I have been waiting for this one to arise.
Hopefully i can provide some clarity to what is happening.
There are a number of bowlers with suspect actions in Bangaldesh, there is no question about that, and over the next couple of months i will be working with a few of them to rectify the problems.
In the past, they have simply not been reported for any number of reasons. Now the ICC dictate that we have a bowling review group to deal with such matters and this has only recently been formed. It is not a new issue, just one that has now surfaced. The umpires have now been instructed to idicate to us, who they suspect as having a suspect action. We can then work rectify the problems before the player reaches international level, where it becomes more of an issue.
There is a simple reason why so many off spinners throw, you can turn the ball further and in both directions, so why would you. And if no one stops you, you keep doing it.
Please keep it in perspective, it is just a fault in a bowling action, like falling away to the off side, or collapsing into your front leg. It is not a crime and players should not be persecuted for having a fault in their action.
Murali, is fortunate that his arm does not straighten fully, which means he can extend his arm during the delivery, but it will not fully straigten. This in a broad sense, is why his action is always cleared. For a normal person who can straighten his arm fully, if you gather and bowl like Murali, you will extend your arm further then the legal limit (5 degrees for spinners), therefore your action will be illegal. Across the sub continent there are literally hundreds of people bowling this way, as it allows the off spinner to be far more competitive. It some countries coaches actually teach kids to bowl that way.
Please do not panic, in my opinion there are a number of bowlers with suspect actions, in most countries around the world, i don't think we have more than anyoneelse, we will be working to assess them and assist them to rectify these faults over a period of time.
On a final note to get you thinking, is it just another evolution of the game. The same as the move from bowling under arm to round arm, then to over arm. have a think about it.
Did you also know that the first person to bowl round arm, was umpiring and actually no-balled the first person to bowl over arm, many years later
Cheers
|