Don to throw light on row

By ALVIN SALLAY

A PROFESSOR based in Hong Kong has offered to help Sri Lankan cricket officials decide whether a controversial player is illegally throwing the ball.

Dr. Ravi Goonetilleke, of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, wants to clear up the dispute surrounding Test cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan.

Umpires have called no ball in two of Muralitharan's matches durng the Test and World Series games in Australia.

"I have equipment which is 100 times more accurate than an umpire or a video replay and which can once and for all reveal whether Muralitharan is throwing or not," Dr. Goonetilleke said yesterday.

Electronics sensors can be attached to the bowler's arm to transmit three-dimensional "pictures" of the arm angle during delivery - to establish if the ball is legally bowled or illegally thrown.

Dr. Goonetilleke said the "pictures" would be fed into a computer which would show whether there was any straightening of the arm just prior to release. "We can resolve the controversy scientifically," he said.

I have approached the Sri Lanka Sports Ministry. I believe they have submitted my proposal to the Sri Lankan Board Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council."

External Link: