ICC to put motion sensors on bowlers with suspect action?

The Ajmals and Narines of the world have more reason to be worried. dna has reliably learnt that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is mulling to take its war against chucking to the next level.

According to sources, the ICC Cricket Committee will discuss the possibility of using motion sensors on bowlers with suspect actions on Saturday. The panel, headed by former India skipper Anil Kumble, is in town for a two-day conclave. The game's best brains spent the better part of Friday talking about the proposed changes to the ODI playing conditions.

Back to the use of motion sensors. The ICC Cricket Committee is expected to discuss the following on Saturday: 1. How to attach the sensor to the bowler's arm on match day?; 2. Who would attach the sensors and when?; 3. How quickly after each delivery should the results be viewable off the field?; 4. What sort of calibration would be acceptable for a bowler to perform on a match day?

The committee, which also comprises Ravi Shastri, Mark Taylor and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan among others, discussed the existing playing conditions over a period of 10 hours on Friday. Sri Lanka superstar Kumar Sangakkara, part of the committee as 'current player representative', submitted his views in writing because he could not be present at the conclave.

The left-handed batsman, who was the second-highest run-getter at the recent World Cup, informed his colleagues that the use of new new balls has "not served its purpose" of providing greater balance between bat and ball.

"On the contrary, we are seeing batsmen dominate because of a combination of the harder ball and stricter fielding restrictions, leaving the bowlers with too few options. The big winners have been the 140 kph-plus bowlers and the big losers are spinners as well fast bowlers with different skills including variation of pace and most importantly reverse swing. Specialist spinners may still be playing in many sides but we have seen a player shift in their strategies. For the most part, we have seen more defensive spin bowling designed to primarily restrict runs rather than take wickets. This for me is very sad. Not only are slow bowlers impacted negatively but it is self-evident that the two-ball rule favours countries sand teams that have pace-based attacks at the expense of those with spin-based attacks. Is this not unfair and unhealthy for the diversity of the game?" Sangakkara asks.

He has also urged his colleagues to allow the use of an extra fielder outside the circle in the last 10 overs. "The current regulations are proving to be very tough on bowlers in the last 10 overs. This is providing lots of boundaries which spectators presumably want. But if we are concerned about a better balance between bat and ball, then it presents us with an issue. Perhaps a fifth fielder should be allowed (outside the circle) in the final 10 overs.

He also touched upon the inconsistent use of the Decision Review System (DRS). "Clearly, the inconsistent use of technology from series to series, including wide variation of the systems used in different series and tournaments, is a huge problem. That is confusing and unsatisfactory for players and spectators. If we can't organise 'hotspot' for the World Cup, our flagship event, then we have a big problem. This issue is not going to be resolved without the consensus of all cricket boards. And if the BCCI remains unwilling to use technology, then this issue can't be resolved by this committee," Sangakkara writes.

He also talks about the accuracy of the ball tracking technology and the possible removal of 'umpire's call' in the case of a leg-before decision. "If we have an accurate ball-tracking system, then the removal of 'umpire's call' for LBWs will most certainly be welcome. We are seeing some umpires become increasingly conservative in their decision-making because of the leeway and that is to the detriment of the game. But how can we justify this change until we have confidence in the system we use to track the ball?"