Australia spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Sri Lanka Test series, has been reported for a suspect bowling action, Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed on Wednesday.
“The Australian team was notified of the match officials’ referral following the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle and will support Matt through the process of clearing this matter,” CA said in a statement.
What’s next for Kuhnemann?
Kuhnemann will now have to go through an assessment to ascertain whether his action is legal.
If that process deems his action is illegal, the 28-year-old he will be suspended from bowling until his action has been modified and a subsequent assessment is passed.
He is currently clear to continue playing domestic cricket for Tasmania but would be unable to bowl at international level.
Australia’s accredited testing facility is the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, where Kuhnemann will undergo assessment in coming weeks.
That assessment is to be carried out within 14 days of the report being received by the national body with the scrutiny supervised by a member of the ICC’s panel of human movement specialists.
What defines a legal bowling action?
Under ICC protocols for dealing with illegal bowling actions that were adopted in September 2018, define a fair delivery is one whereby “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 point until the ball has left the hand”.
It also refers to scientific research that has shown almost all bowling actions contain some degree of straightening of the elbow, and a bowling action is deemed illegal when a bowler’s elbow extension exceeds 15 degrees.
A report raising concern about a player’s bowling action can be made at the end of a match by an officiating umpire or match referee, with the player involved (as well as their home administration) to be advised within 24 hours.