Former international umpire Darrell Hair who Bermuda’s Roger Dill was appointed to umpire the One Day International between Ireland and England in 2006 has said the ICC's crackdown on bowlers with suspect actions has come 20 years too late, and that the weakness of umpires over time to do anything about the issue has helped created a "generation of chucker’s." Hair was the first umpire to call former Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan for chucking during a Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 1995.
"Whatever they're doing now, they're doing 20 years too late," Hair told Sydney Morning Herald. "They had a chance in 1995 to clean things up and it's taken them 19 years to finally come back and say they want chuckers out of the game. I can't believe that Saeed Ajmal has been able to bowl as long as he has, and they say he is bending his arm by 45 degrees [the legal limit is 15 degrees] or something. Well, every man and his dog would have known that.
"I suppose what it does show is the general weakness of the umpires over time to do anything about it."
With the report of chucking coming to the forefront, the question during the off season for the Bermuda Cricket Board and the Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association will they call players next season.
It would appear that the ICC is looking to get a hold of the situation and it would make sense for the local officials to follow suite.
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