A biomechanical lab in Lahore has been accredited by the International Cricket Council as a testing centre for suspected illegal bowling actions, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said.
According to a media statement by PCB released on Thursday,the centre at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) will be usedfor biomechanical analysis of players at various levels with an aim ofimproving their performances and ironing out technical deficiencies.
The centre joins the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane,Loughborough University, Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai and theUniversity of Pretoria as testing centres for players reported in internationalcricket under the ICC Suspect Illegal Bowling Action Regulation.
ICC’s General Manager – Cricket Geoff Allardice, said:”I want to congratulate the Pakistan Cricket Board, which worked inconjunction with LUMS to fulfil the criteria required for an ICC accreditedtesting centre. This reflects the PCB’s effort and commitment to deal withsuspect illegal bowling actions.
“The accreditation of the LUMS University as an ICCtesting centre means bowlers reported in international cricket and Pakistan’sdomestic competitions can be referred to this facility, where they will betested according to international protocols.”
The testing centre will also help the PCB in identifying andfixing illegal bowling actions for players reported in both domestic andinternational cricket.
The facility at the LUMS was assessed against a range ofcriteria, including having an indoor area large enough to allow a player tobowl off his or her full run-up; a motion analysis system with a minimum of 12high-speed cameras capable of producing three-dimensional data, and suitablyqualified personnel experienced in using such systems and capable ofimplementing the ICC testing protocol.
The ICC has provided a full set of testing equipment andsoftware to the LUMS testing centre, as it has done with the other accreditedcentres, to allow for a consistent assessment of bowlers across the differentfacilities worldwide.
PCB Managing Director Wasim Khan said the facility will helpthem identify and rectify faulty bowling actions at an early stage.
“In the past we didn’t have a testing centre and anumber of Pakistan bowlers were called both at the domestic and internationallevel and then had to undergo remodelling of their action, often at a stagewhere it was tough for them to regain their effectiveness,” he said. “The lab will also be available to playersfrom around the world and we will work closely with the ICC to make thefacility readily available for testing of suspect bowling actions. The facilitywon’t be restricted for bowling actions only and players at all levels can sortout their technical deficiencies through biomechanical analysis under thesupervision of coaches and experts.”