England coach Flower stirs debate on Pak spinner Ajmal's bowling action

Dubai, Jan.21 (ANI): England cricket team director Andy Flower has refused to approve the legality of Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal's controversial bowling action following his side's 10-wicket defeat by Pakistan.

Ajmal was named man of the match for his took ten wicket haul, including a seven for 55 in England's first innings.

When asked about the spinner's action, The Telegraph quoted Flower, as saying: "I've got my own private views and talking about them here and now isn't going to help the situation."

He added: "Our job is to deal with whatever bowler bowls against us and the International Cricket Council's job is to police the game."

Flower is a savvy coach and knows that being called a "chucker" is about the most emotive term in cricket there is after match-fixer, but his reluctance to kill the controversy suggests the issue has been niggling him for a while.

England's players were certainly unhappy with Ajmal's action in 2010, after he took five wickets against them at Edgbaston and five in the next Test at the Oval, which Pakistan won.

Their main concern centered on the doosra he bowled from around the wicket, a ball which seems impossible to deliver without flexing the arm more than the 15 degrees allowed under a law only recently relaxed to accommodate the extra tolerance.

The ICC has received no official complaint over Ajmal's action, from the match referee or the umpires.

Tested by the ICC's Panel of Human Movement at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Ajmal was cleared a month later.

The report, by Professor Bruce Elliott, revealed that all his deliveries were tested and all came within the 15-degree tolerance permitted under ICC regulations. But, as the document made clear, there were caveats to him being allowed to continue bowling in international cricket. (ANI)