10 Players Whose Bowling Action Got Them Into Trouble

In cricket throwing or chucking refers to an act of deliberately straightening the arm while delivering the action. It is deemed illegal in cricket.Recently the cricketing world was shaken by a controversy that changed the way we approached the game. Saeed Ajmal, one of the best bowlers in the world was banned for an illegal action. The recent news says Sunil Narine is also under the scanner for his action. This comes as a shocking piece of news as it might have serious repercussions on way we see the game and forces us to ponder whether there was any need of this. Well cases like these are not new to the game of cricket. We have seen a lot of careers being affected because of this. Let’s take a look at a few classic cases that have affected the game and the players themselves .

Bowlers Caught for a Suspected Action

Muttiah Muralitharan

One of the legends of modern era, he has been in controversy throughout his career because of his bowling action. He had to undergo various action tests to prove him and has somehow managed to get through narrowly. He has been looked upon with suspicion by various schools of thoughts existing in cricket. He has been called a chucker by many greats of international cricket and he has always answered with his brilliant bowling.

One of the famous events include the famous boxing day test match of 1995 in  Melbourne where Muralitharan was no balled seven times by umpire Daryl Hair and lead to severe outrage in the Sri Lankan camp which sought immediate remedy to this problem. Muralitharan’s action was declared legal by ICC on 2 occasions in 1995 and 1999. However, even today many players are unhappy with that verdict.

Johan Botha

He was the once the backbone of the south African spin department who was known to bowl his cheeky sliders and use to kill the runs using his nippy variations.However his action came under controversy and that too on two occasions in his career.In 2005 he claimed Hussey as his first scalp, but at the of the match  ICC concluded that his action was flawed and he was discontinued from bowling. He later made a comeback in afro asia cup in 2007 but his action came under suspicion again in 2009 where components of his bowling like doosra and the quicker one came into question. He was suspended again by ICC and later made a comeback afterwards with a changed bowling action.

Harbhajan Singh

The turbanator of Indian cricket has also been center of many controversies throughout his career. He has seen many ups and downs in his career. One of the most famous out of them has been the one on his action that came under the scanner in indo pak series in 2005.His ‘doosra’ was scrutinized thoroughly but later he was given a clean chit by the ICC.

Marlon Samuels

Marlon Samuels who has been West Indies reliable all rounder got himself into trouble for his action. He was banned in 2008 for a suspected bowling action. He was barred from bowling till he corrected his action. Later he came back but soon fell into a match fixing scandal which tarnished his reputation as a player.

Trevor Chappell

Trevor Chappell, one of the iconic Chappell brothers, came into news for all the wrong reasons. In 198, he bowled an underarm delivery which lead to his suspension. Although this event is almost 35 years old but stays in the mind of cricketing fans as an ugly violation of spirit of the game.

Amit Singh

Singh came into prominence with his astonishing spell of 3/9 against KXIP in 2009 edition of IPL where he represented the franchise Rajasthan Royals. However, later study found that his action was flawed and needed to be scrutinized. He was banned but cleared after a week and came back only to be removed due to a match fixing scandal which exposed his double standards as a cricketer.

Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik who has held the mantle of Pakistan middle order for quite a few years also came into the scanner for his action especially his doosra which has threatened the careers of many bowlers. However he corrected this by undergoing an elbow surgery.

Shane Shillingford

On 20 November 2010 straight after his first international match umpires Asad Rauf, Richard Kettleborough and Steve Davis reported Shillingford for a suspect action. It was found that Shillingford bent his arm by 17 degrees while bowling, rendering his action illegal and on 21 December 2010 the International Cricket Council announced he had been suspended from bowling in international cricket until his action could be remodeled and reassessed. Following the news that Shillingford could not bowl in international cricket, he was dropped from the Windward Islands’ squad for the 2010–11 Caribbean Twenty20. Instead he was sent to the Sagicor High Performance Centre to work on his bowling action for three-months. After testing in May 2011, it was announced that Shillingford’s action was legal and he would be allowed to resume bowling in international cricket.

James Kirtley

He was quite a clever bowler in his prime time. He used his sharp variations to deceive batsmen. But he was later found guilty of chucking and was asked to change his bowling stance. He came back with a changed action but had to compromise on speed.

Shabbir Ahmed

One of Pakistan’s sharpest bowlers in modern era, Shabbir Ahmed was once booked for such an offence. He was banned from all forms of cricket for one year in 2005 by the ICC for a suspected illegal action.He later came back in 2006.