Ajmal extended elbow by up to 40 degrees
Pakistan off-spinner’s elbow extension during testing reached levels twice over the allowed limit set by the ICC.
Saeed Ajmal had an average elbow extension of more than twice the allowable limit during testing of his bowling action in Australia last month following which the off-spinner was banned from bowling by the ICC.
| Over-by-over testing |
|
1st: Over the wicket: Average elbow extension 39 degrees 2nd: Over the wicket: 37 degrees |
Ajmal recorded an astonishing 40 degrees with a relatively small standard deviation of 2.5 degrees at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, according to a 23-page report by the NCC on the tests last month.
The rules allow for an elbow extension of 15 degrees.
The report says none of the deliveries by Ajmal during the eight overs of testing – some overs were not of the usual six balls – came close to meeting International Cricket Council regulations.
During testing, Ajmal bowled offspin from both over and around the wicket, the doosra, and quicker balls.
“It is very disappointing to know the results of the tests but I am a fighter and I know what I have to do to get back into international cricket before the World Cup,” Ajmal had said.
The off-spinner has pulled out of the domestic Twenty20 event and is undergoing remedial work in Lahore.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief medical officer Dr Sohail Salim attended the testing, during which Ajmal was monitored by 27 cameras, including two high-speed cinematic cameras and three high-speed mobile video cameras.
The experts were satisfied with Ajmal’s replication of his suspected deliveries from when he was reported during the lost first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last month.
The assessment said Ajmal appeared to have hypermobility of the right wrist due to an earlier injury