SYDNEY, Nov 13: The proposed changes to cricket's throwing Laws have been forced on the game's hierarchy because of threat of legal action which could lead to banning of virtually every international bowler.
As the dust settled on chucking recommendations put forward by an influential committee of cricket experts, members of the panel denied new protocols represented a licence for bowlers to throw.
Indeed, those close to the process believe the changes will place even greater pressure on bowlers with unusual actions, such as Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar, to prove their deliveries are legitimate.
Australian Cricketers Association chief executive Tim May, a Member of International Cricket Council's cricket committee which unanimously endorsed proposed changes, claimed the game has no choice but to change throwing law.
The use of high-speed cameras capable of dissecting a bowler's action has enabled sports scientists to prove almost every bowler in world cricket straightens his arm to some degree in the delivery process.
Armed with that knowledge, it is only a matter of time before entire issue of legality of bowling actions ends up in court, May said on Friday. It is understood several Test-playing nations have prepared an initial legal brief in case any of their players are reported and subsequently suspended for throwing.
Under that scenario, lawyers would immediately begin court action claiming ICC was in possession of scientific information which showed that all bowlers in world cricket operated outside throwing law as it currently stands.
Not only would banned bowler plead restraint of trade, but would argue that all his contemporaries were operating outside cricket's laws with full knowledge of ICC. Faced with prospect of majority of bowlers being sidelined, ICC initiated review of procedures for dealing with illegal actions and members of committee believe new recommendations safeguard the game's future.
"At end of the day, this is a pretty practical solution to a very difficult area," May said. "The most compelling message from information presented to (ICC) committee was that current tolerance levels are no longer tenable. If we stuck to them there wouldn't be anyone bowling in international cricket. So legal advice is that you simply cannot ignore technology."
The decision to relax allowable degree of straightening from a maximum of 10 degrees to 15 degrees was made to honour original intention of throwing law. Of contemporary bowlers, such as Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock and Steve Harmison (whose actions were studied by the committee at their meeting in Dubai this week), most were found to straighten their arms by a measure of 10 to 12 degrees.
"If you were to lower level of tolerance any more than 15 degrees, back to say 10 degrees, then 80 to 90 per cent of world's bowlers would be in breach of the law," May said.
Sports scientists believe anything less than a 15-degree change in angle of a bowler's arm would be undetectable to naked eye. As intent of throwing law is to weed out any bowlers with a discernibly illegal action, new recommendations place onus for reporting on umpires and match referees who view bowlers without aid of video technology.
Once a bowler is reported, he will be required within four weeks To undergo exhaustive testing at an independent laboratory facility Which meets strict ICC guidelines. That will ensure all bowlers are tested using latest technology, standardised equipment and a stringent set of testing protocols administered under gaze of ICC officials.
In addition to high-speed filming and detailed plotting of elbow, wrist and shoulder extensions, images of bowler operating in laboratory environment will be matched against footage shot under match conditions. That will ensure bowlers do not simply go through motions when they know they are being scrutinised.
"If they don't satisfy testers that they are bowling as they would in a match, they will be deemed to have breached testing protocols and suffer penalties," May said. "This is not a licence to throw, this a licence to properly police law using technology."
This year, Muralitharan was banned from bowling his doosra after match referee Chris Broad claimed it was delivered with an illegal action. But subsequent testing, which did not conform to strict protocols outlined in planned reforms, showed his degree of straightening was on average 14 degrees, which means it would be allowed under new guidelines.
But if an umpire or referee believed it to be an illegal delivery, Muralitharan would be forced to undergo far more stringent testing to evaluate doosra's legitimacy. -Agencies
