Muralitharan told to stop bowling ‘doosra’
London, May 12. (PTI): Just three days after he became the world’s highest wicket taker, off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has received a major jolt when the International Cricket Council deemed his controversial ‘doosra’ as illegal and upheld Sri Lankan cricket board’s decision to prevent him from using the delivery in further matches.
The spin wizard would now have to drop the delivery from his armoury or be prepared to face a ban of one year if he was to be reported for suspect bowling action again in the next 12 months.
ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed, in a statement issued here yesterday, said the governing body supported the Sri Lankan board’s decision to stop the bowler from bowling the ‘doosra’ as it exceeded the degree of tolerance allowed for a bowler.
"The report forwarded by Sri Lanka Cricket proves that the degree of straightening is well outside the ICC’s specified levels of tolerance.
“In light of this finding, Sri Lanka Cricket has now advised the ICC that it has instructed Muralitharan not to bowl this delivery in international cricket. The ICC supports this action,” he said.
Muralitharan, who overtook West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh’s record of 519 Test wickets on Saturday against Zimbabwe, was reported for suspect action by match referee Chris Broad when the bowler bowled the ‘doosra’ during the Test series against Australia in March.
He was then sent to Australia to work on his bowling action with a biomechanical expert. Speed said, after being forwarded a copy of the Sri Lankan Cricket report compiled by the University of Western Australia, the ICC was convinced that the ‘doosra’, a delivery that spins away from the right-hander, was against the laws of the game. The report showed an initial straightening of the arm of around 14 degrees which, after some remedial work, was reduced to 10 degrees but under ICC laws the allowable level of tolerance for spinners is five degrees. Speed said that he hoped that the action by Sri Lankan board in recognising that the delivery did not comply with the ICC regulations would prevent Muralitharan being reported again for this delivery.
