LONDON, June 6: Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, whose action has been under the scanner off and on, added another chapter to the controversy by throwing the ball out of ‘frustration’ in a English cricket county match, for which he was called.
Harbhajan, playing for Surrey, was no-balled by umpire Peter Willey on last day of four-day match against Warwickshire at Whitgift on Saturday.
After taking just one wicket all day — on a pitch offering some turn — Harbhajan threw a half-tracker at Michael Powell and ball sailed over batsman and wicket-keeper over the boundary.
Following a consultation with his partner, the umpire signalled six no-balls.
England & Wales Cricket Board confirmed the bowler was no-balled for throwing adding it was “probably out of frustration and the matter would not be investigated any further.”
“I can confirm that Harbhajan Singh was no-balled by Peter Willey, square-leg umpire, for deliberately throwing the ball, an action by the bowler that was probably due to frustration,” ECB’s Cricket Operations Manager Alan Fordham said.
“It should be regarded as a one-off incident and there will be no investigation, either by the ECB or by anyone else.”
The bowler, whose doosra was reported by match referee Chris Broad during India-Pakistan series, had arrived late at Surrey due to the controversy and was playing his first ever match for the county.—Agencies