The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that following remedial work and reassessment, the bowling action of Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez has been found to be legal, and the player can now resume bowling in international cricket.
On 17 November, Hafeez underwent a reassessment of his bowling action at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane where it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension for all his off-spin deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC regulations for the review of bowlers reported with suspected illegal bowling actions.
The umpires are still at liberty to report Hafeez if they believe he is displaying a suspect action and not reproducing the legal action from the reassessment. To assist the umpires, they will be provided with images and video footage of the bowler’s remodeled legal bowling action.
Hafeez was originally suspended from bowling in November 2014, but he was reassessed and permitted to resume bowling in April 2015. He was reported during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka (17-21 June 2015) and was subsequently suspended for 12 months in July 2015 after an independent assessment revealed he had employed an illegal bowling action for the second time in 24 months. If he is reported again, he will be required to undertake further analysis of his bowling action at an ICC accredited testing centre.
