Chucking and Pakistan cricket

Nothing can absolve the board from their callous attitude towards chucking by bowlers in domestic cricket.


Emmad Hameed September 12, 2014

Pakistan must hire the services of a renowned shrink to add to the 10-member team management in an effort to overcome the curse of losing one strike bowler after another.

Since 2010, the quartet of world-class bowlers Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Danish Kaneria and now the suspended Saeed Ajmal have been lost at either the start or the middle of careers that had the potential of being bracketed with some of the most illustrious careers ever.

While the first three had their greed lure them away from the game — Ajmal has an offending elbow to blame for his fall from grace and though he is only suspended at the moment, his return to international cricket amid the prevailing circumstances seems a far-fetched thought.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is generally criticised over the surfeit of controversies and scandals that have held the game hostage in the country in recent years.

At times the criticism is misplaced and gives the impression of a malafide campaign, but nothing I am afraid can absolve the board from their callous attitude towards chucking by bowlers in the environs of domestic cricket.

Shortly after Ajmal’s suspension, Chairman PCB Shaharyar Khan claimed that no less than 35 bowlers with dubious or suspect actions were actively involved in domestic cricket.

“We have decided to make a committee to assess bowling actions of all these suspect bowlers so that this problem is sorted out once and for all.”

On paper, the statement sounds positive and a much needed step in the right direction, but at the same time considerably agonises a follower of cricket in the country. Why a reactionary approach again? What are the match referees, coaches and umpires doing at the first-class and junior level? What is the prudence of the National Cricket Academy? Why has the PCB, as always despite a large staff at its disposal, failed to devise a mechanism to screen and eradicate chuckers from the system?

The board often alludes to the instability caused by the musical chairs for the chairman’s seat as a reason for the tumult it finds itself in.

But the lower staff, as well as the directors and the chief operating officer, have been firmly saddled in their seats for a long time now. Is it only the chairman who has to issue orders at the top? What exactly are the directors and the surfeit of committees functioning for?

If one monitors Pakistan’s domestic cricket closely, the conundrum of faulty bowling actions is accentuated — sticking out its ugly head. The recent charity matches held to help rehabilitate the Internally Displaced Persons included the cream of domestic and international stars.

The matches beamed live on the national sport broadcaster included at least two bowlers with suspect actions, including a fast bowler many were hailing as a bright future prospect.

The duo is expected to take the field once the domestic cricket season gets in full swing next month. We should know in a few days if the bowling committee identifies and reprimands their transgression. Similarly talking up the prospects of the potential replacements for Ajmal brings more heartache. Atif Maqbool, who has more than 200 first-class wickets under his belt and Adnan Rasool also with a 100 plus wickets in the longer format, are off-spinners tipped to replace the bowling wizard.

But both have chinks in their action. Maqbool has already been cautioned and asked to remodel in lieu of the ICC clampdown on ‘illegal actions’. Rasool is representing the Lahore Lions in the Champions League Qualifiers in India. The team management one hears has reposed confidence in the 33-year old.

The PCB though would be advised to refrain from fielding the pair in an international game unless they are convinced about the legitimacy of their bowling. No one knows as to how the pair, especially Maqbool (glaringly faulty action), got away with bowling and dismantling opposition in Pakistan’s premier first-class competitions.

Another depressing factor that complicates the equation further is the fact that faulty actions have been polluting the system for more than a decade now.

In the year 2001, I represented Karachi in the National U19 cricket tournament. At least two spinners playing the prestigious juniors event — had suspect actions that were let off unscrutinized.

The duo progressed leaps and bounds in a short span and represented Pakistan reserves and A’ teams.

They went onto enjoy decent first-class careers that lasted more than a decade. Even if there were doubts about their action, they were never censured by the PCB. In the last decade, the fast-bowling trio of Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed and Junaid Zia also faced the ire of match referees and umpires during their international careers, and while Akhtar got away on medical grounds, Shabbir and Zia faded away.

With the revised protocols introduced by the ICC, one is not sure if any of the trio would have been allowed to play international cricket if they were still active. There’s a growing perception among commentators, writers and cricket journalists that the PCB was caught unaware by the severity of ICC’s stance and the subsequent witch-hunt against chucking. Hence Ajmal’s misfortune is a consequence of PCB’s alleged loose grip on the matter.

But the predicament runs deep and wide — in recent years one also recalls listening to some prominent Pakistan commentators who had asked bowlers to flex their elbows to the permitted 15 degrees and accrue the advantage on offer.

Not sure if the bowlers including Ajmal heard them, but consciously or subconsciously they followed the advice to the tee and overstepped the line — not necessarily with their feet, but rather more damningly with their elbows.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2014.

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COMMENTS (7)

Khan | 9 years ago | Reply

@malik: I think he is referring to the earlier comment. Sachin was tampering the ball in 2001 SA.

SkyofBlue | 9 years ago | Reply

@malik: Someone mentioned ball tampering, so I was wondering if they were talking about Sachin in SA 2001?

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