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In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one or two runs (depending upon the competition) to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled. In addition, the number of ways in which the batsman can be given out is reduced. In Twenty20 cricket, a batsman receives a 'free hit' on the ball after a no ball. No balls are not uncommon. A typical number occurring in a game might be in the range 10-30.

A no ball may be called for a variety of reasons. Most commonly, it is the result of a bowler's breaking one of the first two rules below (a front foot no ball or back foot no ball). Dangerous deliveries (beamers) are another common reason.

While there are a number of bowlers who have been called for throwing, rather than bowling, most notably Muttiah Muralitharan, this remains a relatively uncommon occurrence at the highest levels of cricket. In recent years, a number of bowlers' actions have been investigated (for instance, Shoaib Akhtar[1]). After the political uproar caused by Muralitharan being repeatedly no-balled in Australia, the common approach now is for the authorities to send bowlers with suspicious actions for investigation and, as necessary, remedial training, rather than have them called for no-balling in the international game, as in the case of, for instance, Ruchira Perera[2] or Harbhajan Singh[3]. Having a bowling action cleared in such an investigation does not always mean the end of the matter, as Muralitharan can attest. The outcome is that throwing (deliberate or not) during a match is unlikely to be called by umpires.

Other violations resulting in no balls being called are sufficiently rare as to be scarcely heard of in the modern era.

What constitutes a no ball varies from tournament to tournament. The laws of cricket defines a no-ball (as can be found http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-24-no-ball,50,AR.html. Over and above this, in one day international cricket (ODI), underarm balls are to be called as no balls (see http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/rules/). Some other definition of a no ball is listed below.

An umpire will rule a no ball under any of the following conditions:

• If the bowler bowls without some part of the front foot (either grounded or raised) behind the popping crease.
• If the bowler bowls with the back foot not wholly inside the return crease or side crease (it cannot touch the line).
• If the bowler throws, rather than bowls, the ball. (See bowling (cricket) for an explanation.)
• If the bowler changes the arm with which he bowls without notifying the umpire.
• If the bowler changes the side of the wicket from which he bowls without notifying the umpire.
• If the bowler bowls underarm (made illegal in 1982).
• If the bowler bowls the ball before actually entering the "delivery stride".
• If the ball rolls or bounces more than twice before reaching the batsman's popping crease.
• If the ball comes to rest before reaching the batsman's popping crease.
• If the ball does not touch the ground in its flight between the wickets and reaches the batsman at a height above his waist when delivered by a fast bowler (this delivery is called a 'Beamer') or the shoulder when delivered by a slow bowler.
• (In Test matches) If, for the third or subsequent time in a single over, a ball bounces over the batsman's shoulder.
• (In one-day matches) If, for the second or subsequent time in a single over, a ball bounces over the batsman's shoulder.

• If the wicket-keeper moves in front of the wicket at the opposite end before the ball passes that wicket or touches the batsman or his bat.
• If any fielder touches or passes over the pitch before the ball passes the batsman's wicket or touches the batsman or his bat.
• If, at the instant of delivery, there are more than two fielders, excluding the wicket-keeper, behind the batsman's popping crease and on the leg side. (See Bodyline for an explanation of why this rule exists.)
• (In one-day matches) If, at the instant of delivery, there are more than five fielders on the leg side.
• (In one-day matches) If, during the first fifteen overs of a domestic match or the powerplay overs of an international match, and at the instant of delivery, there are more than two fielders in the outfield as demarcated by a line marked on the field.

The umpire signals a no ball by holding one arm out horizontally. If the call is for illegal placement of the bowler's feet, the umpire will also shout "No ball", giving the batsman some warning that the ball is a no ball. A batsman with quick enough reflexes can take advantage of this by playing an otherwise overly aggressive shot at the ball.

A batsman may not be ruled out bowled, leg before wicket, caught, stumped, or hit wicket off a no ball. (In some types of short form cricket the batsman may not be out by these methods on the following ball either.)

He may be out run out, handled the ball, hit the ball twice, or obstructing the field.

A no ball does not count as one of the six balls in an over, but it does count as a ball faced by the batsman.

When a no ball is bowled, a number of runs are awarded to the batting team, the number varying depending on local playing conditions in force. In Test cricket the award is one run; in some domestic competitions, particularly one-day cricket competitions, the award is two runs. These runs are scored as extras and are added to the team's total, but are not added to any batsman's total.

If the batsman hits the ball he may take runs as normal. These are scored as runs by the batsman, as normal. The batsman may also score leg byes or byes and these are recorded as no balls extras.

If a ball qualifies as a no ball and a wide, the umpire will call it a no ball, rather than a wide.

No balls are considered to be the fault of the bowler, and are recorded as a negative statistic in a bowler's record.

• Cricket statistics
• Cricket terminology