Checking the ‘chucking’ menace in domestic cricket

September 19, 2014 02:25 am | Updated November 16, 2021 05:48 pm IST

A.V. Jayaprakash, S. Venkatraghavan, Javagal Srinath

A.V. Jayaprakash, S. Venkatraghavan, Javagal Srinath

The best method to curb the menace of ‘chucking’ is to catch them early; ideally at the age-group level.

If somebody with an illegal action operates in international cricket, it means the system has failed.

‘Chucking’ was rampant in the Indian domestic scene about five years back. There were close to 150 bowlers who were either “called” or reported for illegal action.

The BCCI’s bowling action review committee, comprising S. Venkatraghavan, Javagal Srinath and A.V. Jayaprakash, had a job on its hands. Once the umpires either “called” the bowler, if he was a blatant ‘chucker’, or reported him, the trio assessed his action using video footage from different angles.

Here, the BCCI’s decision to have as many as six video cameras capturing the images of all its matches from the under-16 level has been of immense help.

After each member sent his independent assessment, the report went back to the umpires and the respective home association. If it said “Needs correction”, these bowlers went to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) or the home association for remedial help. If the bowler ‘chucked’ again, even after corrective measures were taken, the umpires were free to ‘call’ him.

The erring bowlers were also asked to bowl in front of the panel. The trio discovered that bowling under controlled conditions was much different from operating in matches as seen from the footage.

No flexion rule

The trio decided against going by the 15 degree flexion rule. A BCCI official said, “At one stage we had over 150 bowlers with suspect action. It was impossible to apply the 15-degree rule when so many bowlers were tested.”

The trio relied on a simple method — if the bowling was different from what they had seen in the video footage, they deemed it suspect. The board official said, “It then became clear that the bowler was deliberately attempting to mask the illegality of his action and bowling differently.”

In any case, there was sufficient evidence from the video cameras to back their ruling.

The BCCI way of empowering the umpires to ‘call’ differed with the ICC method that discouraged umpires from ‘calling’.

Now the number of those with illegal bowling action has come down to around 20, but bowlers continue to be reported in domestic cricket which means the problem persists; some, rather deviously, have evaded the system even after being reported once.

A senior umpire said, “There was a period four years ago, when the BCCI encouraged the umpires to ‘call’.”

To its credit, the BCCI has enlisted former top-rated Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel to guide emerging Indian umpires.

Till two years ago, the bowlers were sent to the NCA for remedial action. These bowlers were divided into two groups; those with a technical flaw and those who did so deliberately.

A prominent coach said, “There was little point in working on bowlers who chucked knowingly. The focus was on those who needed technical assistance. It often boiled down to body alignment.”

Psychological impact

There were also psychological issues to cope with once a bowler switched to a clean action; he could no longer impart extra spin or bowl with greater pace because of the extension of the arm.

In the last two years, though, the bowlers are being sent back to their respective associations and coaches than to the NCA for greater continuity in their rehabilitation.

A BCCI coach said, “A better way would be to invite the home association coaches to the NCA and get them to watch the process. A seminar could also be conducted for them.”

Now, the BCCI could also send the bowlers to Sri Ramachandra University’s bio-mechanical laboratory in Chennai.

A BCCI umpire said, “There has been a decline in the number of bowlers with suspect action in India. Most glitches are ironed out at the age-group level.”

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi said, “There was one bowler in Delhi who I didn’t bowl in three or four games just to prove a point. They (chuckers) shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near club or first-class cricket.”

The earlier a suspect action is corrected, the better it is for the game. 

(With additional inputs from Arun Venugopal) .

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