Make Time For Sports.
Saeed Ajmal
Saeed Ajmal: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Saeed Ajmal is in the failed 99 percentile.
What he said:
“I think 99% of bowlers these days would fail the 15 degree test for at least one or more of their deliveries.”
Ace Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is confident that he will beat the 15 degree flex rule and return in time for the 2015 World Cup.
Speaking to PakPassion.net, the banned bowler said:
“I’m very pleased with the assessment of Dr. King. It was very heartening to hear what he had to say. I was expecting a reduction to about 30 degrees but to see that some deliveries are down to 20 degrees is fantastic and positive news for me.
Also, what is really encouraging is that most of my deliveries are now within the 15 degree limit. The ICC’s rules of course stipulate that all deliveries have to be under 15 degrees and I’m very confident that I will achieve that target with the help of [former Pakistan offspinner] Saqlain Mushtaq and all the other individuals who are helping me and guiding me.”
On bowling the doosra:
“I’m working hard on adjusting the doosra to ensure that it is also under 15 degrees and I’m confident that I will manage to do that.”
Ajmal feels that the 15-degree limit is too strict.
He said:
“I think 99% of bowlers these days would fail the 15 degree test for at least one or more of their deliveries. I also think that the technology being used in match situations to assess bowling actions is too strict. I think they should use the normal television cameras to assess our bowling actions, but instead what is being used are cameras that can virtually see the blood running though our bodies.”
On whether the doosra will die out:
“No I don’t believe that will be the case. The doosra is an art and a weapon to use against batsmen. God willing when I am back playing international cricket, I will bowl the doosra with the same venom that I always have done. The doosra is part of my repertoire and a delivery that I intend to continue bowling in future.”
What he really meant:
“Well, if they bowl like me, they surely will. And the doosra, oh, for sure.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’m trying to be an off-spinner in the classical mould. None of these newfangled outlandish deliveries for me.”
Darrell Hair: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Darrell Hair thinks its hairy that Saeed Ajmal could bowl at 45 degrees or more for so long.
What he said:
“Well, every man and his dog would have known that.”
Darrell Hair is bemused with the recent crackdown on illegal bowling actions launched by the ICC.
The Australian umpire, who famously called Murali Muralitharan in 1995, said:
“Whatever they’re doing now, they’re doing 20 years too late. They had a chance in 1995 to clean things up and it’s taken them 19 years to finally come back and say they want chuckers out of the game. I can’t believe that Saaed Ajmal has been able to bowl as long as he has, and they say he is bending his arm by 45 degrees [the legal limit is 15 degrees] or something. Well, every man and his dog would have known that.
I suppose what it does show is the general weakness of the umpires over time to do anything about it.”
He added:
“People say ‘you should be happy with the way things turned out’…with the chuckers being weeded out. But it doesn’t give me any personal satisfaction whatsoever. All I was doing at any time was just doing my job and I think I did it to the best of my ability. The fact was that no other ICC umpires were willing to have a go. Ross Emerson was very adamant about his thoughts about chuckers but they soon put him into the background.
I suppose I was lucky I had a few games under my belt so they didn’t want to target me, but they certainly got him out of the way fairly swiftly. It’ll be interesting to see how many umpires are brave enough to get involved in it. I said it in the late ’90s that if something wasn’t done about it you’d have a generation of chuckers on your hands and now you have. They try to emulate Harbajan Singh and Saqlain Mushtaq and Murali and that’s the problem. The crackdown should have happened on those players and the ICC should have let it be known that it wasn’t acceptable.”
ICC general manager of cricket operations, Geoff Allardice, believes the game has reached a tipping point on this issue.
He said:
“The game had reached a tipping point on this issue, when many groups within the game felt that there were too many bowlers with suspect actions operating in international cricket.The most prominent of these groups was the ICC Cricket Committee at its meeting in June, when it observed the ICC’s reporting and testing procedures were not adequately scrutinising these bowlers. They weren’t the only ones talking about this issue, as similar views had been expressed by teams, players, umpires, referees and administrators.
Since that time the umpires have felt more confident to report their concerns with certain bowlers, and their concerns have been supported by the results of the testing of these reported bowlers.”
In India, the irrepressible Bishan Singh Bedi could not resist firing a few salvoes of his own at his favourite peeve.
He said:
“I would like to see what happens to Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) and Pragyan Ojha, now that umpires are reporting bowlers for throwing and action is being taken against them.”
Bedi added:
“The rectification had to come from the establishment.It’s no doubt late, but better late than never.”
On the timing of the clampdown:
“Timing doesn’t matter for goodness. It was ugly to watch chuckers floating around – someone throwing javelin, some shot put and others darts.”
What Darrell Hair really meant:
“If you know it, your best friend knows it.Besides, should the umpire be looking at the bowler’s arm or at the batsman? How do umpires measure the angle with the naked eye? Trained dogs, perhaps? Something like sniffer dogs, eh? Can we umpires have compasses please?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I knew it and I was labelled a dog for it, wasn’t I?
Fake Quinton De Kock: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Fake Quinton De Kock
What he said:
A fake Quinton De Kock Twitter account was in the news with leading dailies attributing the above tweet to the chubby-faced South African opening bat.
Saeed Ajmal has been banned with immediate effect from all international cricket after his bowling action was deemed illegitimate by the ICC.
Bio-mechanic analysis revealed the the Pakistani off-spinner flexed his elbow as much as 35 degrees against the permitted 15 degrees.
The bowler can apply for a reassessment anytime once his action has been rectified. However, he is permitted to take part in domestic cricket under the supervision of his country’s cricketing board, the PCB.
Maninder Singh, a former India left-arm spinner, squarely blamed the ICC for the current mess.
He said:
“”The problem started with Muralitharan. The menace should have been stopped then. If that had happened, all boards would have taken steps to prevent this.Now it (chucking) has become a norm, it is like ‘if he (Murali) can do it, anyone can’.”
On young bowlers choosing the wrong role models:
“This has ruined careers. Whether you call it 12 or 15 degrees, it is to be blamed.”
On why English and Australian bowlers are not called that often:
“People there are basically honest, and they will own up. We don’t, and in fact start backing them.”
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal said:
“”Even in my academy, so many boys bend their elbows. They see lot of cricket on TV and try to imitate them. It gets difficult to correct them once they are set in their ways.”
English: Saeed Ajmal in the field during a 50-over warm-up match against Somerset at the County Ground, Taunton, during Pakistan’s 2010 tour of England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Saeed Ajmal’s reactions:
“It is disappointing to learn the result of the biomechanic test in Brisbane but I have not given up. I don’t see the ban as a major problem as I know I can work out on the flaws and make a comeback.
Obviously, I have to follow their advice but from what I know is that once we get the full medical report, we have a right of appeal and to challenge these findings.
I want to play in the World Cup and see my country doing well and I will do whatever it takes to be ready for the tournament. I am a fighter and I know what I have to do to get back into international cricket before the World Cup.”
Bishan Singh Bedi tweeted:
Speaking to the Times of India, Bedi said:
“”It was inevitable. But it’s a decision taken too late, when all the damage has been done and Ajmal has taken so many wickets in international cricket.
What was the ICC doing till now? All those batsmen who lost their wickets to him, all those teams which lost a game because of an Ajmal spell, should they now come forward and say we have been wronged? If they can’t, then what is the point of rehabilitating these bowlers.”
Bedi added:
“Most people who claim to be mystery spinners enjoy an unfair advantage because they are being allowed to bowl illegal deliveries.What is the point of correcting their action in a laboratory and then letting them loose? Is the ICC a reformatory school? A chucker cannot reform. He is merely rendered ineffective.”
What the Fake Quinton De Kock really meant:
“Saeed Ajmal can’t bowl! Saeed Ajmal can’t bowl! With or without his 35 degrees of hyper extension…Ajmal can’t bowl…”
What he definitely didn’t (or did he?) :
“I’m famous, not Quinton De Kock.”
Number of readers subscribed
Read it on Apple News
Read it on Apple News
Stat Counter
Sports, Health and Exercise
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
Make Time For Sports. 