South Africa vs England
January 2020
Confusion arose about whether a ball was dead after a no-ball was bowled and the batsman was hit, leading to debate about free hit procedures.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
12 May 2019
Lasith Malinga appeared to overstep on the crucial final over but the no-ball was not called, potentially costing CSK the IPL 2019 title.
Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals
11 April 2019
MS Dhoni walked onto the field from the dugout to argue with umpires over a no-ball call that was reversed, in an unprecedented act for the usually calm captain.
India vs England
November 2016
The third umpire failed to check for a front-foot no-ball on a wicket-taking delivery, a standard protocol that was missed. The dismissal stood without the check being made.
India vs Pakistan
1 March 2003
In the 2003 World Cup India-Pakistan match, Sachin Tendulkar was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar early in his innings, but Pakistan failed to appeal for an LBW earlier, and there were claims Akhtar was overstepping throughout.
Sri Lanka vs England
23 January 1999
Umpire Ross Emerson called Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing. Captain Arjuna Ranatunga nearly led his team off the field in protest.
Australia vs Sri Lanka
26 December 1995
Umpire Darrell Hair no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan seven times for a suspect bowling action during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, sparking a massive controversy.
Australia vs Sri Lanka
26 December 1995
Umpire Darrell Hair called Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing seven times during the Boxing Day Test, igniting one of cricket's longest-running controversies.
Australia vs Sri Lanka
26 December 1995
Australian umpire Darrell Hair no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan seven times for throwing during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, igniting one of cricket's longest-running controversies.
Various county and representative sides
1864-06-01
The legalisation of overarm bowling in 1864 created an immediate grey zone: how high could the arm go, and at what point did a fast delivery become an illegal throw? Through the 1860s English cricket struggled with this question as a succession of fast bowlers developed actions that umpires suspected but rarely no-balled, creating a climate of suspicion that would recur in every generation of cricket thereafter.
England XI vs Surrey
1862-08-26
Bowling for an England XI against Surrey at the Oval on 26 August 1862, the Kent left-armer Edgar Willsher was no-balled six times in a row by umpire John Lillywhite for raising his hand above the shoulder. Willsher and the eight other professionals in the team marched off the field in protest, leaving the two amateurs stranded. Lillywhite quietly stood down the next day, and within two years the MCC had legalised overarm bowling.
MCC vs Kent
1822-07-15
Opening the bowling for Kent against MCC at Lord's on 15 July 1822, the Kent farmer John Willes — pioneer of the new roundarm action — was no-balled by the umpire for raising his hand above the prescribed level. Willes threw the ball down, walked off the ground, mounted his horse and rode out of cricket forever. He was the first man to be no-balled in a first-class match for an illegal bowling action and never played another important fixture.
Kent and various private XIs
1816-07-15
Through the 1810s the Kent gentleman cricketer John Willes of Tonford persisted with a delivery action that broke the laws of cricket: the arm raised level with the elbow, often higher, in defiance of the underarm law. According to Arthur Haygarth, Willes had picked up the action from his sister Christiana, who bowled to him in their garden when he was unwell. Through trial games for Kent and private elevens he forced the issue match by match, was no-balled repeatedly, and laid the foundation for the eventual legalisation of roundarm in 1828 and overarm in 1864.
n/a
1816-05-01
In 1816, with John Willes and a small but growing band of Kent and Sussex bowlers persistently raising their arm above the elbow, the MCC revised Law 10 to spell out that bowling must be 'underhand, with the hand below the elbow' and that any horizontal extension of the arm should be called no-ball. The reform was a deliberate effort to suppress roundarm. It failed. Within twelve years the law had to be rewritten in roundarm's favour.