'It will always be there' - Botha warns Kuhnemann after suspect action report

Former South Africa offspinner and current Queensland and Brisbane Heat coach Johan Botha believes Matthew Kuhnemann will always wear the stigma of having his action reported regardless of whether he is cleared or not when he undergoes testing in the coming weeks.

Kuhnemann, who plays under Botha at Heat, was reported by match officials for having a suspect bowling action during Australia's second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last week.

Botha had problems with his bowling action throughout his career and said Kuhnemann faces a difficult road ahead even if he is cleared.

"It is a long process and unfortunately either way if you get cleared or not it will always be there," Botha told SEN in Brisbane. "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, 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."

Kuhnemann has never been reported previously in an eight-year professional career, including when he first played ODI cricket for Australia in Sri Lanka in 2022 and when he made his Test debut and played three Tests on the 2023 tour of India.

Botha added it is possible his action came under scrutiny at the back end of the second Test because of fatigue.

"He bowled quite a lot 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 thought 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 his own experience had taught him that it is hard to recognise problems in your own action. He was first reported soon after his debut Test in January 2006 and was subsequently banned from bowling by the ICC. Another examination in August that year found his action to be illegal once again and he was cleared to bowl only in November.

In 2009, following an ODI against Australia in Port Elizabeth, Botha was reported once again and this time the ICC ruled that his action while bowling the doosra was illegal and he was banned from bowling it. His other deliveries, however, were found to be within permissible limits.

Botha was again cited in 2013 while playing an Australian domestic 50-over match for South Australia. He was once again tested and was cleared entirely.

"I've looked at my stuff over the years and it doesn't feel like it looks at times," Botha said. "There's a whole lot of different things. It's a big process.

"Hopefully for Kuhney's sake it's just a little hiccup and it's nothing serious. I really thought in the last couple of days about things I did to change it which I might pass onto him. But I think for the first bowling test you've got to go and bowl as close to as you did in the Test match. There's no use trying to change things now. That could make it worse."

Kuhnemann will now have to undergo independent testing at an ICC-accredited centre with Brisbane the likely location. Bowlers are permitted 15 degrees of flex in their elbow during their bowling action but anything more than that is deemed illegal.

Kuhnemann is still available to play Sheffield Shield or Dean Jones Trophy (Australia domestic 50-over games) matches while undergoing testing but he cannot play in international matches during the process. He did not play in Tasmania's 50-over clash with Victoria on Thursday.