Doosra

Muralitharan's doosra was the subject of an official report by match referee Chris Broad during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in 2004, for illegal bending of the arm at the elbow during the bowling action. Subsequent biomechanical tests conducted at the University of Western Australia in Perth showed that Muralitharan was straightening his arm by angles of up to 10 degrees prior to delivering doosras, well outside the International Cricket Council (ICC) acceptable guideline of 5 degrees for spin bowlers.[7] (Straightening the bent arm at the moment of delivery imparts added ball speed due to the action of the triceps muscle: this is one of the ways baseball pitchers generate ball velocity.) Muralitharan was subsequently instructed by Sri Lanka Cricket not to bowl the doosra in international cricket. In November 2004, the International Cricket Council conducted more research into illegal bowling actions and found that many great bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shaun Pollock, whose actions were considered legitimate, were actually transgressing the 5 degree guideline.[8][9] A rule change was proposed and accepted at a meeting of ICC chief executives in early 2005, stating that any bowler may straighten the arm up to 15° (which was earlier 9° for spinners and 12° for seamers) and Muralitharan's doosra once again became a legal delivery.[10]

In February 2006, in an attempt to silence the Australian crowds and their "no ball" chants, Muralitharan took another test at the University of Western Australia, which saw all of his deliveries deemed legal under the new relaxed definition including the doosra which was specifically changed to accommodate him rather then ban his delivery.

The doosra of Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh was the subject of an official report by match referee Chris Broad, on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Mark Benson, and TV umpire Mahbubur Rahman after the second Test between India and Bangladesh at Chittagong in December 2004. It was reported that his arm is straightened by angles of up to 10 degrees, 5 degrees within the new ICC tolerance levels.[11]

Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik was also reported for his doosra before the first Test between Australia and Pakistan in December 2004. Biomechanics tests, similar to those performed on Muralitharan, were conducted, and he did not bowl in subsequent Tests in that series. Unlike many other cricketers accused of throwing when bowling their doosra delivery, Malik is also a capable batsman, and some analysts speculate that he might focus on his batting if prevented from bowling this delivery.

Malik returned to bowling in May 2005 following remedial work. He was reported again, alongside Shabbir Ahmed, after the first Test against England at Multan in November 2005.

In May 2006, Malik opted for elbow surgery to correct his bowling action. He and the Pakistan Cricket Board had previously unsuccessfully argued that a 2003 road accident caused the damage to his elbow which makes his action appear suspect. Malik returned to play in June 2006 but does not bowl the doosra any more.[12]

South African Johan Botha has been reported for his version of the doosra after the 3rd Test match against Australia in January 2006. Botha was playing in his maiden test match at the time, taking 2 wickets. His bowling was later ruled illegal, and he was banned, though this ban was lifted in November 2006.[13] However, in April 2009, he was called for a re-assessment of his bowling action after the series in Australia.[14] In May 2009, he was allowed to bowl all types of deliveries except the doosra, which was deemed to exceed the 15-degree limit.

A Pakistani cricketer, Saeed Ajmal is an off-spin bowler who used the doosra as a mystery delivery by disguising it well. His technique was noted for causing more spin than speed, to his personal preference. In April 2009, Ajmal was reported by umpires for having a suspect bowling action.[15] An independent test the following month, reaffirmed later by a subsequent thorough investigation by journalist George Dobell with extensive discussion with the ICC conducted and released in 2012, made clear that Ajmal's bowling action falls well within the legal bounds set by the ICC for bowlers.[16] Ajmal also had a mystery delivery called teesra which he used against England's Stuart Broad in test series at UAE in 2011–12. However, he was banned in September 2014 after his action was deemed illegal for all deliveries by the ICC as part of the clampdown on illegal actions. Although initially he hoped to make the 2015 Cricket World Cup he subsequently ruled himself out in December 2014 after deciding not to get his action retested by the ICC[17] and although his ban was lifted in February 2015[18] did not feature in the showpiece event.

The doosra of Bangladeshi bowler Shohag Gazi was very difficult for Indian batsmen to read and play in his first match against India. After that series Shohag Gazi was accused by the ICC of using an illegal bowling action. After changing his action under ICC rules, he became an ineffective bowler and was subsequently dropped from the national team.