At the last World Cup, Shoaib Akhtar was one of cricket’s most bankable commodities.
Two years on and the Pakistan pace bowler, his stock devalued several times over, is in danger of being declared counterfeit.
His crime? To be born, it appears, with the wrong kind of elbow.
It would be a tragedy if cricket gave one of its most exciting performers just that – the elbow – and shoved him to the far side of the boundary rope.
That possibility, however, is just one umpire’s report away.
If the 26-year-old Shoaib is suspected of throwing again in the next few months – making it three offences within a year – he faces a possible 12-month ban which would surely herald the end of his career.
In 1999 Shoaib was as mesmerised and delighted by his own extraordinary talents as were cricket lovers the world over.
All flowing hair, puffed-up arrogance and wide, disarming smile, he strained to become the first bowler through the 100mph mark while batsmen ducked for dear life and World Cup crowds roared.
Within months, however, the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ had been derailed, umpires Peter Willey and Darrell Hair reporting him for throwing while he was playing Australia in Perth.
Surely they had good cause? The man’s bowling arm was clearly bending like a banana.
PAKISTAN PROTESTS
Pakistan protests, though, led to Shoaib being reprieved after a month’s ban and the International Cricket Council (ICC) reviewing the way it dealt with such cases.
Shoaib duly returned, as fast as ever, only to be cut down by injury after injury. Perhaps, in retrospect, that time out saved him from being called again.
For when he returned from 10 mothballed months he was soon in hot water again, called in a one-dayer in New Zealand in March.
Without further ado, the bowler was packed off to Perth, to be filmed from every conceivable angle by biomechanics experts at the University of Western Australia.
A major re-design seemed to be on the cards. Instead Shoaib was given the all-clear. A hypermobile elbow joint,'' the experts ruled, gave the impression of a throw but Mr Akhtar is unable to avoid hypermobility of his bowling action…and therefore should not be regarded as throwing due to his abnormal anatomical characteristics.‘’
Staff at the Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science, however – among them leading cricket coach Daryl Foster – did suggest some changes, to help Shoaib avoid further injury and prolong his career.
So that was that.
Except that it wasn’t.
Earlier this month Shoaib was called yet again while playing at the Sharjah Champions Trophy and the bandwagon set off again, the player ordered to work on his action with former West Indies pace bowler Michael Holding.
ECHOES OF MURALITHARAN
The case echoes that of Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, he of the double-jointed wrist and the wrong kind of elbow.
The unconventional Muralitharan was called on the 1995-96 tour of Australia before being cleared, his throw ruled an optical illusion because of his inability to straighten his arm.
In 1999, however, Australian umpire Ross Emerson called him again, sparking Sri Lankan outrage.
Since then, however, the umpires have kept their counsel and Muralitharan, fast approaching his 400th test wicket, has been allowed to mind his own business while mounting a major challenge to Shane Warne’s status of the world’s best slow bowler.
Pakistan, equally outraged, will hope that the rubber-jointed Shoaib, with only 16 tests and 46 wickets to his name, is granted the same latitude.
So will many cricket fans the world over. Opposing batsmen may beg to differ.