Too many chuckers in international cricket

For me, either you’re bowling or you’re not — none of this “15-degree mean elbow extension (MEE)” foolishness of the ICC which has allowed serious chuckers to break records and/or gain lucrative contracts. Take Shane Shillingford, for instance. In 2010, his action was reported by the umpires at a match in Sri Lanka (the irony is almost funny). His MEE was measured at 17 degrees so his action was deemed “illegal” by the ICC. He underwent “remedial work” on his action which was then “cleared” because his MEE was within the 15-degree limit.

Now most of us cannot tell a 30-degree difference, even with a protractor. So which umpire in the world could tell the difference between a 16-degree (or 15.1, if you want to be picky) MEE (illegal) and a 15-degree MEE (legal)? The point is, after a bowler is “cleared”, he can revert to chucking (over 15 degrees) and no umpire would be able to tell the difference between what is legal and what is not.

Even if the umpire calls “no ball”, someone is sure to ask, “So how do you know the elbow was bent more than 15 degrees?” No wonder so many chuckers are allowed to get away with it at international level.

A bowler’s action should be pure, like Michael Holding (not Brett Lee) or Lance Gibbs (not Muttiah Muralitharan). If there is any doubt at all about a bowler’s action, he should not be allowed to bowl, in any form of cricket.

Noel Kalicharan

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