Legality of spinners' action to be investigated

The International Cricket Council is to carry out scientific research into spin bowling to try and weed out "chucking".

David Richardson, the general manager of the sport's governing body, said research would help reduce pressure on umpires who report actions. "Let's compare what Shane Warne does with his elbow to Saqlain [Mushtaq] and all other spinners and try and find out the facts," he said. "Then we're in a better position to advise umpires as to what they need to watch out for."

An illegal delivery is defined as one in which the bowler straightens his elbow after his arm has passed his shoulder on the way up. The ICC has a two-stage process in place to analyse actions of players who are reported.

Richardson, a former South Africa wicketkeeper, said umpires are no longer being asked to call for throwing during a Test match. "We're saying, 'If you suspect something is wrong, report it and we'll take it from there'," he said.

Muttiah Muralitharan, of Sri Lanka, Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar and James Kirtley, of England, have all undergone extensive video analysis to have their actions cleared. The Sri Lanka spinner, who had taken 478 Test wickets going into the current match against England, has developed a delivery that goes the other way from his normal off-spinner.

Richardson emphasised that no players could be cleared for life as actions may change over time. "What [a bowling review is] saying is an action up to that point is OK or not OK. You could go out the next day and be called again," he said.