Once again a Sri Lankan off spinner has been reported for throwing. The scene is Lords, not Melbourne; and there are no ugly incidents involving no balls and players walking off.
Protocol implemented since those ugly times have been duly followed, and steps will be taken through the official channels with minimal fuss. Even the rules have been relaxed since then. Sachithra Senanayake finds himself in a time different to that of Muttiah Muralitharan.
That Senanayake was reported for a suspect action after the fourth ODI against England shouldn’t come as any real shock to close followers of the game. Suspicion had been raised against his action in the past, and while he has been tested and cleared of any wrong doing, a large contingent in the cricketing community have made no secret of the fact that they believe him to be violating what is perhaps one of the most sacred tenants of the game. After all, in cricket, “Chucking” was the original sin – before Bodyline, Mankading or carrying sandpaper in your pockets. Appearing to throw the ball is one of the greatest taboos in a game born in a conservative land, which is the reason that England still has not brought a successful bowler of the “Doosra” up to the highest level of the game. In light of this recent development, this article will attempt to address some common misconceptions with regards to the relevant laws of the game.
Most fans will be aware that the ICC changed the rules of the game to allow bowlers a greater degree of flex when bowling. The “fifteen degree rule” as it is commonly known, was –and continues to be- a source of controversy. Some like to believe that it was implemented to protect Murali –this is utterly untrue. The tests conducted by the ICC found out that every bowler had some extension of the elbow in their action to a certain degree. It’s simply the way that the human body is built. The average was around 8 – 10 degrees of extension. A panel was formed, and decided that the new limit would be set at 15 degrees of extension for all bowlers. The word “extension” is quite important in the previous sentences and is pertinent to addressing all of Sachithra’s (and other bowlers’) armchair critics.
Many people call out bowlers on their action based on television footage. The most common form of “evidence” that appears on social media is a still picture of the bowler’s arm just before delivery. The fact that those pictures show an arm “clearly bent more than fifteen degrees” is presented as proof of the illegality of the action.
The law relevant to throwing is as follows:
Definition of fair delivery – the arm
A ball is fairly delivered in respect of the arm if, once the bowler’s arm has reached the level of the shoulder in the delivery swing, the elbow joint is not straightened partially or completely from that point until the ball has left the hand. This definition shall not debar a bowler from flexing or rotating the wrist in the delivery swing.
The number of degrees mentioned earlier refers to the straightening of the arm. Having a bent arm is not a problem, provided that it is not straightened through more than 15 degrees at the point of delivery. Obviously a photograph is quite useless at verifying this. Even television footage is not reliable evidence as the human eye is not capable of making such fine judgements. If an umpire or match referee feels that an action is suspect, they report it. The bowler is then tested in a lab using a range of sensors and equipment that is far more conclusive than a picture posted on Twitter. Senanayake has done this before, and he has been cleared.
I’m not saying that Sachithra Senanayake doesn’t chuck. Having watched him play over the last couple of years, I actually understand where the doubts and suspicions are coming from. While I am as bemused as SLC as to why his action would suddenly be reported in the middle of a tour (when no one has done so in two years), it’s certainly not something that should have never happened. (Perhaps the match officials were woken up by the broadcasters, who took a sudden interest in filming front on close ups of his action in recent games.) I do say however, that none of us are in any position to make an accurate judgement be it guilty or no. The tests and processes are in place to address this issue, and hopefully for Sachithra and Sri Lankan cricket, the matter will be put to rest once and for all. If anyone then still thinks that sitting in front of the television at home gives them better information than a high tech laboratory run by experts, more power to you.
Sachithra will be allowed to continue to bowl in this tour despite being reported. He will have to get his action tested again within the next three weeks, and the results of that test will decide the fate of his career. He will be tested by those who have the capability to do so accurately, and judged by those well versed in the laws of the game. It’s certainly better than what he’s been getting all these years. Whatever the outcome, he won’t have much reason to complain. Until then, as the saying goes: Innocent until proven guilty.
