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BCB gains extension to analyse Douglas

Suspect action: Douglas

The Bermuda Cricket Board has been given a two-week extension by the ICC to submit a report on Allan Douglas Jr’s bowling action.

Douglas, the Bermuda all-rounder, who bowls off spin, was reported for a suspect action by the umpires during a match against Singapore at last month’s Pepsi ICC Division Three Tournament in Malaysia.

The BCB was subsequently given 21 days to submit a report on Douglas’s action, which has now been extended until next Friday.

“We asked for an extension, which we got,” Neil Speight, the BCB chief executive, said yesterday.

“It had to be done in 21 days but when we got back from Malaysia we found we didn’t have what we needed, so we asked for an extension to that deadline.

“Lorenzo Tucker, the bowling coach, Arnold Manders, the head coach, and Allan Douglas, the chairman of coaching, will look at Allan Douglas Jr’s action and submit a report.

“At this level, you can go by eye or do your own video. We have match footage of him anyway.”

The ICC has been clamping down recently on suspect bowling actions of bowlers at international level, mostly off spinners.

“The ICC cricket committee is getting more and more concerned about suspect deliveries,” Speight said. “All players cited in the last five to six months have tended to be off spinners.”

Dave Richardson, the ICC’s chief executive, defended the timing of the recent clampdown on illegal bowling actions in an article with the Cricinfo website in June.

Saeed Ajmal, of Pakistan, and several other spinners have been suspended just months before the World Cup next year.

Ajmal’s absence could hamper Pakistan’s chances in the tournament.

Sohag Gazi, of Bangladesh, Prosper Utseya, of Zimbabwe, and Kane Williamson, of New Zealand, have also been reported and suspended since the ICC’s meeting in June, where recommendations were made for stronger scrutiny of bowling actions.

The timing of the ICC’s clampdown has been the subject of debate, given that the World Cup starts on February 14.

“If we decide that there’s something wrong with the game, why should we wait until after a World Cup?” Richardson said.

At question is the degree at which the bowler bends and straightens his arm, which is set at a maximum 15 degrees by the ICC before it becomes an illegal delivery.

“There are legitimate ways that you can do something special without actually changing the whole principle that you need to bowl with a straight arm,” Richardson added.