Holding: Politics Promotes Pelting

Michael Holding, the West Indies fast bowling legend, says that cricket politics are preventing some bowlers being reported for suspected illegal bowling actions.

Holding, an influential and highly respected member of the ICC expert committee that helped develop the 15 degree levels of tolerance now used for international bowlers, told the April issue of Cricinfo Magazine that, "politics is preventing people from doing what they should" and that the way to tackle the problem of illegal actions was, "to get people in authority who have the backbone to do what is right, and not what is politically expedient."

While endorsing the use of the 15 degree ruling and the detailed laboratory analysis of bowlers' actions, Holding says there is a problem with the reporting of certain players.

"Once you see something with the naked eye, you should be reporting it and having it assessed and measured properly. The difficulty is in the politics surrounding it, with people afraid to report certain players."

The ability of umpires to interpret potentially flawed actions is further complicated by issues like hyper-extension and adduction, which can effectively create optical illusions.

Holding says: "That's why there are problems, because the umpires will not call anybody on the field. I did something with Shoaib Akhtar at the end of the Test match in Karachi, when I compared him to RP Singh to show that both have hyperextension. When you look at Shoaib Akhtar and RP Singh from the front, you see a bent arm with one and a straight arm with the other. As I said, politics is preventing people from doing what they should."

In a wide ranging feature interview, the former champion looks forward to the emergence of a new generation of great West Indies fast bowlers: "It will come around, and the West Indies will develop great fast bowlers again."