Ronsford Beaton is the latest West Indian bowler to be caught in the chuckers’ web.
The game of cricket is governed by the Laws Of Cricket. They consist of forty-two laws of which the latest code came into force on October 1, 2017.
Law 21.2 determines whether a bowler’s delivery is fair or unfair. For a delivery to be fair in respect of the arm the ball must not be thrown.
A ball is fairly delivered in respect of the arm if, once the bowler’s arm has reached the level of the shoulder in the delivery swing, the elbow joint is not straightened partially or completely from that instant until the ball has left the hand. This definition shall not debar a bowler from flexing or rotating the wrist in the delivery swing.
Although it is the primary responsibility of the striker’s end umpire to assess the fairness of a delivery in this respect, there is nothing in this law to debar the bowler’s end umpire from calling and signalling no ball if he/she considers that the ball has been thrown.
In an effort to appease those whom it did not want to disappoint the International Cricket Council (ICC) has allowed a “maximum permissible flexing of the elbow as 15 degrees”.
This is not however embodied in the laws but is a recommendation by the ICC and does not replace Law 21.2 which according to my information can still be applied by umpires. This recommendation hamstrings the umpires because they cannot measure this 15-degree angle with the naked eye and therefore have to make a report to the authorities to have the offending player investigated and evaluated.
This is sheer codswallop.
Most of the bowlers who are reported seem to be West Indian and it is purest folly that we allow our players to bowl in our domestic and regional competitions only be embarrassed at the level.
Let us call these players from the time they start playing and correct their actions. Let us bell the cat in the early stages and we will not have to worry about 15 degrees or any number of degrees when our players reach the international stage.
– Rollins Howard
