Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has been reported with a suspected illegal bowling action during the first Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Thursday.
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“The match officials’ report, which was handed over to the Pakistan team manager Moin Khan, cited concerns about the legality of the 34-year-old’s bowling action,” the ICC said. Pakistan won the match by 248 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Hafeez’s bowling action will now be scrutinised further under the ICC process relating to suspected illegal bowling actions reported in Tests, one-day matches and T20Is.
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As per the ICC rules on dealing with the suspect action, Hafeez is required to undergo testing within 21 days, and, during this period, Hafeez is permitted to continue bowling in international cricket until the results of the testing are known. Hafeez is the second Pakistani behind Saeed Ajmal, also an off-spinner, to be reported in a major crackdown on bowlers with suspect actions the ICC launched in June this year. Besides Ajmal, Sri Lanka’s Sachitra Senanayake,
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New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi and Zimbabwe’s Prosper Utseya — all off-spinners – were reported and subsquently suspended to allow remedial work on their actions. Zimbabwe match referee Andy Pycrot was the common official in both the Ajmal and Hafez cases. He was also the match referee when Ajmal was reported during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka in August this year.
