Despite the best efforts of the two Bruces, Elliott and Yardley, Murali still managed to fail the UWA Bowling Review Process. By DOUBLE the prescribed five degrees. Just imagine how much he exceeds it by when he's out of the UWA "garage" and in the middle of a match, and ACTUALLY trying to get a batsman out rather than roll his arm over at "three-quarter rat power".
I say again ... Hayden ... Kandy ... LBW. Look ... learn ... squirm.
No doubt Ross Emerson and Terry Jenner -- both right on the money -- saw it, because they've taken the long handle to the doosra, in honour of TJ's sitting style, now renamed the Squirm Ball:
Broad won't judge Murali: Emerson
Test referee Chris Broad will never again stand in judgement of Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, according to the former international umpire whose own career went into a tailspin after he no-balled the controversial off spinner.
Ross Emerson yesterday said the International Cricket Council was correct in transferring Broad from the current series between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe but predicted the man who identified Murali's "doosra" as questionable in its action would not officiate in a game involving the Sri Lankan contortionist.
Emerson no-balled Murali in Australia for a "throwing" action in 1998-99, and it cost him his future as a Test umpire.
"Even if the ICC disallow . . . bowling the doosra, who is going to police it?" Emerson asked. "What are they going to do now? I understand that all the umpires have been told it is not in their best interests to call anybody.
"Apparently, it is is not in writing anywhere. If they have taken it out of the umpires' hands, who is to stop Murali bowling his doosra next week?
"Even if the ICC says, when the final decision has not come down for the Test series against Zimbabwe, 'No, you cannot bowl the doosra', who will stop him? The umpires can't.
"If the umpires aren't allowed to call him any more or have been told it is not in their best interests to call him, what will happen?"
Emerson scoffed at the University of Western Australia's recent testing of Murali's action, describing the test facility as "a garage" and saying he had been told Murali was bowling 20kmh slower under scrutiny than the 95kmh he bowls in Tests.
"He was bowling at three-quarter rat power," Emerson said. "Murali's not a dill. He knows he's under scrutiny.
"They are filming him so he is going to do his best - and even with his best he still can't get it right. That shows there is something wrong with his action."
Emerson had no concern with the ICC taking Broad out of the series with Zimbabwe with Murali's action still under review, as "there is a potential for a conflict of interest".
But while unaware of the timing of Sri Lanka's reporting of referee Broad for his "behaviour" during the third Test against Australia last month, he observed: "If the report only went in after Broad reported him, you don't have to be a Rhodes scholar to know what's going on.
"They are running the game. Who? Sri Lanka or the Indian sub-continent? The sub-continent. [Broad] won't do Sri Lanka again. No way.
"He's coming out to Australia to referee on the Sri Lankan tour. Sri Lanka won't let him. They'll let Murali bowl. They'll say it would be unfair for Broad to be there if he has formed a preconceived opinion of him, something along those lines.
"[ICC chief executive] Malcolm Speed is a lawyer so he'll couch it in terms that no one will understand, but everybody will know why Murali is there."
Emerson claimed Sri Lankan officials were launching a smear campaign on Broad similar to that applied to himself and fellow Australian umpire Darrell Hair, who no-balled Murali when others bowed to international pressure to turn a blind eye.
It also emerged yesterday Murali had been told to shelve the problematic doosra while attempts were made to rewrite the rules, after Elliott's tests at the University of WA confirmed it was illegal.
Elliott said he would recommend to the ICC at its executive board meeting next month that a spinner be allowed to straighten his arm by up to 10 degrees. Currently the limit is five degrees. "Rules change in all sports," Elliott said, adding that pacemen should be able to straighten the arm by up to 15 degrees.
"Ten degrees is probably a defendable number from a legal viewpoint. That doesn't mean 10 degrees is correct but at the moment with the data we have it seems to be defensible . . ."
Australian spin guru Terry Jenner described as "extraordinary" a push to change the rules.
He did indeed:
Jenner fears 'open-slather' throwing
Any rule change that allowed Muttiah Muralitharan to continue bowling his controversial doosra would invite "open slather" throwing, Australian spin guru Terry Jenner predicted last night.
Jenner described as "extraordinary" a push to relax the rules on throwing for spinners, after Professor Bruce Elliott, the biomechanist who tested Muralitharan's doosra in Perth recently, told The Age he would recommend to the ICC at its next executive board meeting in Dubai next month that a spinner be allowed to straighten his arm by up to 10 degrees. Currently, the legal limit is five degrees.
It also emerged yesterday that Muralitharan had been instructed to shelve the problematic doosra while attempts are made to rewrite the rules, after Elliott's tests at the University of WA confirmed it was illegal.
"It would not be appropriate for Murali to continue to bowl his doosra at the moment," Sri Lankan board president Mohan de Silva said.
"I am positive that the ICC will eventually take appropriate steps to reflect current studies into bowling actions. Murali has been given advice about his doosra but he is a very strong character and I am sure he will continue to bowl well while this matter is finalised."
But Jenner said the laws of cricket should not be changed, even though the problem appeared to have become intractable because of the acute political sensitivities between the Asian cricket countries and their white counterparts.
"So what we're saying is we want to legitimise whatever it is he's doing just to make it right," Jenner said.
"I find that extraordinary because if it's only five degrees allowed for a spin bowler and Murali is at 10, then it's a blatant breach of the law. This has come about because it's been carte blanche ever since the last time they looked at him."
Muralitharan has not been no-balled by an umpire since 1999, but Elliott's report is believed to show that his arm straightens by about 10 degrees when he bowls his doosra, which spins away from right-handed batsmen.
"Well if you're allowed to keep doing that, then it's open slather," said Jenner, spinning coach and mentor to Shane Warne.
He described the Muralitharan predicament as a tragedy for world cricket, and said some credence should be given to the power of the naked eye.
"If I could take my eye off the actual moment of release and just watch the ball in the air, I think it's exciting and brilliant and all those things, but unfortunately every time I watch the release I squirm in my chair," Jenner said.
"The facts are that if we allow another kid to come through doing what Murali does then the game is going to suffer ... Every kid that I've seen try to (bowl the doosra) runs in and throws it. He's going to be the most successful bowler in Test history and yet you're never going to be able to use him as a role model for any kid."
Jenner said the ICC would come under intense pressure from the Asian countries to change the rules.
Elliott, meantime, expressed disappointment at Sri Lanka's selective publication of his report, but said he thought 10 degrees of extension was a reasonable threshhold for spinner, and up to 15 degrees for a fast bowler, until a more complete database of the world's spinners could be compiled.
Chris Broad, the match referee who reported Murali after the Sri Lanka-Australia series, will not officiate in the series between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, which started yesterday, the ICC announced on Monday.
Im not really a cricket fan. Ok, Ive watched Cricket. The noise of cricket is a very familiar in the summer months. However, that said, I really just wanted to say that Im impressed with how much you have to say about it.."after grog" ;)
Posted by: Jinky | 21 April 2004 at 20:12
It seems like the people who contribute to this blog Jinky are the only ones who talk any sense about this issue. The above article just goes to show what a massive waste of time these whole testing shenanigans (I love that word!) have been. They probably got together over a few beers or Dilmah's in Murali's case and said "Ok, just roll your arm over and if its ok we can come out and say there's no more to be said. If there's a problem however, just leave it to us, we'll say something about the rules being wrong or something like that... you'll have nothing to worry about mate..."
On previous posts everyone here has said how much of a waste of time this is, and now the findings have shown it. EVEN NOW HE'S BEEN SHOWN TO BE A CHEATING LITTLE CHUCKER. If the ICC had any sort of guts, they would say to Murali to not bowl it anymore, and the first time you do, your out...finished... no more... gone.
Better still, give the power back to the umpires and if they see him bowl one... no-ball him. Everytime he attempts it, no-ball him. That will soon stop him. If Sri Lanka kicks up a stink, tell them to look at the rules. He chucks it gents... quoteth the Raven.... nevermore (or something to that effect)
The report is out, but I haven't seen anything out from the ICC on the issue as yet. Maybe I'm blind but have they said anything? I'm guessing the situation will be monitored by the ICC and they will let him bowl it until he gets past Walsh's record and deal with it after that. Gutless wonders...
Posted by: Adsy | 21 April 2004 at 20:40
There's lots to talk about, Jinkster.
"Shenenigans", a top word indeed, Ads. Like rumpus. And yep. No doubt about it, get the umps involved again. AND use cameras at the grounds. HAY. DEN. KAN. DY.
Posted by: Tony.T | 23 April 2004 at 11:12