Umpire Rod Tucker mistakenly called a no-ball against Nuwan Pradeep, therefore reprieving Hales when he was bowled by a shooter on only 58 out of England’s 233 for seven declared on day four of the third Investec Test at Lord’s.
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The umpire, Rod Tucker, had already deemed the seamer to have overstepped, and the appeal was turned down.
Sri Lanka resume Monday’s final day on 32 for no loss, needing 330 more runs to salvage some pride in the series in which they have been thoroughly outplayed.
Hales’ lucky break gave him a chance to complete his maiden Test century – but he narrowly missed out for the third time this series.
Hales had moved on to 45 when Sunday’s third ball saw him survive a confident lbw appeal from Sri Lanka paceman Shaminda Eranga.
Ford made it clear he believes it is time for the International Cricket Council to take the responsibility for spotting front-foot no-balls away from the on-field umpire.
They are powerless, however, to reverse incorrect no-balls under the premise that batsmen change their shot when hearing the umpire’s call.
Anderson admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka flag was draped over the tourists’ dressing-room balcony for some 45 minutes in protest at the decision.
Ford continued: “I guess it’s something that the ICC are going to have to look at”.
“At that stage we felt the boys were fighting hard and we wanted to show our support from the dressing room to boost their morale – only for us to find out that’s not the done thing and we had to take it down”, explained Ford. That was the feeling from our lads.
However, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) rules do not permit the display of any flags or banners at Lord’s.
Sri Lanka’s Board President Thilanga Sumathipala has said that whatever happened was “unacceptable”, and that he will complain to ICC.
Asked to explain how the flag protest came about, he added: “It must have been the team to show the management’s feelings on the field”.
Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford said: “It just seems unusual with technology available that you can still get a line call wrong.’ Sumathipala said the presence of the flag was a show of solidarity: ‘It was to say, ‘Boys get together”.
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“The ICC (cricket’s world governing body) have to look at it”.
