Sports India

ICC general manager cricket David Richardson said the ICC is dealing with the issue of bowlers with suspect actions more effectively than ever before.
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The current regulations, in place since March 2005, provide a scientific basis for judging a player’s action while, at the same time, recognising the reality that almost all bowlers are likely to straighten their arm to some extent during delivery.

“The regulations are based on the views of an expert panel of former players, including Angus Fraser, Michael Holding and Tony Lewis - the current chairman of the MCC’s cricket committee,” said Richardson.

“This group studied the research of prominent biomechanists Prof Bruce Elliot, Dr Paul Hurrion and Marc Portus and the scientific evidence they were presented with was overwhelming.

“The facts are that some bowlers, even those never suspected of having flawed actions, were found likely to be straightening their arms by 11 or 12 degrees.

“And, at the same time, some bowlers that may appear to be throwing may be hyper-extending or bowl with permanently bent elbows.

“Under a strict interpretation of the law they were breaking the rules but if we ruled out every bowler that did that then there would be no bowlers left.

“The game needed to deal with that reality and the current regulations do just that.

“What they do is take the pressure off umpires because it is now no longer one person’s view of whether or not a bowler has an illegal action. It is something that can be proved scientifically and the assessment is independent and not partisan.

“At the same time, the umpire retains the right to call a bowler for throwing and the first judgment he makes is still based on his instincts after viewing an action with the naked eye,” he added.

The regulations include a 15-degree level of tolerance in elbow extension for all bowlers during delivery, which was identified by the panel of experts as the point after which the bend is likely to become visible to the naked eye.

Five senior international bowlers have been reported under the new process - Harbhajan Singh of India, Pakistan’s Shabbir Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, Jermaine Lawson of the West Indies and Johan Botha of South Africa.

Shabbir Ahmed is currently serving a one-year suspension after being found to have a flawed action twice within a two-year period.

The regulations were also applied at this year’s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka.

Twelve players were identified with potentially flawed actions and are not permitted to bowl again in international matches until they undergo remedial action and have proved their actions to be within the legal limits.

Richardson was responding to comments made by former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe during the MCC’s Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on Tuesday evening.

During his lecture, Crowe also claimed test cricket was being undermined by the continued presence of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Richardson commented: “Bangladesh have taken time to adjust to the demands of test cricket but that mirrors the experience of every side that has stepped up to the top level.

“Bangladesh are a cricket-crazy country and have shown encouraging signs of development and, given time, we fully expect them to become more and more competitive at test level.

“Zimbabwe have already stepped back from their test commitments to allow themselves time to regroup and we are keen to help them in that process in any way we can.”