48 hours: Chucking rule changes in time for Sri Lankans

It must be hard work being a traditional cricket fan these days, especially after the latest offering from the International Cricket Council.

First there was World Series and coloured clothes, then Dennis Lillee and his aluminium bat, and now comes confirmation that all bowlers will be allowed to chuck - albeit to a threshold of 15 degrees.

Previously a recommendation from the ICC's cricket committee, the radical proposal was adopted at the weekend by the full executive committee and is expected to be in place by the start of next month in time for Sri Lanka's two tests against New Zealand.

And that could mean some interesting times if controversial spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who almost single-handedly forced the new initiative, has recovered from his shoulder problem and is available to tour.

According to earlier assessments, Muralitharan bends his elbow to 14 degrees when he delivers his doosra or wrong-'un, and will inevitably come under intense scrutiny when he operates in the new climate.

And not only him. Other doosra-armed spinners who face similar challenges after the March 1 deadline include Pakistan's Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez and Saqlain Mushtaq, India's Harbhajan Singh and Bangladesh's Sanwar Hossain.

But pace-bowling offenders such as Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Brett Lee and Jermaine Lawson, who at times appear to deliver the ball with a noticeable snap in their action, will probably fall well inside the safety zone.

It's not hard to understand what the ICC was trying to do, but you have to wonder whether it's found a solution to one problem, or has just invented another half dozen.

At the heart of its concern was the fact that the illegal delivery law, as drafted by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was always intended to be enforced with the naked eye, rather than the latest video technology.

The complication was a tangible one for the ICC, because it meant that any bowler blacklisted over his action could go to court on the grounds of restraint of trade, and show a judge that all bowlers chucked to some degree.

Hence the new law, introduced because cricket chiefs believe the 15-degree threshold represents the point when an illegal delivery becomes visible to the naked eye.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the issue, the biggest question now is what effect the new ruling will have on the evolution of bowling.

Will New Zealand Cricket's academy staff be forced to tutor its young charges in the art of throwing, in order to keep pace with doosra-capable finger-spinners in opposition teams?

Will our fast bowlers be taught to introduce a 14-degree throw as a variation, in much the same way as pacemen use a surprise bouncer or slower ball?

And what of left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who always maintained that it was biomechanically impossible to bowl a doosra without chucking, and now finds himself effectively punished for staying within the law?

It just goes to show that, even when it comes to cricket, the lawyers are still winning.

Highs

New Zealand's historic third consecutive win in the Wellington Sevens, and the barn-storming form shown by try-scoring sensation Roy Kinikinilau.

Remember his name: he's now a likely contender for the World Cup.

Lows

Another biting incident, this time from Argentine Santiago Gomez Cora, who was apparently struck by hunger pangs during the Pumas' match against NZ and began dining out on the thigh of Tamati Ellison.