Jasprit Bumrah and Muttiah Muralitharan have been unwittingly dragged into the drama around Aussie spinner Matt Kuhnemann being reported for a suspect bowling action. Cricket Australia confirmed on Wednesday that Kuhnemann had been reported after the second Test against Sri Lanka, and will be required to undergo biomechanical testing to ensure his action is legal.

Cricket Australia has two weeks to organise the testing, which will likely take place at the national cricket centre in Brisbane. Kuhnemann will be allowed to play Sheffield Shield for Tasmania while the test results are being analysed, but he can’t take part in any ICC-sanctioned events.

Cricket Australia expressed their surprise on Wednesday that Kuhnemann had been reported, after eight years of playing professional cricket without issue. The left-arm spinner played three Tests in India in 2023 and escaped scrutiny then.

Inevitably, Bumrah and Muralitharan have been dragged into the situation, with hundreds of comments on social media mentioning the Indian and Sri Lankan players. Murali played his whole career with a unique bowling action, and is the leading wicket-taker in Test history with 800.

ICC changed the rules to allow Muttiah Muralitharan’s action

Murali was infamously called for ‘chucking’ in 1995 in Australia during the Boxing Day Test, which created an international controversy. However he was never suspended during his 19-year career after the ICC eventually tweaked the rules to allow his action.

It was found that Murali had two deformities in his arm that mean he can’t fully straighten it when he bowls, leading to the ICC allowing a greater degree of bend for all bowlers. The laws now allow for 15 degrees of bend, but before Murali it was only five for spinners and 10 for pacemen.

Nevertheless, Aussie broadcaster Andrew Voss declared on SEN radio on Thursday morning that Kuhnemann shouldn’t have a case to answer if the ICC effectively allowed Murali to “chuck” when he bowled his wrong-un (doosra). “I’m saying Muralitharan’s ‘doosra’ was a chuck,” Voss said. “If he was green-lit, Kuhnemann has nothing to worry about. If you are going to allow the greatest bowler to have a delivery where he chucks it, Kuhnemann should be fine.”

Cricket fans call out Jasprit Bumrah after Kuhnemann reported

And Bumrah has also come in for renewed scrutiny due to the situation with Kuhnemann. Bumrah’s action raised eyebrows at the start of the five-Test series against Australia this summer, with many calling out the noticeable bend in the Indian star’s bowling arm.

But Bumrah has never been reported because the bend is deemed to be a hyperextension rather than flexion. Rather than bending his arm at a right angle, Bumrah’s actually extends beyond the usual range naturally.

Former England player and renowned bowling coach Ian Pont explained why Bumrah’s action is deemed legal in 2022. “You can see his arm straight from the wrist to elbow,” Pont wrote. “The rule is when it is above the vertical that the elbow must not bend past 15 degrees.

“You can clearly see the forward flexion in his arm, which is a hyperextension. This is allowed (a forward bend) for people with hyper-mobile joints. A hyperextension is a movement in the similar direction to the direction of movement – not downward or to the side. This is why Bumrah’s action is classified as legal since it is within the guidelines of hypermobility.”

Johan Botha speaks out on Matthew Kuhnemann situation

Queensland coach Johan Botha, who was reported twice in his career and suspended in 2006, said on SEN radio on Thursday that the stigma “never goes away” even if you get cleared. The South African, who coaches Kuhnemann in the BBL with the Brisbane Heat, said: “There’s always someone in the crowd or on the other team who will say something. This will be part of his career now unfortunately.”

Aussie cricket great Ian Healy suggested Kuhnemann might have fallen foul by trying “something new”, but insisted the spinner wouldn’t have been trying to cheat and might not even have known if he contravened the rules. Botha added: “It’s just a little hiccup for him and I’m sure it’s nothing serious. We’ll see what the results are.”

Aussie bowler Chris Green was banned for 90 days in 2020 and had to change his bowling action. While international stars Shoaib Akhtar, Marlon Samuels, Kane Williamson an Saeed Ajmal have all been suspended in the past for their actions.

Source: Yahoo News
--Agencies