ICC clears Zimbabwe pacer Brian Vitori's action; to resume bowling

On January 20, 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) cleared Zimbabwe’s left-arm pacer Brian Vitori scrutiny and analysis on his action. Thus he will now be able to resume bowling in international cricket. Having been served a 12-month suspension ban for his invariable action, Vitori had to go through an independent revision to modify his bowling action.

Handed a 12-month suspension in 2016

Vitori was initially suspended with an illegal bowling action in January 2016, after which he attained the clearance following the reassessment process and was induced back in June 2016. The Zimbabwe bowler was again reported for the same aberration in an ODI against Sri Lanka in November 2016, and thus he was suspended for a 12-month period for having an illegitimate bowling action.

It was a tough and disappointing phase for the 27-year-old fast bowler, who emerged to be one of the handiest bowlers for his side.

Cleared

He then had to undergo the entire process of remodelling and assessment once again which was scheduled on January 8, 2018, at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria under the complete surveillance of the ICC.

In the above analysis, it was found that the amount of elbow extension in the Zimbabwe bowler’s  action in all his deliveries was within the permissible 15-degree level, which is an important parameter to check the variability of every bowler’s bowling action as per the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations. Thus, after this assessment, the left-arm bowler is now cleared to resume his bowling with a modified action.

However, the umpires still have the authority to interrogate Vitori, if they found him again with an improper bowling action. The officials will also be provided some assistance in the form of pictures and video footage which acts as proof that the bowler underwent the prescribed process. Brian has so far featured in 4 Tests and 20 ODIs, in which he has claimed 12 and 29 wickets respectively.