Bent arm blithe under scrutiny
After Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) began its very own campaign to curb down illegal bowling actions, a total of 74 bowlers have been ‘no balled’ so far. Twenty-nine of them are from the ongoing SLC Under-23 Division I and II tournaments and what makes matters more serious to the authorities is the number of bowlers spotted, 45, with illegal action from the Schools Under-15 tournament.
SLC umpires educator Tyronne Wijewardene was instrumental in drawing the blue print with the aid of cricket experts in addressing illegal bowling actions but the procedure is going to be a long walk ahead.
T.H. Wijewardene is optimistic of the positive results through the programme - Pic by Anuradha Bandara
“We had to start from somewhere. So far the assistance I have been receiving towards this project is overwhelming. Surprisingly clubs are keen to get their bowlers out from trouble,” Wijewardene stated.
With his immense experience as a former first class cricketer and a top first class and international umpire Wijewardene elaborated that majority of umpires, coaches of clubs and schools, team managers and team captains have been educated on the ICC regulations and restrictions with regard to illegal bowling actions, and of also SLC’s ambition in getting rid of the bent arm menace.
To start with the local umpires have been fully updated and given the green light to signal no ball the moment they spot an illegal bowling action. If a bowler is reported more than once, according to Wijewardene, he will be barred from bowling and will be directed to the SLC Coaching Department, which comes under the purview of Jerome Jayaratne and Piyal Wijetunga.
“If a bowler is caught thrice for bending the arm more than the allowed 15 degrees in a match, he will be banned from bowling. He will have to go through the remedial procedure and receive the clearance from the SLC Coaching Department and the presence of the bowler’s coach is a must throughout the process,” he added.
The bowler will have to go through a whole process of events, which happens fast before he gets to bowl again with a clean record. After a bowler is called for illegal bowling action by the umpires and the match referee, he and his team manager will be handed over a copy of the report at the end of the match. The original copy comes to Wijewardene, who includes the name of the bowler into a constantly updated document, which he calls ‘the Grid’. Once a week copies of the Grid are sent to all the umpires, match referees, the SLC Coaching Department and the Illegal Bowling Action Review Committee headed by Shabir Asgerally, a former national selector. The committee also includes former national cricketer Graeme Labrooy and Priya Paranavithana.
But the common doubt that roams around the air is if umpires in Sri Lanka are skilled enough to spot an arm that bends too far from the allowance of 15 degrees granted by the ICC? In addition with more than one faction of umpires can the bowlers expect justification of not been victims of revenge or agendas of different individuals? Wijewardene is of the view that this issue should be treated as a national cause.
“It all depends on trust and integrity. Most of the umpires active have played cricket at top level. Without trusting each other we cannot go forward. So far the progress is up to satisfactory and the assistance shown by team managers, coaches and clubs are really encouraging. What we are looking at is to completely eradicate the illegal bowling issue in another two to three years. India has tackled this issue successfully and we are trying to catch up with them. Our focus is to monitor all age groups beginning from the junior to first class,” he pointed out.
Most out of the 29 bowlers caught for illegal bowling action in the ongoing SLC Under-23 Division I and II tournament are interestingly off spinners. Wijewardene, who had himself reported closer to 40 bowlers at domestic level during his umpiring career, stressed that off spinners come clean in their usual stride but tends to exceed the limits while making extra efforts.
“The famous cause is while they are attempting to deliver a quicker bowl or the doosra, the delivery that turns the other way. There are different reasons for the handful of pace bowlers who were called for chucking but they can be corrected easily through the SLC Coaching Department, who are doing a good job.”
So far Wijewardene has conducted workshops for umpires in Colombo, Galle and Kandy and a separate workshop for school coaches in Colombo at Ananda College. He says the programme will go on throughout the country. In four months since his appointment Wijewardene states that a comprehensive plan to monitor the issue is in action with the assistance of SLC’s provincial coaches, who are coordinating with the school and club coaches at different levels. He has even drafted a common policy for illegal bowling action which will be implemented soon after the approval is given by the SLC higher authorities. “The operation will move on until we get rid of this menace completely. I’m certain that if the process picks up momentum we can totally and comprehensively bring an end to illegal bowling action in Sri Lanka,” a resolute Wijewardene stated.