The International Cricket Council's (ICC) assertion that greats such as Sir Richard Hadlee, Dennis Lillee and Imran Khan threw the ball is "grossly insulting and degrading to the history of cricket," former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith charged yesterday.
"The trio would have been utterly shocked with such allegations. To be heaped with praise over the years and having been named in the best teams in the world and then be called a chucker is an absolute insult," he said.
Cricket Australia also defended three of their top pace bowlers on Monday after Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan accused them of bowling illegal deliveries.
An ICC committee of former Test players, supported by scientific equipment, found that almost every international bowler straight-ened his arm at some stage in their delivery and recommended a rule allowing bowlers to straighten their arms by up to 15 degrees.
The ICC committee found that even Steve Harmison, Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock are chuckers under existing rules, while Lillee, Khan, Hadlee, Fred Trueman and Ian Botham also threw the ball.
"The use of scientists has transgressed the rules to the letter of the law by degrading not only fast bowling but also Hadlee, Lillee and company who have been purists and models for bowlers," Smith said.
Smith, who played 63 Tests and 98 one-day internationals for New Zealand from 1980 to 1992, added that it was a "ludicrous system now that is pointing fingers at great bowlers with flippant comments."
He did not agree that the proposal to allow up to a 15-degree of bending of the bowling arm could mean injecting some excitement and entertainment into a code notorious for its rigid rules.
"Allowing bowlers to chuck the ball will also mean the dismissal of batsmen. Why should the batsmen be on the receiving end?" he said.
As a TV broadcaster, Smith and fellow commentator and former New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney caused a furore in the 2002 season when they aired their concerns about the legitimacy of the bowling action of Black Caps pace bowler Kyle Mills.
He said television played a major role in detecting illegitimate actions, as in the case of Pakistani quick Shoaib Akhtar.
Muralitharan's doosra delivery was outlawed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last May after a report concluded that the Sri Lankan bent his arm during delivery and so threw the ball.
At present, spinners are permitted five degrees of bend, medium pacers 7.5 and fast bowlers 10. Muralitharan's doosra was initially measured at around 14 degrees.
However last week an ICC bowling committee recommended that all bowlers be allowed to straighten their arms by up to 15 degrees, prompting Muralitharan to say he had been put under unfair scrutiny because of his haul of 532 test wickets.
"[Glenn] McGrath is bowling about 13 [degrees], [Jason] Gillespie about 12 and Brett Lee about 14 or 15," Muralitharan said on Monday in a radio interview.
"So what about them then, the Australian players?" added the second-leading Test wicket-taker who has twice been called for "throwing" in Australia and refused to tour the country this year.
However, Cricket Australia (CA) said it was a "gross distortion" to label the trio as "chuckers" based on the ICC's report which found that the laws of nature meant all bowlers flex their arms to an extent upon delivery.
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
TAIWANESE WIN: Chan Hao-ching and Wu Fang-hsien and their partners won their first-round matches in the women’s doubles at the All England Lawn Tennis Club Late-night finishes and five-set matches are becoming a habit for Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon this year. On Wednesday, he wrapped up his win over Gabriel Diallo before the match was suspended — making sure the fifth-seeded American would not have to come back on court for a fourth straight day. Fritz overcame a bloodied elbow to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 4-6, 6-3 on No. 1 Court a day after he finished off another five-set win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a match that was halted on Monday at about 10:15pm after Fritz forced a fifth set with Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew looming. He
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned