Remediation Report — Mr. Muttiah Muralitharan

April 2004

Daryl H. Foster

Mr. Muttiah Muralitharan (Murali) was cited by Match Referee, Mr. Chris Broad, at the conclusion of the recent Test Series, Sri Lanka versus Australia. The report indicated that an investigation should be carried out into a particular delivery termed the "doosra", which means the "other one" or the "one that goes the other way".

The Sri Lankan Cricket Board (B.C.C.S.L.) requested me to arrange for a full biomechanical assessment of Murali's "doosra". This was to be undertaken in the Biomechanics Laboratory at the University of Western Australia. It should be noted that Murali did not bring with him any master tape supplied by the I.C.C. This is a requirement under points 2.1, 2.2 and 4.2 of the I.C.C. Standard Analysis Protocol. However, Murali did bring with him some video tape from his own personal collection, showing him bowling his "doosra" in the recent Australia-Sri Lanka Test series.

INITIAL BOWLING ASSESSMENT

Murali was first subjected to an Anthropometric assessment which confirmed previous results of Murali having a permanently flexed bowling arm with an excessive carry angle, but also with greater than normal shoulder and wrist flexibility. Murali then bowled in the Biomechanics Laboratory under simulated match conditions.

Mr. Bruce Yardley was in attendance to validate that the deliveries Murali was bowling were in fact "doosras", and were delivered with the same technique as he had witnessed in the recent Test Series. Mr. Yardley, a former great off-spin bowler, was a Television Commentator at the recent three Test Match Series, Sri Lanka versus Australia.

This initial test indicated Murali straightened his arm by an average measure of 14 degrees. This is 9 degrees over the I.C.C. Tolerance Level for spin bowlers which is currently 5 degrees.

After reviewing the results with the University of Western Australia Biomechanics group and Murali, it was decided to conduct another test the following day (2nd April), to ascertain if changes to bowling technique in anyway modified elbow angle during delivery. It was apparent that Murali bowled the "doosra" from wide of the crease and with an "open" action. It was decided that if he could get more "side-on" and deliver the "doosra" closer to the stumps, that this could reduce the amount of straightening of the arm — i.e. between the horizontal arm position and ball release.

This test on 2nd April looked at only a few deliveries to ascertain if the result warranted a remedial programme being put in place. The results obtained showed a positive shift which indicated a 5-day remedial programme might make a significant difference. A re-test date was set for 7th April.

MURALI'S TECHNICAL PROBLEM

Murali began his run up at too much of an angle to the bowling crease. This resulted in Murali bowling wide on the crease which caused his bowling action to be quite open. Due to his permanent elbow flexion and carry angle, Murali does require a more horizontal rotation to allow his bowling arm to rotate efficiently. Therefore he will never be able to be completely side-on. Murali was unaware he had drifted into this open bowling position which had occurred over a period of time. Murali felt that this more closed approach and vertical arm rotation would aid his effectiveness and he was enthusiastic about making the change.

Murali's "doosra" is an extension of his top-spinner where the back of his bowling hand faces the batsman just prior to delivery. I would suggest that Murali's greater than normal shoulder and wrist flexibility greatly improves the success of this delivery.

REMEDIAL PROGRAMME

For the next five days Murali bowled in the nets twice a day to implement these changes to his technique. Throughout my coaching career at First class level, I have not come across a bowler, with the possible exception of Lillee, who knows his body and his technique better than Murali. He was able to adjust to the technical changes quite easily, as he maintained he used to bowl with this technique earlier in his career. Changes made include:

*Reduced angle of run-up with approach now much straighter.

*Delivery from much closer to the stumps.

*Technique to become more side-on with back foot close to parallel to the crease, hips and shoulders facing the stumps and looking behind the front arm.

*Alignment of the feet in the delivery stride to become more angled towards the onside.

It was envisaged these changes should enable Murali's bowling arm to arrive at the horizontal position, having traversed a more vertical plane. The result would be to reduce the amount of overall extension of his bowling arm between the horizontal position and ball release.

RE-TEST

Murali was re-tested on Wednesday, 7th April, at 5.30 p.m. This test conformed to all I.C.C. protocols. The result revealed a significant improvement, with the amount of elbow straightening of the "doosra" delivery reduced from 14 degrees, which was recorded in the initial test, to 10 degrees in the re-test. Allowing for this substantial improvement, Murali is still 5 degrees in excess of the I.C.C. Tolerance Limit for spin bowlers. The protocol of "test — remediate — re-test", also used with Shabbir Ahmed, has again produced an improved result. In both the initial and post-test, Murali bowled with an upper arm rotational speed which corresponds to television coverage of his Doosra delivery.

REVIEW: Coaches Perspective

Murali is now bowling the "doosra" with a more side-on action which has reduced the amount of straightening of his bowling arm between horizontal and ball-release to 10 degrees.

Ten degrees of straightening bowling the "doosra" is still 5 degrees above the tolerance limit set by the I.C.C. for spin bowlers. However, the following should be taken into consideration.

I.C.C. tolerance figures of 10 degrees, 7.5 degrees and 5 degrees for bowlers ranging from fast to spin, are based on what information, studies or research?

Without knowing what the situation is with other spin bowlers, it would seem unrealistic to ban Murali's "doosra" without the benefit of proper research having been undertaken into "normal" spin bowlers.

Other off-spin bowlers, in particular Harbhajan, Saqlain and Shoaib Malik, all bowl the Doosra delivery which suggests for comparison purposes their "other one" should also be analysed.

Murali's arm velocity from horizontal to ball release is very similar to that of Shabbir Ahmed's, a fast bowler recently tested at the University of Western Australia. This raises the question of why 10 degrees of extension for a fast bowler is acceptable, with only 5 degrees of tolerance granted to a spin bowler whose arm speed is similar.

The question also has to be posed as to when does a bowler gain an advantage from "straightening". Marc Portus, in his latest research into fast bowling, suggests 15 degrees as being a point after which there may be some speed advantage gained by the fast bowler. However no such research has been conducted into spin bowling. It may be that 15 degrees of extension be allowed to all types of bowlers no matter what speed they bowl at, beyond which it be termed an illegal delivery.

Marc Portus' fast bowling research investigated thirty-four deliveries bowled by twenty-one fast bowlers. Fourteen of these deliveries were in excess of the I.C.C. Tolerance Level of 10 degrees. When the tolerance level was raised to 15 degrees there were still four illegal deliveries. This indicates there are fast bowlers who are regularly operating outside legal limits, whereas Murali only bowls his "doosra" approximately one in every twelve deliveries.

It is possible that the straightening of the elbow by all types of bowlers is a biomechanical reality. It is my contention that since fast bowlers have been operating with a front-on action, they have regularly extended their elbow more than the accepted limit, particularly when they bowl short-pitched deliveries.

The analysis of Murali's "doosra" conducted at the University of Western Australia's Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science used the most up-to-date technology and highly trained staff to determine the degrees of straightening of his bowling arm.

This process needs to be used earlier in a bowler's development so as to provide a factual base for future discussion of the laws pertaining to legitimate bowling actions.

In conclusion Murali, who has been tested more than any other bowler in the history of the game — 1995, 1999 and now 2004, possesses different physical characteristics which make him a unique bowler.

The results from these tests suggest that a straightening of 10 degrees when he bowls his Doosra is not excessive and that should not therefore be deemed advantageous.

Sincerely

Daryl Foster OAM

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