Throwing under unwelcome spotlight again

Throwing, a dormant issue for nearly 30 years, has been thrust under an unwelcome spotlight again after West Indian Jermaine Lawson was reported on Monday for a suspect bowling action.

Australian Brett Lee and Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar are other leading fast bowlers to have their actions queried since the throwing controversy was revived in 1995 with the no-balling of Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Lawson was reported to the International Cricket Council after taking seven for 78 in Australia's first innings during the fourth Test in Antigua and will work with specialist advisors for the next six weeks.

Lee and Akhtar have undergone remedial action, as did Sri Lankan left-arm paceman Ruchira Perera after the Lord's Test against England last year. Muralitharan, who bowls with a bent arm, has been cleared twice by the ICC, who have concluded he does not straighten his arm during delivery.

The question of illegal deliveries plagued international cricket for several years after the 1958 England tour of Australia.

England, who lost 4-0, were convinced that several Australian bowlers were throwers, including left-armer Ian Meckiff who generated express pace from a casual approach.

The international authorities demanded action and in 1960 Frank Lee no-balled South African Geoff Giffin 11 times in the Lord's Test against England, a match in which the fast bowler became the first person to take a hat-trick at cricket's headquarters. It proved to be Giffin's last Test.

Meckiff remodelled his action but was called for throwing by Colin Egar four times in his only over in the first Test against South Africa in 1963. He did not bowl again and retired immediately after the match.

In the same year there had been mutterings about West Indies fast bowler Charlie Griffith during the series against England.

Griffith had been no-balled in the 1961-2 series against India and a number of Australians were openly critical of his action during their losing 1965 series in the Caribbean.

In the following year, Griffith was no-balled in England but that effectively spelled the end of throwing as an issue until Muralitharan was no-balled in Australia eight years ago.