Cricket: Aussie media target spinners ahead of ICC World Cup

It seems that Sachithra Senanayake’s success on his comeback trail is giving the Australian press and may be some cricket authorities some worrying vibes.   Last week the popular Australian national newspaper, The Age, published an article written by its chief cricket writer Chloe Saltau on the comeback of some of the bowlers into World Cup reckoning with corrected actions.   The article said: “Six bowlers who came under official scrutiny during the recent crackdown on throwing are set to run the gauntlet at next month's World Cup, the first global event to be staged under the new, hardline approach to suspect actions.   “West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have all named in their 15-man World Cup squads players who have served suspensions for illegal bowling actions, either at international or domestic level, since June last year.   “An ICC spokesman said while there would be no specific instructions given to umpires to be on the lookout for dodgy actions at the World Cup, there has been a rash of reports and suspensions since the ICC empowered match officials to enforce the rules.   “Any bowler who is reported during cricket's most prestigious tournament will be whisked away to the newly accredited testing centre in Brisbane for biomechanical analysis within seven days, rather than the usual 21.   “Sri Lankan off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake and New Zealand's Kane Williamson, the Black Caps' star batsman who bowls part-time off-spin, were both cleared by the International Cricket Council to return to bowling in December and have done so without incident during Sri Lanka's current tour of New Zealand.”   Under ICC rules, if a player is suspended for throwing during the World Cup he can be replaced in the squad of 15.   The article goes on to discuss about Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan, Marlon Samuels and Sunil Narain of the West Indies among other bowlers.   However, officials of Sri Lanka Cricket say they were not aware of this new development about a bowler, upon being called, being whisked away to be tested in Brisbane.   SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said, “Any bowler who is cleared by the ICC panel is reported again will be suspended forthwith and the ban will be effective for one year. But, we still are not aware about the plan to whisk bowlers away within seven days if they are freshly reported”.