New Delhi: Australia’s leading wicket-taker in Sri Lanka Tests Matthew Kuhnemann has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action during last week’s second Test at Galle.
Kuhneman, who claimed 16 wickets in the two matches in Galle, was the subject of a post-match report, Cricket Australia confirmed. He will now will be required to undergo an assessment to determine whether his action is legal.
Should his action be deemed illegal following the assessment, the 28-year-old will be suspended from bowling until his action has been modified and a subsequent assessment is passed.
Kuhnemann is currently clear to continue playing domestic cricket for Tasmania but would be unable to bowl at international level while his action is assessed.
“The Australian team was notified of the match officials’ referral following the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle and will support Matt through the process of clearing this matter,” CA said in a statement, as quoted by cricket.com.au.
“Matt has played 124 professional matches since his debut in 2017, including five Test matches and four one-day internationals. He has played 55 Big Bash League games since 2018.
“This is the first time in those eight years of professional cricket that his action been questioned. Cricket Australia will liaise closely with the ICC and independent experts in line with ICC regulations.
“No further comment will be made by Cricket Australia or Matthew until the matter is resolved,” it added.
Under ICC protocols, an illegal bowling action is defined as being where the player’s elbow extends by an amount of more than 15 degrees between their arm reaching the horizontal and the ball being released.
Match officials in international cricket use the naked eye and their cricketing experience to decide whether they believe a player may be using an illegal bowling action, and, if so, they will submit a report.
The player is then tested at an ICC-accredited testing centre, using state-of-the-art technology and supervised by experts in the science of human movement. This testing process provides an answer as to whether the player is, in fact, using an illegal bowling action, and, if so, they will be suspended from bowling until they have modified their bowling action and undertaken another test successfully.
(ians)
