Most no balls in Test cricket: What is the maximum number of no balls bowled in a Test innings?

Dixit Bhargav | 08/02/2021
Most no balls in Test cricket: What is the maximum number of no balls bowled in a Test innings?

Most no balls in Test cricket: Number of no-balls bowled by bowlers in Test cricket have increased significantly this year.

During the fourth day of the first Test of the ongoing England’s tour of India in Chennai, a large number of no-balls are being bowled by bowlers to astonish one and all.

While fast bowlers tend to overstep across formats, the number mostly remains low in Test cricket. However, what has been beyond understanding in this Test is the fact that spinners have overstepped on more occasions than fast bowlers.

As compared to 20 no-balls in 190.1 overs in the first innings, Indian bowlers have now bowled another six no-balls in just 28 overs in the ongoing second innings. England, on the other hand, bowled a solitary no-ball in the 95.5 overs they bowled in the first innings.

In the ongoing Pakistan vs South Africa Test match in Rawalpindi, all the bowlers have bowled a total of 23 no-balls with around 45 overs still remaining in the match.

A primary reason behind a sudden surge in no-balls is the third-umpire calling them nowadays as compared to on-field umpires previously.

Most no balls in Test cricket

As far as the most no-balls in Test cricket are concerned, both the ongoing Test matches are still far away from registering an unwanted milestone either in an innings or in a complete match.

Most no-balls in an innings

No balls Overs Team Against Ground Year NB per Over
40 107.4 England West Indies St. John’s 1986 0.37
40 140.5 Australia West Indies Adelaide 1989 0.28
39 101.5 Pakistan Sri Lanka Lahore 2002 0.38
38 122 Pakistan West Indies Georgetown 1988 0.31
37 63 Australia West Indies Perth 1988 0.58

 

Most no-balls in a Test match

No balls Overs Team Against Ground Year NB per Over
103 395.2 West Indies Pakistan Bridgetown 1987 0.26
90 384.4 Australia West Indies Perth 1988 0.23
81 393.2 West Indies England Bridgetown 1994 0.2
79 425.1 West Indies England Bridgetown 1974 0.18
78 427.5 West Indies Australia Bridgetown 1999 0.18

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Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
No balls Test cricket

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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