Dubai: Cricket’s global governing body Monday justified its crackdown on bowlers with illegal actions, vowing to only allow unorthodox deliveries like the ‘doosra’ within the rules.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) in its major drive to root out the problem of illegal deliveries suspended high profile bowlers like Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal, Sri Lanka’s Sachitra Senanayake, Zimbabwe’s Prosper Utseya and Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi in the last four months.
New Zealand’s part-timer Kane Williamson was also suspended in this period while Bangladesh’s medium pacer Al-Amin Hossain was reported for suspect action.
Under the ICC rules bowlers are permitted to straighten their bowling arm up to 15 degrees, which has been established as the point at which any straightening will become visible to the naked eye.
ICC chief executive David Richardson said rules must be followed.
“The principle has always been to make sure that we try and stick to the law which says that you must bowl the ball and not throw it,” Richardson told at ICC headquarters in Dubai, here on Tuesday.
Richardson said the majority of stakeholders do not agree on bending the rule to allow off-spinners like Ajmal to bowl the doosra, a controversial delivery which turns the other way than a normal off-spin.
“We had that debate that should we allow a change in the law, to allow them to straighten their arm to bowl the doosra, there were arguments but majority said ‘no’ and said stick to the law.
“If you want to promote the unorthodoxy then there are people in the history of the game like Johnny Gleeson (Australian spinner of 1967-72) who suddenly learnt how to spin the ball with his fingers, there are legitimate ways you can do something special without changing the principle, so we hopefully encourage the unorthodox action or deliveries but within the rules.”
Richardson denied Ajmal was targeted. “The game as a whole has a problem, bowlers have been reported from a range of countries New Zealand, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and I don’t think any country will be spared if they got bowlers with suspect actions.” he said in a statement here on Tuesday.
Richardson also refused to accept the timing of the crackdown, with the World Cup in February-March next year, was wrong.
“If something is wrong with the game why should we wait till after the World Cup,” said Richardson of the event to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
ICC on Tuesday said it is likely to allow banned players to feature in domestic matches a few months before their punishment expires.
The provision in the players’ code of conduct will come up for approval in next month’s board meeting in Dubai and may specifically benefit Pakistan’s pace-man Mohammad Aamer whose five year ban expires in August next year.
ICC chief executive David Richardson confirmed that rules on banned players are likely to be relaxed.
“The revised code is being discussed in the meetings and hopefully we could bring it to you in finality in the November meeting,” Richardson told reporters at the ICC headquarters in Dubai.
Under the process, if the provision is approved, a banned player will have to apply with the ICC to get permission to feature in the domestic cricket.
The ICC will seek recommendations from its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit as well as from the home board and the ICC Board before clearing the player to feature in domestic matches.
Aamer was one of three Pakistani players, besides Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, who were banned for five years for their role in a spot-fixing scandal on the Pakistan tour of England in 2010.
The trio and their agent Mazhar Majeed orchestrated a deal to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in return for money.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last year requested the ICC to relax certain conditions of Aamer’s ban as he had pleaded guilty. The ICC had formed a committee to look into the matter and review the code.(AFP)
