LAHORE - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Friday issued a show-cause notice to all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez for criticising the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules related to reporting suspect bowling actions.
Hafeez, who was recently cleared for bowling after facing suspension for the third time, had criticised the implementation of ICC's rules on bowling action during an interview with BBC Urdu. “There are so many things influencing [who gets called for suspect actions], it has a lot to do with the power of [some] boards and nobody wants to take them on,” Hafeez told BBC Urdu.
The all-rounder said when he was tested for suspect bowling action, he was surprised to find out that a naked eye was able to see that he was bending his arm a degree or two more than the maximum 15-degree limit. “Mostly there are soft corners and relations between people which no one wants to spoil. What I say is, why not implement the rule and get every bowler in the world to go through [the testing process]. What’s the difficulty in that?”
“So I have my doubts about this [calling system]. This is suspicious, why are match referees or on-field umpires not able to see those flexing up to 35 but me with 16 degrees?” the veteran campaigner with 50 Tests, 200 ODIs and 81 T20 Internationals under his belt had asked. The sources in the PCB said that ICC officials had expressed their displeasure at the remarks after which Hafeez was issued the show-cause notice.
On April 17, Hafeez underwent a re-assessment of his bowling action at the Loughborough University where it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension in his bowling action was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations. Hafeez was first suspended from bowling in December 2014 after he was reported in November 2014 during a Test series.
