Cricket isn’t lovely with chucking controversy

“Cricket lovely cricket, it is Lords’ where I saw it” is a line from a popular calypso by Lord. Beginner many decades ago. But it is not lovely when the vexed issue of chucking or “pelting” by bowlers is brought into focus.

Former New Zealand player and television analyst Simon Doull raised a hornet’s recently with his claim that serial offender Sunil Narine is back to chucking his off-spinners in the current Indian Premier League (IPL).

In a match-winning performance, Narine produced a miserly four-over spell, conceding a mere 19 runs to go with one wicket to spur the Kolkata Night Riders (KKR) to its narrow fourrun victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, to bowl-off the former team’s 2024 campaign.

Doull though, was not fully impressed and accused the player of reverting to bending the rule to gain the illegal advantage.

Video footage of the key Knightriders spinner clearly shows a straightened, bent arm on delivery in the encounter, but the question of whether Narine has been exceeding the allowable 15 degrees, has not been addressed by umpires since 2020. In total, Narine has been suspended four times in his career, and Doull feels the player is less likely to be reported in domestic competitions like the IPL, than when he was active in international bilateral series.

It’s a view influenced by the Trinidadian’s limited career for the West Indies, as after being reported the second time while representing his home territory in 2015, he donned the maroon cap in a mere 27 limited-overs games in the subsequent four years up to 2019.

He subsequently declined West Indies continuously, proffering a series of unconvincing excuses until farcically announcing his official retirement in November 2023, when it was clear he never intended to venture under the international spotlight again after the regional team opposed India in a T20 four years prior.

Since 2020, Narine has had an uninterrupted run of service for the Knightriders, building a reputation as big as any foreigner has in the biggest and most lucrative Global T20 series.

Over the years, in between stints in Australia’s Big Bash, England’s 100, and the inaugural 2023 United States Major League, Narine became one of the world’s sought after short format player.

Yet it remains an even bigger farce that one of the world’s most marketable players’ legitimacy is still being questioned after more than 13 years in recognised competition.

Doull’s value in the commentary box might not be anywhere close to Narine’s for the Knightriders, but he is an experienced analyst who always makes the cut to cover all major competitions world-wide.

And his take on Narine, is highlighting arguably cricket’s most controversial rule in a sport blighted by unorthodox regulations and practices, some bordering on the nonsensical.

The Duckworth/Lewis method to determine winners in rain affected games takes the cake, while the outside-leg stump lbw rule is not far behind, and team’s use of the night watchman is outright ludicrous.

In the case of chuckers, they are determined by a process as flawed as any rule existing in the world of sport, given that only on-field umpires can initiate a mind-boggling process that can take weeks or even months to be concluded. If the umpires don’t make that report, for whatever reason, a player can have an entire career with an illegal action. No measures are in place for opposing teams to challenge the legality of the player under suspicion of jerking the elbow from beyond the 15 degrees of bent allowed, as per the rule.

In other sport disciplines, the competitor contravening the rules can be disqualified immediately, thus losing the contest. But bowlers can continue the entire game or even a series until an umpire’s report on the infraction is considered by world ruling body the International cricket Council (ICC). There is no penalty or loss for the team benefiting until the player is barred from competition for a period of remedial work.

A video recording or personal appearance at a testing facility in a non-competitive setting of the bowler in action with a purported re-modeled delivery is used to clear a player’s return to competition.

It means the cleared player can revert back to the illegal style immediately upon a return to action until reported again.

And if they’re as fortunate as Narine, a major star attraction in an ultra-lucrative competition run by a national ruling body which seems a law unto themselves, it makes sense to continue earning mega salaries there, where it is unlikely he will ever be reported again given the burgeoning influence the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has on the ICC.

Unfortunate transgressors like West Indies paceman of the past Jermaine Lawson lost a career, while of late, Guyana’s Ronsford Beaton seems headed along the said path.

In 2020, when Narine was reported during the IPL, the competition was nowhere near as valuable as it is currently, rated at US $10.7 billion. Reportedly, teams average US $37 million annually in revenue annually, thus, stars like Narine are vital in growing the IPL’s value primarily by boosting spectator viewing on and off the field.

It is therefore not difficult to conclude that the umpires, who are all employed by the BCCI, would think twice to put the KKR star out of the game.

Sunil Narine

Indeed, in the case of the ICC, the conclusion of the tail wagging the dog is becoming more apparent in recent times. It’s spinelessness in exerting control as the world ruling body has been abysmal in relation to the BCCI.

The Board’s unfair demands in world cricket’s revenue sharing are always met, even as detrimental as they are to smaller nations like West Indies. The IPL is always allowed an exclusive window on the world calendar, where bilateral series among other countries are non-existent. It chose to exclude Pakistan players without any intervention, and things reached a boil at the 2023 50-over World Cup when host India was allowed to prepare pitches to suit its team’s liking, a practice no other hosts dared contemplate in prior championships.

Then, to prove it was not embarrassed, the ICC approved India’s refusal to play its games in Pakistan, instead preferring a different venue for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

It means hell will have to freeze over for IPL stars like Narine to toe the line. The ICC needs a special Hall of Shame as a result.