'50-50 Chance of Lawson Return'

It has been seven months since Jermaine Lawson was reported to the ICC for throwing and no one knows for sure when the fast bowler will make his return to competitive cricket.

According to chairman of the WICB's medical panel Dr Akshai Mansingh, the chances of Lawson playing in next month's Carib Beer Cup competition is no better than 50-50 and the slow pace of his recovery from strenuous activity has further pushed the schedule back.

"Medically, there's a 50-50 chance he could play in the Carib Beer Cup next year," Dr Mansingh said in an interview with CaribbeanCricket.com, making it clear the 50-50 estimate did not take into account the ICC-mandated process to determine the legality of Lawson's bowling action.

Lawson, who was sent to Australia for continued remedial work after he failed a 'throwing' test, has complained of severe back pain on his return from Australia.

The coaching staff in Jamaica immediately shut him down from any physical activity for several weeks, leading to increased worry around the Caribbean that Lawson's back injury could be career-threatening.

However, Mansingh made it clear the pain was related mostly to the intense remedial work and is not the result of a chronic back injury.

Lawson has been included in Jamaica's training squad for the upcoming Carib Beer Cup but the realistic feeling is that he'll sit out the tournament and continue the work on fixing his illegal action.

Under ICC rules, Lawson is allowed to play international cricket and have the WICB's bowling review committee analyse his action under match conditions. There is no rule that requires ICC clearance before he is allowed to play for Jamaica.

Separately, it is likely Jerome Taylor will also sit out the Carib Beer Cup to recover from the lower back strain that ruled him out of the current tour of South Africa. The WICB plans to recommend to the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) that Taylor be shut down until the root cause of the injury could be diagnosed and fixed.

There is concern in some quarters that Taylor may have developed the injury while trying to bowl too fast in Zimbabwe. "He is effective at 85-87 miles per hour. That's his comfort zone," said one coach involved with the teenage pacer. "In Zimbabwe, he was getting up to 90 miles per hour and his body can't handle the strain associated with that pace...We need to get it in his head that he can be successful at 85-87 mph."

Prior to the tour of Africa, biomechanical analysis of Taylor's delivery detected a 'mixed' action and some lateral flexion. "He bends to the left when delivering the ball and the combination of a 'mixed' action and lateral flexion will lead to lower back problems. We are aware of this with Jerome," Seepersaud told CaribbeanCricket.com in an interview last month.

Seepersaud said Taylor's delivery stride closely resembled that of former pacer Ian Bishop, who had a superb career interrupted by a debilitating back injury. "We have seen side-by-side video clips of Taylor and Bishop and the similarities are striking. And that was just before Bishop's injury," Seepersaud explained.

South African biomechanics expert Dr Richard Stretch, during a recent stint in Jamaica, reviewed Taylor's action and prepared a report recommending minor tweaks to the delivery stride to avoid strain on his lower back.