LONDON, 11 November 2004 — Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will be able to bowl his controversial “doosra” under a recommendation from an International Cricket Council (ICC) committee.
The delivery, a leg spinner bowled from the front of the hand, was outlawed as illegal by the ICC last May after a report concluded Muralitharan bent his arm during delivery and accordingly threw the ball.
In a statement released yesterday, the ICC said the committee had recommended that all bowlers be allowed to straighten their arms by up to 15 degrees. At present spinners are permitted five degrees, medium pacers 7.5 and fast bowlers 10. Muralitharan’s doosra was initially measured at around 14 degrees.
“Levels of tolerance are in place to deal with the reality that almost every bowler in international cricket will straighten his arm to some extent because of the bio-mechanical forces at work in his action,” the statement said.
“Expert advice had identified that the recommended level of tolerance of 15 degrees will accommodate any straightening that is as a result of bio-mechanical forces at work in the action.” Former West Indies’ fast bowler Michael Holding, a member of the committee which was chaired by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, said he had been convinced that all bowlers straightened their arm to some extent. “The scientific evidence is overwhelming,” Holding said.
“When bowlers, who to the naked eye look to have pure actions, are thoroughly analyzed with the assistance of the sophisticated technology now in place they are likely to be shown as straightening their arm by 11 and in some cases 12 degrees. “Under a strict interpretation of the law these players are breaking the rules. The game needs to deal with this reality and make its judgment as to how it accommodates this fact.” The statement said the committee had recommended that the starting point for any report on a suspect action should be the appearance of the delivery to the naked eye.
The recommendation will now go to the ICC for approval.
