LONDON: Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez is free to bowl in ECB competitions this year after his bowling action passed an independent assessment at the ICC-accredited testing centre in Lahore.

The 39-year-old off-spinner was reported for his action by the umpires in the Vitality Blast match between Middlesex and Somerset on Aug 30. An independent assessment conducted at Loughborough University found the player’s elbow extension exceeded the permitted 15 degrees and it resulted in Hafeez, who played four Twenty20 games for Middlesex in 2019, being suspended from bowling in English domestic competitions.

However, the ECB has received the independent assessment report from the re-test and found that the all-rounder’s action did not exceed the threshold.Right-handed Hafeez is now free to sign for an English club this summer and recently returned to the international stage with Pakistan, playing in two T20 Internationals against Bangladesh last month.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2020