No. A no-ball is not one of the six valid balls needed to finish an ordinary over.
A longer over than expected
The scoreboard might show six deliveries, but the umpire still has not called over. That can happen when one of the deliveries was a no-ball. A bowler who sends down six valid balls and two no-balls has delivered eight balls in total.
What goes on the scorebook
The umpire calls and signals no-ball when the offence happens. The scorer adds the no-ball penalty and does not advance the count of valid balls for that delivery. Runs made from the bat are recorded separately, as the Laws require.
A note on free hits
A free hit is not an automatic MCC Law. It applies only where the match playing conditions provide for it. Check the competition rules before describing the next ball as a free hit.
These examples explain the general MCC Laws. International matches and local competitions can use different playing conditions. For an official decision, check the full law and the rules for your match.
Check the official law
MCC reference: Law 17 · Law 21, 2017 Code, 4th Edition (2026). Read the official MCC Laws of Cricket.
Open the interactive Cricket Laws Centre →Cricstars independent learning resource · Source edition: MCC 2026 · Prepared 21 October 2026. Not an official MCC or ICC ruling.