Brisbane, Feb 13 (IANS) Former South Africa offspinner and current Queensland and Brisbane Heat coach Johan Botha claimed that Matthew Kuhnemann will always carry the stigma of having his action reported, regardless of the outcome of his upcoming testing in the next few weeks.
Kuhnemann, who plays under Botha at Heat, was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Botha said it’s a long road ahead for Kuhnemann to come out clean, and if he is cleared, the tag will always stick with him.
“It is a long process, and unfortunately, either way, if you get cleared or not, it will always be there. Guys think it’s a one-off and you get rid of it. That is not how it is. It is a bit of a process. For now, he will have to bowl at a very similar speed and revolutions as he did in the Tests. Nothing gets changed now.
“He needs to try and prove himself not guilty, and from there on, if it is a ball or so over 15 degrees, he will obviously have some work to do, and then a long process starts. It never goes away because there is always someone in the crowd, someone in the opposition, or a match referee who wants to have a say or wants to feel a part of it.
“Unfortunately, this will be part of it now. It is never the guy who gets 0 for 100. It is the guys who get wickets and affect games. They are the ones under scrutiny. Guys want to have a look at it and try and find fault,” he added.
Kuhnemann has never had his action reported in his eight-year professional career, including during his ODI debut for Australia in Sri Lanka in 2022 and his Test debut, along with the three Tests he played on the 2023 tour of India.
Botha also suggested that fatigue may have led to his action being questioned towards the end of the second Test.
“He bowled quite a lot of balls in the Test series. As you get tired, your action gets put under pressure,” Botha said. “I know he likes to bowl. He bowled quite a lot during the Big Bash. He went to Australia training when they were at the Gabba during the Big Bash.
“I’d be interested to see when the umpires or the match referee thought it was not as clean as they would have liked it. And I would guess it could be later in the game. When you start getting tired, the ball is older and softer and you have to try and generate a little bit more pace. Whereas with the new ball it obviously comes off the wicket a bit quicker, so I don’t think you need to force it so much,” Botha said.
Kuhnemann will now undergo independent testing at an ICC-accredited center, with Brisbane likely being the location. Bowlers are allowed up to 15 degrees of elbow flex during their bowling action, but anything beyond that is considered illegal.
While undergoing testing, Kuhnemann can still play in Sheffield Shield or Dean Jones Trophy (Australia’s domestic 50-over games) matches, but he is not permitted to participate in international matches during this process. He did not play in Tasmania’s 50-over match against Victoria on Thursday.
–IANS
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