THE third umpire will be responsible for calling front-foot no-balls during the one-day series between England and Pakistan as part of a trial conducted by cricket’s world governing body.

The International Cricket Council says the move will “better understand whether the third umpire is able to use instant replays to call front-foot no-balls more accurately.”

On-field umpires will not be called upon to make the judgment in the five-match series starting on Wednesday.

The TV umpire will view replays from four side-on cameras and inform the on-field officials via a ‘pager’ watch that vibrates on their wrist if a no-ball has been delivered.

If the pager doesn’t work, the umpires will still be able to speak via radio.

Adrian Griffith, the ICC’s senior manager for umpires and referees, says the trial results will be shared with the ICC cricket committee, which will advise on future action.

“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.”

Sri Lanka lodged an official complaint after this no-ball call during the third Test against England this year. Source: AFP

It has always been a curious fact of modern cricket that the judging of a bowler’s front foot has been left to the on-field umpire, while so many other decisions can be made with the aid of technology.

Umpires and players have complained for decades that there is so little time for an umpire to look at the batsman after watching the bowler’s foot land near the popping crease that it makes officials susceptible to errors at both ends.

In recent years there have been many examples of batsmen being dismissed, only to be called back because the on-field umpire initially didn’t spot a no-ball before being alerted by the third umpire.

Now it’s conceivable that in the near future on-field umpires won’t have to concern themselves with the bowler’s front foot at all.

WATCH the one-day series between England and Pakistan LIVE and in HD on Fox Sports, starting with the first ODI from 11pm AEST Wednesday.