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Akhtar decision causes confusion
Posted: Monday January 10, 2000 10:43 AM
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- Shoaib Akhtar celebrated his temporary reprieve from a ban for using an illegal bowling action to snare three crucial wickets Sunday in Pakistan's upset 45-run win against Australia at the Gabba. But the International Cricket Council's decision to let him play has stunned at least one member of its illegal bowling committee which last month voted unanimously to ban the fast bowler until he corrects his style. In an unprecedented move and after an appeal by Pakistan officials, Calcutta-based ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya allowed Akhtar to play in the triangular limited-overs series against Australia and India. Jagmohan ruled that Akhtar could play because only his bouncer -- which is no-balled and therefore ineffective in limited-overs cricket -- was in dispute and the ICC illegal bowling committee had no concerns over his regular action. But Bobby Simpson, a member of the nine-member committee along with the likes of former test fast bowlers Michael Holding of the West Indies and Imran Khan of Pakistan, said he was "shocked and disappointed by [Jagmohan's] decision." "I can tell you categorically it was not just the bouncer we were concerned about," the former Australian captain and coach was quoted as saying in Monday's Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper. "It went further than that." "[The ban] was a unanimous decision by the panel. I have not been consulted by the ICC but I have had calls from other members of the panel who are as disappointed as I am," he said. "We thought we were making progress on this issue. I didn't think they had any right of appeal." Akhtar was rushed across from Perth on Sunday after being recalled to the Pakistan lineup and arrived just after the start of play, taking the vital wickets of Ricky Ponting and Australian skipper Steve Waugh. Waugh said he was "quite happy to play against Shoaib" but added that the ICC's handling of the issue had caused players to lose confidence in the sport's world governing body. "It hasn't been handled that well and there is probably a lack of confidence all round," he said after Sunday's game. "I think everyone is confused about it. One week you can't bowl and the next week you can." Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has asked the public and the media to give his young fast bowler some space. Akram said Akhtar would play against India later Monday at the Gabba in the second match of the triangular series.
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