The veteran English all-rounder, Ben Stokes failed to get a wicket on Day 2 of the ongoing opening Ashes Test at Gabba as cleaned up David Warner on a no-ball. It soon transpired that he had overstepped on the first three deliveries of the over as well – but due to the broken system, the third umpire failed to call the previous no-balls.
It was later confirmed that the technology which has been monitoring the no-balls for the TV umpire had gone down before the match started and hence, the problem emerged when it looked at the wicket-taking delivery. Host broadcaster Channel Seven later showed that in Stokes’ first five overs there had been 14 no-balls with just one called on the field.
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David Warner was batting on 17 during the second morning when he played around a full delivery but Stokes almost aborted his celebration, as if fearing that he was crossing the front line. Shortly after the non-dismissal, the host broadcasters replayed footage of the start of the over and Stokes was seen overstepping no-balled each time.
Here is the video of the same:
There were 14 (!) no-balls bowled by Ben Stokes in the first session.
Just one was called on-field, plus the 'wicket' ball on review #Ashes pic.twitter.com/ePfj0YEaHH
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 9, 2021
The ICC playing conditions for the World Test Championship state: “The third umpire shall review television replays of the bowler’s front foot landing and, if he/she is satisfied that any of these three conditions have not been met, he/she shall immediately advise the bowler’s end umpire who shall in turn immediately call and signal No-ball.”
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Joe Root gave a diplomatic answer to the incident while speaking briefly to Fox Cricket during the drinks break. He said, “Slightly frustrating but we can’t let that get to us.”
This is Stokes’ first Test match since March as he took a break from the game and he has had very little proper preparation leading into the series due to the poor weather in Brisbane.
