Windies off-spinner Shane Shillingford suspended from bowling, yet again

Windies off-spinner Shane Shillingford has been suspended from bowling in Caribbean domestic cricket with immediate effect and he will not be able to bowl again till his action is cleared. The development happened during the opening game of the domestic four-day competition in St Lucia last month and it is learned that the 35-year-old bowler will have to undergo remedial work to rectify his action.

Shillingford, who hails from Dominica, played his last competitive game for Windward Islands against Trinidad & Tobago in WICB Professional Cricket League Regional 4 Day Tournament in December and took 12 wickets in the match to pick the man of the match award.

The bowler has played 16 Test matches for the Windies between 2010 and 2014 and has 70 wickets from them at an average of 34-plus and picked six five-wicket hauls. In the game prior to that too, Shillingford ended up with five wickets against Guayana although his team lost on that occasion.

Shillingford was suspended in 2010 and 2013

In a statement, Cricket West Indies (CWI) said that Shillingford cannot bowl until his action is cleared. The right-arm off-break bowler has a history related to his bowling action. In November 2010, he was reported and resumed bowling in June the next year. He was also suspended during a tour of New Zealand in 2013. The latest remedial work will be supervised by the Windward Islands team.

After the assessment, it has been found that Shillingford’s deliveries exceeded 15-degree limit permitted under the rules. As per an ESPNcricinfo record, Shillingford can apply for a reassessment following modification in his bowling action as per the rules, either by an opinion report from Loughborough University, England or by an independent analysis from a testing centre that has accreditation.

During his suspension in 2013, his action was tested at the University of Western Australia whereby it was concluded that although his off-spin and straighter ball were within the scope of regulation, his doosra was not legal.

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