'dead ball' when this happened.

[21] From 2013 some competitions outlawed the double-bounce ball in order to thwart negative developments in bowling [22] [23] [24] The change to a maximum of one single bounce became Law in all forms of cricket in the Oct 2017 Law code, which also outlawed a ball that bounced off the pitch even if it then became playable.

The Oct 2017 changes set the limit for beamers in all cricket at waist height, regardless of delivery speed.

The Oct 2017 Law code changes also removed the need for repetition before calling a no-ball for dangerous short-pitched bowling (bouncers), introduced the judgement of repetition in head-high bouncers as unfair, and treated a deliberate front foot no-ball as 'dangerous or unfair,' with immediate sanctions as for a deliberate beamer.

[3] From 2022, Law 25.8 asserts the striker's right to play the ball, but within limits to ensure they do not risk contact with the fielders.

Thus any delivery that requires the striker to leave the pitch is immediately judged and called a dead ball, and a no-ball awarded in recompense.

Both the MCC Laws of Cricket [26] and the ICC Playing Conditions [27] use the capitalisation convention "No ball" throughout, though most major news sources prefer "no-ball", which is standard English usage.

"No ball" evolved as a concept and sanction in the Law to prevent disruptive late Georgian innovation.