'Nothing even near the line': Umpire misses monster no-ball in Sheffield Shield final
A glaring umpiring error has threatened to derail Victorian on Day 1 of the Sheffield Shield final against New South Wales.
Blues paceman Trent Copeland found Victorian middle-order batsman Seb Gotch caught in the slips cordon for just two before replays showed that Copeland had overstepped the crease by a big margin.
However, unlike in international matches where umpires can request the third umpire to check for no-balls on wicket-taking deliveries, the technology was not available, meaning that the wicket stood.
Former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was on commentary for Fox Cricket at the time of the wicket and was left astounded by how centre wicket umpire Paul Wilson had missed the call.
Copeland picked up two middle-order wickets in an inspired spell AAP
"That was a big overstep. There was nothing even near the line," he said.
"That's certainly not out," ex-Australia coach Darren Lehmann said in commentary on Fox Sports.
Former national wicketkeeper Ian Healy said the game could spend the cash on a camera focused on the crease at Shield level.
"Have a camera on the crease so they can use it for their own good," he said.
"I don't think umpires are looking at no balls as much as they used to ... because at the international level they get reviewed."
The wicket of Gotch came in an inspired spell for Copeland as the Blues made inroads into the Bushrangers' middle order with the wickets of Will Pucovski (17) and Cameron White (7).
