ICC to trial new no-ball system in England-Pakistan ODI series

The third umpire will take responsibility for calling front-foot no balls during England's one-day international series against Pakistan as part of a ground-breaking ICC trial.

In a move that hands more decision-making over to technology, on-field umpires will not be called upon to make the judgement in the five-game series.

Instead they will hand over responsibility to the TV umpire, who will view replays from wide-on cameras and inform the on-field official via a 'pager' watch - which vibrates on their wrist - if a no-ball has been delivered.

The International Cricket Council senior manager for umpires and referees, Adrian Griffith, said in a statement: "This trial is being carried out to ascertain if there is a way in which front-foot no balls can be called more accurately and consistently, while also assessing the TV umpire's workload and identifying the impact it will have on the flow of the game.

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"While we need to find out if the technology set-up for this purpose is fit, at the same time we feel this is the right time to conduct the trial as the TV umpires will have more information than ever before to share with the on-field umpires, which, in turn, will help them in correct decision-making."

The ICC has announced the trial four days out from the opening game of the series, to be staged at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday, with umpires set to undergo training with the technology at the start of the week.

"To ensure that the match officials are thoroughly briefed and trained for this trial, the ICC will conduct training sessions with the umpires and match referee in Southampton on Monday and Tuesday," Griffith added.