Sachithra Senanayake's elbow extends by 43 degrees, allegedly tried to deceive test team: Reports

Sachithra Senanayake

The test reports of banned Sri Lankan off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake revealed that the bowler had extended his elbow up to 43 degrees in match situations, 28 more than the permitted limit of 15 for spin bowlers in the International Cricket Council (ICC) recognised formats of cricket. 

“All analysed deliveries exceeded the allowed 15-degrees of elbow extension with Mr. Senanayake maintaining a relatively flexed elbow in the first half of the action before fully extending the elbow in the second part of the action,” the Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) report read.

Reports also suggest that the 29-year-old allegedly tried to deceive the officials in the lab by trying to bowl with different action, which did not match to the one observed in matches; however, he was still found to be crossing the 15 degree mark by a good margin. 

The report further said: “Mr. Senanayake did not appear to replicate his match bowling action during the assessment. Due to the number of deliveries captured and because the player did not appear to fully replicate his match action during the assessment, not all delivery variations were analysed.” 

The bowler underwent examination for suspect bowling action in an ICC certified laboratory at Cardiff, England, after being reported for discrepancies in his elbow extension during the 4th One Day International fixture against England at Lord’s in May 2014.

Sri Lankan Cricket Board and his fellow cricketers have, on the other hand, expressed their full support to Senanayake and have backed him for a successful return to cricket with proper corrective measures. 

The Ruhuna spinner’s last international outing, before being banned from bowling on July 12, was against South Africa at Hambantota, where he went for 66 in 10 overs and picked up only one wicket.