It has happened for the second time that South Africa off-spinner Johan Botha has been reported for a suspect bowling action.  The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday confirmed the same. The suspect bowling action was reported by the umpires. It was the quick and Doosra deliveries bowled by Botha, which made the umpires report it to ICC, as they found the action as suspect.  It happened during the fourth international one-day match between South Africa and Australia in Port Elizabeth on Monday.

Two on-field umpires, Brian Jerling and Asoka de Silva, along with third umpire Rudi Koertzen reported the matter to the ICC. Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle has informed both the ICC and the South Africa team management of the report.

Doosra has been given the name Doosra as it spins away from a right-handed batsman rather than into him as a conventional off-break delivery does. Botha had come under the scanner for the first time in 2006, and the view is firming up that he would have to undergo an independent analysis of his action by the ICC's panel of human movement specialists. The whole exercise should be completed in five weeks. If the report comes out with a conclusion that the bowling action of Botha is suspect, his international cricketing career can come to a grinding halt.

So far, Botha has played 45 one-dayers and two tests. After getting reported for the first time for his suspect action in January 2006 and suspended from bowling, he underwent remedial therapy. After the remedial therapy, his action was found to adhere the legally defined norms of bowling and he was accorded permission to resume playing international cricket.

The moot point here is while the bowlers are being reported for illegal action why no such benchmarks are being put into place for batsmen as well. One does not have an argument about the action aspect associated with bowling, but the batsmen in their zeal to dominate bowling are experimenting quite a lot that goes against the established norms and practices. 

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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