Media Release – 7 June 2006

Policy on Suspect Bowling Actions

With a view to addressing suspect bowling actions in Pakistan’s domestic cricket, the following policy has been put in place by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB):

Establishment of Bowling Action Committee at National Cricket Academy

In line with the ICC policy, a Bowling Action Committee (BAC) consisting of the following members has been formed under the administrative control of the PCB Director Academies Mr Mudassar Nazar:

1.	Mr. Waqar Younis	National Bowling Coach
2.	Mr. Iqbal Qasim	Slow Left Arm Spinner
3.	Mr. Anwar Khan	Fast Bowler
4.	Mr. Khizar Hayat	Umpire
5.	Mr. Nazir Jr.	Off Spinner
6.	Mr. Shahid Aslam	Co-opted Member

Reporting Process

In case of umpires/referee suspecting any bowlers action as illegal during the match, they will report the bowler’s name along with their comments to PCB immediately by fax. The PCB will forward the report to the Director Academies for further necessary action as per approved policy.

Action At National Cricket Academy level

(i) Director Academies will appoint a bowling observer preferably from BAC with the advice to submit his report within a week’s time to the Director Academies for further action.

(ii) In case of confirmation of observer’s report, Director Academies may advise Regional Development Officers (RDOs) to arrange video footage of the said player’s bowling action (preferably during the match) and send to BAC for Quintic Analysis at National Cricket Academy (NCA). The player’s name would remain confidential till the rehabilitation period.

Action taken by Bowling Action Committee

(i) The Director will arrange BAC meeting which will review the video footage and Quintic Analysis. In case of finding an action illegal they may recommend remedial work. The decision of the BAC will be communicated to the concerned Departmental/Regional team officials and District Association.

(ii) The remedial team, consisting of the following, will work with the said player and submit its report along with video and Quintic Analysis to BAC after 4 weeks:

1. Mr. Waqar Younis
2. Mr. Nazir Jr
3. Mr. Anwar Khan
4. Mr. Aaqib Javed
5. Mr. Shahid Aslam

During this period player will not be allowed to play any level of cricket till clearance by the BAC is attained. At this stage the bowler’s name will be made public.

(iii) BAC will review the video footage, Quintic Analysis and recommendation of remedial team. In case the bowling action is not cleared by BAC the remedial team will continue to work with the said player for a further period of six weeks and then submit its recommendation along with video footage and Quintic Analysis to BAC.

(iv) BAC will again review the entire process which includes video footage, Quintic Analysis and revised recommendation of the remedial team. In case bowling action is not cleared by the BAC, the player will not be allowed to bowl at any level of cricket for a period of one year.

Right of Appeal

The player has a right of appeal to PCB for review of his bowling action by BAC after 6 months of initial suspension.

Review Process At NCA Level

(i) PCB on receipt of review appeal will advise Director Academies to initiate the process of reviewing of the bowling action of said player. Accordingly, Director Academies will advise the RDOs to arrange video footage of the said player under his supervision and submit to NCA for Quintic Analysis.

(ii) BAC will evaluate the revised video footage, Quintic Analysis and reports of remedial team.

Final Action of BAC

BAC will review the entire process as well as analytic reports of the remedial team. In case the BAC decides that the bowling action is still illegal, then the bowler with a suspect action will be given one year more to rectify his action on his own and come back to Director Academies who will arrange to review him and in case of finding the action still illegal, then the bowler will be banned for two years.

The Director Academies will submit the BAC decisions for the approval of the PCB through proper channel.

PCB Media Department

(Article: Copyright © 2006 Pakistan Cricket Board)