SYDNEY, 6 February 2005 — The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced yesterday it had agreed to relax its rules on suspect bowling actions in the hope of ending one of the most divisive issues in the game.
The ICC, determined to make the rules of cricket fairer and easier to apply, said after its two-day executive meeting in Melbourne it had adopted a recommendation allowing bowlers to straighten their arms by up to 15 degrees.
The new rule, which will come into effect from March 1, means most bowlers currently under investigation for chucking will be cleared to resume playing. Current rules impose limits of five degrees for spinners, 7.5 for medium-pacers and 10 for fast bowlers.
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed hailed the controversial rule change as a breakthrough for cricket, although he admitted there were bound to be some critics.
“This issue has afflicted the game for over 60 years. Try as it might, the sport has never properly come to terms with it,” Speed said in a statement.
“Every time it comes up there are emotional reactions from people around the world based on fear and ignorance and I’ve no doubt we will see them all again this time. “The reality is that this new process provides the game with a sensible way forward to properly protect against people breaking the rules while providing every opportunity for players with illegal actions to remedy any problems and return to the game.”
The ICC ordered a review of its laws on throwing after a spate of cases in recent years.
Emotions began to boil over as several top international players, including Sri Lanka’s former world record holder Muttiah Muralitharan, were reported for suspect actions.
An expert panel comprising Aravinda de Silva, Angus Fraser, Michael Holding, Tony Lewis, Tim May and David Richardson found most modern bowlers broke the rules in some way but the laws to determine whether their action was legal were murky and unworkable.
