Hafeez’s action up to double the flex limit
Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez's bowling action has tested up to 31 degrees in terms of flex, which is more than double the legal limit, and has seen him become yet another bowled banned by the ICC.
The spinner was reported during the Tests against New Zealand, and underwent testing at Loughborough University in England at the end of November. The resulting report, via Cricinfo, stated that all Hafeez's deliveries were illegal.
The report also detailed the four overs bowled, with the average delivery around 26 degrees of flex, and all the overs averaging out in the high 20s. All of the 24 balls send down, aside from three that were wrong for line and length, breached the flex limit.
The report stated: "The bowler appeared to emulate his match-bowling action during the assessment. Between the upper-arm-horizontal and ball release, the bowler extended his elbow by well over 15 degrees during all deliveries."
Hafeez is now a big doubt for the World Cup, as a bowler at least, though he has said that he considered his batting the more important aspect of his game. Though his absence with the ball, added to Saeed Ajmal's ban, could prove disastrous.
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