Raisibe Ntozakhe cleared to bowl again in international cricket

South Africa Women's offspinner Raisibe Ntozakhe has been cleared to bowl in international cricket again by the ICC, following remedial work after she was banned for an illegal bowling action. Ntozakhe was found to have an illegal action in October 2018 and was suspended from bowling in international cricket on the day she was named in South Africa's squad for the T20 World Cup.

Ntozakhe was reported during an ODI against West Indies in September 2018 in Barbados and had undergone an independent assessment of her bowling action at the University of Pretoria. The assessment revealed that all of her deliveries exceeded the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the regulations. On Thursday, the ICC announced that after further assessment, her elbow extension was found to be within the limit.

"Ntozakhe's remodelled bowling action was assessed at the University of Pretoria on 10 September, where it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations," the ICC said in a release.

"Match officials may still report Ntozakhe if they believe she is displaying a suspect action and not reproducing the legal action from the reassessment. To assist the match officials, they will be provided with the report, images and video footage of the bowler's legal bowling action."

The 24-year-old had still managed to be among the women centrally contracted by Cricket South Africa in 2019 but missed out in the following year.