Shabbir Ahmed hearing to take place on 21 January

The hearing to assess Pakistan bowler Shabbir Ahmed's 12-month ban from bowling in international cricket will take place in Dubai on 21 January.

The appeal will be heard by a Bowling Review Group (BRG) made up of the following members:

• Sir Oliver Popplewell - Chairman
• Roshan Mahanama - current Emirates ICC Referee
• Javagal Srinath - ex-international player
• Dick French - ex-international umpire
• Dr Marc Portus - human movement specialist

David Richardson, ICC General Manager - Cricket, will sit on the BRG as an ex-officio member of that group.

The Chairman of the BRG, required to be a current ICC Code of Conduct Commissioner, was chosen by the Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, Sunil Gavaskar. The BRG Chairman, together with Mr Gavaskar, then selected the remaining members of the group.

In addition to Mr Ahmed and the BRG as outlined above, also attending the hearing will be Mr Salim Altaf and Professor Bruce Elliott.

Mr Altaf, the CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), will act as the player's representative, and Professor Elliott will make a presentation.

Professor Elliott made an independent assessment of Mr Ahmed's action in September 2005 when the player was previously suspended and, following that assessment, Mr Ahmed was allowed to play.

Professor Elliott also independently assessed Mr Ahmed's action when he was reported again after playing in the first Test against England in Multan in November 2005.

The BRG will consider:

• Video evidence from Multan, the match in which the player was reported
• The Match Officials' Report from that Test match
• Independent Assessment of the player's action
• Any further evidence the player, his representative or the player's Board may wish to present

The BRG must decide whether or not the player has an illegal bowling action and whether the suspension should be maintained or lifted.

After all the evidence is heard the BRG will adjourn to consider it's decision and it will reach that decision by a simple majority vote. The BRG Chairman has the casting vote.

The decision of the BRG will be communicated to Mr Ahmed, through the PCB, within 48 hours of the hearing being adjourned.

The decision of the BRG is final and binding.

Mr Ahmed is the first player to be banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months under the revised ICC bowling review regulations, introduced in March 2005.

The ban was enacted after an independent assessment by the University of Western Australia confirmed he bowled with an illegal action.

The finding came after Mr Ahmed was reported for the second time under those revised regulations by the on-field umpires Simon Taufel and Billy Bowden and TV umpire Asad Rauf during the Multan Test match.

He was previously reported and suspended earlier in 2005 but returned to international cricket following remedial work on his action and a full bio-mechanical analysis that demonstrated he had made the necessary adjustments to his bowling style.

Having been reported and assessed as bowling illegally for a second time within two years of the first period of suspension, Mr Ahmed received a mandatory one-year ban.