Sachithra Senanayake and Kane Williamson cleared to bowl by the ICC

Sachitra Senanayake has been cleared to bowl by the ICC

In a hugely relieving news for Sri Lanka and New Zealand respectively, off-spinners Sachithra Senanayake and Kane Williamson have been cleared to bowl in international cricket by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The 29-year-old Sri Lankan was reported for a suspect action by on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould and third umpire Chris Gaffaney after the fourth One-Day International (ODI) against England in May. Following a few tests that were conducted on him, it was found that his action was illegal, as a result of which he was banned in July from bowling in international cricket. He, however, was named in Sri Lanka’s 30-man probable squad for the 2015 World Cup, starting in February.

The 24-year-old Williamson, meanwhile, was reported for a suspect action following the second Test against West Indies in Trinidad in June by umpires Ian Gould and Rod Tucker. He was subsequently sent for biomechanical testing at the Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales, where the results showed his elbow extension while bowling to be beyond the 15 degrees as permitted by the ICC.

The ICC said that both the cricketers have made sufficient improvements to their action since being suspended and that their elbow extension is now within the prescribed 15-degree limit.

Although the duo has been allowed to resume bowling, they will need to be extremely cautious as current ICC rules state that if a bowler is once again reported for an illegal action within two years of his original suspension, he will be banned from bowling in international cricket for at least one year.

With Williamson primarily being a batsman who can bowl a bit, New Zealand weren’t too affected by Williamson’s lack of availability with the ball. That’s not the case however with Sri Lanka, who have relied heavily on Senanayake’s bowling in ODI cricket over the past 12 months or so.