Elliott critical of Sri Lankan board

Bruce Elliott, the biomechanics expert in charge of assessing Muttiah Muralitharan's doosra, has criticised the Sri Lankan board for jumping the gun and partially leaking the results of Muralitharan's tests to the media, a move which he believes confused the issue and put pressure on the ICC.

"By leaking little bits of information at different stages it has put a lot of pressure on the ICC, as well as on Murali and us," Elliott told Sydney Morning Herald. "The ICC has basically been pushed into a corner and had to react to information contained in the report before they had even received it.

"Because of the leaks, public perception would be that our findings were about accommodating Murali. But that is not the case. There are many finger spinners straightening [their arm] more than five degrees, not just Murali.

"Perhaps after reading our findings, the ICC might increase it up to ten degrees for spinners or maybe they'll say, 'Let's stay with five until we get a database of findings into spinners.' Maybe it will be five degrees for wrist spinners and 10 degrees for finger spinners bowling a doosra. The point is that we have made our suggestions and it is now for the ICC to decide."

The Sri Lanka board tried to keep the results secret until the report had been forwarded to the ICC, but an unnamed source made that impossible by partially leaking the results - which confirmed that Muralitharan's arm straightened when bowling the doosra - to Sunday Times in Colombo.

The Sri Lankan officials were pushed on the defensive and a few days later, after the receipt of the report, Mohan de Silva, Sri Lanka Cricket's president, told the media: "I am confident that he [Muralitharan] should be able to bowl the doosra." But attempts at damage limitation only heightened global speculation.

When the suggestions of the scientists, who had recommended that the current tolerance levels should be increased for spinners, were also leaked, it prompted accusations from some quarters that the University of Western Australia was pushing for a rule change just to accommodate Muralitharan.

The ICC felt compelled to make a statement clarifying the issue, in which they made it clear that they were not about to change the rules. They also indicated that if Muralitharan's doosra was illegal then he could face a possible 12-month ban if he was reported again.

"These current levels of tolerance are based on expert advice that suggests, beyond a certain level, bowlers will gain an unfair advantage," Malcolm Speed, the ICC's chief executive, said in the statement. "As recently as last September, the ICC reviewed these levels and all countries were in agreement that the current standards should remain in place."

Since then the report has been forwarded to the ICC and Sri Lanka Cricket has insisted that, contrary to the interpretation of the ICC statement by many media institutions, the ICC has not yet outlawed the doosra. Nevertheless, Muralitharan has been advised not to bowl the delivery for the time being.