Marlon Samuels warned of suspect action - against CSK

If you claim yourself to be a die hard Cricket fan, can you say what links these players :  E Jones  (Aus); GAR Lock (RSA); Haseeb Ahsan (Pak); Meckiff (Aus); Abid Ali & Syed Kirmani (India); David Gower (Eng); Olonga (Zim), Muralitharan (Sri Lanka); Grant Flower (Zim) …… ??

Even as the star studded MI scored less than 100 and lost badly to DDR, dust has been kicked somewhere else with  Marlon Samuels, the Pune Warriors batsman and part-time offspinner, has been reported for a suspect action following his spell against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, according to a media advisory posted on IPLT20.com, the tournament's website. Samuels was reported by the on-field umpires, Aleem Dar and Bruce Oxenford, and the third umpire Vineet Kulkarni after the game.  It is stated that as per IPL policy, Samuels will be allowed to bowl for the Warriors but should he be reported again, he "will be suspended from bowling for the remainder of the season."

Samuels had earlier been reported for a suspect action after the third Test between West Indies and South Africa in 2008 in Durban.  A closer look might make one feel that there are many bowlers with suspect action in IPL and elsewhere, especially with their special deliveries – doosra, or called by any other name. 

Sourav Ganguly is touted ‘a Good Captain with Ordinary Team’ – he is a known fighter on and off the field and he has not taken that lying down, backing
Samuels so strongly.  Expressing surprise on the warning, Sourav has suggested that there are more bowlers in IPL whose bowling actions are worser.  He tried to logically question out by stating that Marlon has been bowling for WI for more than 2 years and haw bowled in the first 3 games of IPL and has not been warned.  He queried what was different in that particular game against CSK ?

It could be too unfair but remember an Indian Off spinner by name Ashok Patel (Ashok Kurjibhai Patel) who played a handful of ODIs had a very different action and I thought he could be too difficult to be picked by any batsmen.  In his debut match against Kim Hughes’ Aussies at New Delhi in Sept 1984 – he took the wicket of Hughes and returned an impressive figure of 10-2-27-1.

Bowlers with suspect actions, called for throwing is nothing new.  On the Indian soil, Madusudan Rege reportedly was the first to be called ‘chucking’ way back in 1951 playing for Maharashtra Vs MCC.  Charlie Griffith, Ian Meckiff, Jim Higgs, Bruce Yardley were all called for suspect actions.  Muttiah Muralitharan  was put to lot of pressure and humiliation  downunder  in December 1995 by umpire Darrell Hair at Melbourne, January 1996 by umpires Tony McQuillan and Ross Emerson in Brisbane, and January 1999 by Ross Emerson in Adelaide; was subjected to bio-mechanical tests and later cleared by ICC.  He was solidly backed by Arjuna Ranatunga.  Many offies are in  the list and that includes besides Murali, Harbhajan, Saeed Ajmal, Kumara Dharmasena, Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Botha.

Shoaib Akhthar, Shabbir Ahmed, James Kirtley, Johan Botha, Abdur Razzak, - all come under the category of bowlers whose actions were reported to ICC but subsequently sanctioned.

The list that you read at the start of the post is that of some bowlers who have been noballed in Test matches for throwing !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.