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SLC wants 'unofficial' Senanayake re-test

Sri Lanka offspinner Sachithra Senanayake is to undergo unofficial testing of his bowling action after satisfying the SLC coaching staff with the remedial work he has carried out with them since being reported five months ago

Sa'adi Thawfeeq
28-Oct-2014
Sachithra Senanayake has remodelled his action since failing a test earlier this year  •  Getty Images

Sachithra Senanayake has remodelled his action since failing a test earlier this year  •  Getty Images

Sri Lanka offspinner Sachithra Senanayake is to undergo unofficial testing of his bowling action after satisfying the SLC coaching staff with the remedial work he has carried out with them since being reported five months ago.
"We are quite happy with the remedial work Sachithra has done with us on his bowling action and we feel he is ready for a re-test," SLC head of coaching Jerome Jayaratne said. "However, as we do not have the equipment to test the degree to which he extends his arm we want him to be unofficially tested at one of the ICC's four testing centres before we send him for an official re-test."
Jayaratne stated that SLC would write to the ICC and get an appointment for Senanayake to be tested. "We have the option of choosing the centre and most probably it would be Chennai, which is closest to us," Jayaratne said.
Cardiff and Loughborough in England, Brisbane in Australia and Chennai in India are the official, ICC-recognised testing centres for bowlers reported in international cricket.
Senanayake was reported in May during the one-day international series between Sri Lanka and England and went for testing at Cardiff University, where he was reported to extend his arm to as much as 43 degrees. The permitted angle for all bowlers is not more than 15 degrees.
Senanayake has done remedial work with human movement expert Dr Daryl Foster at the University of Western Australia to remodel his action and in the past three months has been working with the SLC coaching staff, which includes Jayaratne and spin bowling coach Piyal Wijetunge amongst others. The ICC is currently in dispute with UWA about its testing methods, after a worldwide crackdown on illegal actions.
"Sachithra has a problem bowling his offbreaks, which is his stock ball, but we are confident that with the work he has done with us he is bowling below the 15 degree level," Jayaratne said.
The worst scenario would be that if Senanayake fails the official re-test he could face a ban from international cricket. Senanayake returned to bowling in domestic competitive cricket early this month, representing MAS Active in the ongoing Mercantile Premier League, which features the majority of Sri Lanka's national cricketers.