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Malcolm Waller

ZIMBABWE off-spinner Malcolm Waller has been tested in South Africa, under the International Cricket Council process relating to suspected illegal bowling actions reported in Test, One-Day and Twenty20 International matches.

The player and Zimbabwe Cricket now await the test result, which is expected in a fortnight.

The scrutiny came after Waller was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, during Zimbabwe’s second Test match against Bangladesh in Khulna last month.

Waller was tested on Sunday at the University of Pretoria, which has just been accredited as a testing centre for suspected illegal bowling actions.

The centre joins three others: Cricket Australia’s National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, Loughborough University in England and the Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai, India, as ICC-approved testing facilities for players reported under the ICC regulations covering suspected illegal bowling actions.

The ICC has provided both hardware and software to the four accredited centres, so that there is a consistent assessment of bowlers across the different facilities and countries.

An ICC statement says the accreditation of the University of Pretoria is part of the world cricket governing body’s efforts to tackle the issue of illegal bowling actions in a number of ways, including the location of accredited testing facilities in each region.

In assessing a facility, the ICC considers, among other criteria, whether it has an indoor area large enough to allow a player to bowl off their normal full run-up, a motion analysis system with a minimum of 12 high speed cameras capable of producing three-dimensional data and suitably qualified personnel.

The statement adds that with several countries showing interest in hosting similar centres so that they can also test bowlers in their domestic competitions, the ICC hopes to assess and accredit a select range of additional facilities in future. – ZimCricket