Hafeez reported for suspect action again

Offspinner Mohammad Hafeez has once again been reported for a suspect action, following the conclusion of the Galle Test, the Pakistan team management has confirmed to ESPNcricinfo. Hafeez bowled 20 overs in the match and contributed two wickets to Pakistan's ten-wicket victory in the first Test.

According to the ICC's regulations for bowlers reported a second time within a period of a year, if Hafeez's action is found to be illegal once again he faces a bowling ban for a period of at least a year, only after which he will be eligible to apply for a reassessment of his action. He must undergo testing within 21 days of the receipt of the official report and will be allowed to bowl until the results are out. Hafeez will proceed to India to undergo testing after the second Test, which begins on June 25 in Colombo.

Hafeez had been reported for a suspect action after the Abu Dhabi Test against New Zealand in November last year, and in December his action was found to be illegal following tests at an ICC accredited centre in Loughborough, England. He was found to have an elbow extension up to 31 degrees, far above the permitted limit of 15 degrees.

He underwent remedial work at a biomechanics lab in Chennai, but failed an unofficial test on his action on January 3. Later that month the PCB requested the ICC to retest Hafeez's action in February in Brisbane, so that he could bowl at the World Cup if cleared, but he was ruled out of the tournament with a calf injury. Hafeez was finally cleared to bowl again in international cricket on April 21, after more tests on his action in Chennai. Since then, he has bowled in nine matches in Bangladesh, at home against Zimbabwe, and in Sri Lanka.