England batsman accuses Perera of throwing

The England batsman, Mark Butcher, says he hopes the authorities will be lenient with him after he voiced doubts about Ruchira Perera's bowling action. In his weekly column for the Croydon Advertiser, Butcher suggested that the Sri Lankan seamer throws.

In his column, Butcher wrote: "Having faced him (Perera) for some time, I can say that he definitely straightens his arm. It's not so bad when the ball is pitched up but when he bowls short he just runs up and throws it at you. I can't believe someone gets away with it."

The Surrey left-hander could now face disciplinary action along the lines of that taken against Adam Gilchrist after off-the-cuff remarks on Muttiah Muralitharan. The Australian vice-captain was charged by the Australian Cricket Board after he questioned the legality of the off-spinner's action.

"It was a bit silly of me really," Butcher said today. "It was in a conversational-type form in a column I have ghosted for me and I said it without really thinking - there was no malice involved in it.

"There's obviously going to be offence caused, but there's no bad feeling from my part or from the team towards the Sri Lankans.

"I've probably landed myself in a bit of hot water in certain quarters and I just hope they'll be gentle with me.

"It's very unfortunate for Perera himself and it's probably not his fault that all this is going on. Maybe if things had been a little bit clearer beforehand it wouldn't have come to this, so there is a certain amount of sympathy for him as well.

"When I see the Sri Lankan team tomorrow, I'll be at pains to make them understand there was no malice involved and I have no problem with him."

Perera's action was reported to the International Cricket Council by the match officials in the first Test at Lord's. He is currently undergoing remedial action.

An ECB spokesman said today: "We are aware of the article. We are discussing it with Mark and it would be inappropriate to say anything further at the moment."