The new ICC process of dealing with suspect bowling actions at the international level came into effect from Tuesday.
The amended process represents a radical overhaul of the previous system and sees changes in the testing, analysis and review procedures used to assess bowlers with suspected illegal actions. There will also be an increased commitment to dealing with the issue at the junior international level.
The original restructuring proposals were developed by a highly-credentialed panel of former international cricketers, including Aravinda de Silva, Angus Fraser, Michael Holding, Tony Lewis and Tim May, along with ICC General Manager - Cricket, David Richardson.
These proposals were then endorsed by the ICC's Cricket Committee, chaired by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, before being approved by all Test-playing countries at the ICC Chief Executives' Committee last month.
Gavaskar said that a major strength of the new procedures were that they had been recommended and endorsed by a panel that had played the game at the highest level and also had the benefit of understanding the latest research findings on the issue.
"These recommendations have the endorsement of respected former cricketers who have played the game at international level and have a deep appreciation of the issues. While the detailed scientific evidence made the case for changing the previous process compelling, it is a cricketing decision, proposed by cricketers for cricketers. The changes will make the process quicker and fairer to all players and will promote consistency in the way in which reported bowlers' actions are dealt with," said Gavaskar.
The new regulations deal with the reality established during the ICC's extensive research program, that most bowlers are likely to straighten their arm to a level undetectable by the naked eye during the bowling action.
The five key elements of the new regulations are:
1. An acceptance that the focus of the Law concerning illegal actions is that it seeks to deal with the extension of the arm that is visible to the naked eye.
2. All bowlers will be permitted to straighten their bowling arm up to 15 degrees, which has been established as the point at which any straightening will become visible to the naked eye.
3. The introduction of a shorter, independent review process under the central control of the ICC, with immediate suspensions for bowlers found to have illegal actions.
4. The overhaul and standardisation of the bio-mechanical testing of bowlers to ensure that all tests in all laboratories are consistent in the way that they measure the degree of straightening.
5. Strengthening of the initiatives to deal with the issue at international and regional Under 19 level.
ICC General Manager -- Cricket, David Richardson, said the new process retains the principle that match officials should be responsible for the identification of suspect actions, followed by scientific analysis to either prove or disprove this suspicion.
"It is important that umpires and referees retain the responsibility of reporting doubtful actions as they are the people who see most cricket and work with players around the world. They will not be asked to judge the degree of straightening; that will be determined by scientific laboratory analysis to establish if the action complies with the new regulations," said Richardson.
With no reports outstanding from the previous process, all international bowlers are now subject to the revised protocols. This means that all bowlers will be assessed on the same basis, including those who have been reported under the previous system.
Recognising that bowling actions are subject to change during the course of a career, no bowler will be 'cleared' after being reported. Any player reported twice and proven to have an illegal action within a two year period, will be suspended from international cricket for a minimum of 12 months.
In certain cases, reported bowlers may be allowed to play international cricket with a warning not to bowl a specific type of delivery that has been scientifically proven to exceed the 15 degrees limit.
A more detailed step-by-step guide to the new process and a flow chart explaining the reporting, analysis and review procedures can be found on the ICC website at www.icc-cricket.com.
More from rediff