The Players and coaching staff of the Bangladesh cricket team backed paceman Al-Amin Hossain to return clear after his bowling action was questioned by the match officials in the first Test against West Indies in St Vincent. The two umpires of the match found all deliveries of Al-Amin in a few particular overs illegal and reported it to the International Cricket Council as part of an ongoing clampdown on illegal bowling.
This came as a bolt from the blue as Al-Amin had never been a suspect for illegal action at any level throughout his career. It also dealt a serious blow to the already struggling side, which saw off-spinner already returned home from this tour with similar allegation.
However, the team management was hopeful about Al-Amin as the umpires in their letter mentioned particular overs when they saw something wrong in his action.
They all came after the 60th over of the innings, a fact which helped the team management to believe if something had really happened to his action that was just because of his tiredness.
‘I have seen the footages and I don’t think there is a problem,’ bowling coach Heath Streak told reporters in St Lucia. ‘But they obviously think saw something, so he has to do the testing. I feel sorry for him because he has to go through the process.
‘It’s something to worry about because his profession is cricket. So let him go through the process, I am confident that he is okay. He just got to follow the ICC procedures for that,’ said Streak.
As part of the ongoing clampdown, the ICC recently reported several international bowlers but incidentally they were all off-spinners with Al-Amin being the only exception. But Streak said there is nothing to be concerned as he is not the first fast bowler to be reported ever.
‘Yes, it is very rare,’ said the former Zimbabwean captain. ‘But in the past people like Shoaib Akhtar, even people like Brett Lee were also suspected, so it’s one of those things.
‘The other thing with Al Amin is his arm is not straight. It has got like a natural bending. From different angle it looks like his arm is bent, but from the side you can see the footage I have seen.
‘But I am not a sports scientist, so it’s hard for me to say definitely, 100 per cent, But I will be very surprised if the result come back showing that he has got a suspect action.’
Despite the report of the match officials, the team management was planning to field Al-Amin for the second Test as the ICC did not impose any bar on him. However, chief selector Faruk Ahmed told reporters in Dhaka that he was against playing Al-Amin in the Test because the umpires can call him ‘no’ any time.
The overenthusiastic comments of Faruk, who should have no role in the selection of starting line-up, has left the team management irritated as they believed it will only create some unnecessary pressure on the bowler.
They also cited the example of former Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya, who claimed a hat-trick against South Africa in the recent tri-series just a few days after he was reported by the ICC.
‘It’s normal he will feel uneasy in the match as the whole world, including the ICC, will now keep an eye on him. But I am sure he will come out clear,’ said skipper Mushfiqur Rahim.
-With New Age input
