MELBOURNE, May 27: Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist was reprimanded by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday after suggesting Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action was suspect.

The ACB said it had charged him with making public comment detrimental to the interests of cricket.

The affair, however, was brushed off by Sri Lanka after Gilchrist phoned Muralitharan over the affair.

Gilchrist, the world’s top-ranked batsman, speaking at an Australian Rules football pre-match function in Melbourne, was asked if the Sri Lankan’s controversial bowling action was illegal.

The Age newspaper reported that he had responded: “I think technically if you read the rules, I think he’s not quite within them.” He added he thought many other bowlers in the history of the sport were guilty of throwing.

ACB chief executive James Sutherland said: “After reading the statements attributed to Adam, I rang him and asked him to provide me with more details about the accuracy of the comments and how they came to be in the public domain.

“After considering Adam’s explanation, I have issued a charge under the ACB code of behaviour.”

Muralitharan, whose unique action mixes finger spin with wrist rotation, has taken 412 wickets in 73 Tests.

The world’s leading bowler for the past two seasons, he was called for throwing in Australia and again in 1999, causing a furore.

The International Cricket Council, the sport’s governing body, cleared him after he was filmed with high-speed cameras. It was announced that he had a permanently bent arm which gave the illusion of throwing.

Muralitharan is currently on tour in England. Tour manager Chandra Schaffter told Reuters on Monday: “Gilchrist called Murali yesterday and explained that what has come out is not exactly what he meant to say or indeed what he said.

“He told Murali he is considering taking action against those who distorted his comments. Murali was happy with Gilchrist’s explanation and as far as we are concerned the matter is now closed.”

Sutherland, meanwhile, said the ACB did not support Gilchrist’s comments.

“Muttiah Muralitharan’s action has been cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after an exhaustive review,” Sutherland said.

“The ICC has a rigid and comprehensive process in place to continually assess the legality of bowling actions and the ACB supports this process.”—Reuters