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| May 23, 2002 | Thursday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 10,1423 |
Sri Lankan board to rally behind Perera
COLOMBO, May 22: Sri Lanka’s cricket governing body said Tuesday it will back fast bowler Ruchira Perera, now at the centre of a chucking controversy, and help save his career.
“Umpires have been wrong in the past. We have to wait till we get the video footage, to see if the umpires are correct or not,” Sri Lankan board’s spokesman Niresh Eliatamby said. Eliatamby said the board will back Perera to clear his name if his bowling action is legal, otherwise help him correct his method.
The 25-year-old bowler, playing his seventh Test at Lord’s, was Tuesday reported for throwing by the umpires — Australia’s Daryl Harper and Srinivas Venkataraghavan of India — to the International Cricket Council.
Perera, who captured three wickets in the first innings as England was forced to follow on in the drawn series opener, came under intense scrutiny by television commentators during the match.
Eliatamby said the Sri Lankan cricket board will appoint a committee to study the video footage provided by the game’s governing body.
“This committee of advisers will forward a report to the ICC, as required by the world body’s guidelines,” he said.
If the committee finds his action to be suspicious after viewing the footage, a specialist coach, appointed by the local cricket board, will assist him in rectifying the fault.
If he is reported for chucking a second time, a coach appointed by the International Cricket Council will then take charge of the bowler.
If a bowler gets reported for a third time within one year, he is suspended for 12 months.
Perera is the second Sri Lankan bowler to be reported for throwing within one year.
Another pace bowler, Suresh Perera, was reported for chucking during last year’s home series against India by West Indian umpire, Steve Bucknor.—AP/APP
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