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Malinga the slinger - Cricket World Cup

How on earth can the cricket authroties say that Malinga is bowling the ball.

The guy is throwing the ball and making the game a mockery. This is not baseball you know.

If it was an English or Australian player who so called bowled like Malinga there would be up roar from the cricket authorities.

Comments

  • He's not throwing it at all, the rules say that as long as you don't STRAIGHTEN your arm then its a legitimate delivery and there is no way that Malinga chucks it because his action is too "round-arm" which would make chucking it hardly worthwhile.

    His action is very similar to Jeff Thompson, the great Aussie quick, who also had a very slingy action.

    Also, he only bowls about 140kph so its hardly as if he's getting Akhtar like speeds.
  • He does straighten his arm. I think our boys should do the same. You look at the last south african batman who got out by malinga didnt i see him mouth cheat. I think you will found that many cricketers think this is wrong but wont saying anything.
  • His action looks very odd. It's almost a throwback (pardon the pun) to the old round arm days of the nineteenth century.

    With the modern slowmo cameras, it is clearly possible to see whether, at the point of delivery, he does not straighten his arm. I've no doubt that this has been looked at extensively.

    If you look at Murali's action it seems to defy any way of bowling that I have ever seen. His action has been scrutinised more than any other and he doesn't contravene the rules.

    Weird actions both but illegal, no.
  • i suggest England, South #africa, Pakistan, West Indies etc... players do exactly the same and see how farcical the game will get.
  • I don't think he chucks the ball, evryone whether conciously or not chucks when bowling: that has been proved (I think only Sarwan of WI in the filming was the ONLY bowler who did not straigten his arm). He just has a very strange action that hides the ball from the batsman when it is being bowled. It is above the arm what is the problem, if any of the countries you mention unearthed a player with an unusual action (and P Adams of S A as a spinner springs to mind) they would be used.
  • Exactly, Pickwick has hit the nail on the head. An unusual action does not make it an illegal action.

    Look at James Kirtley, with the naked eye his action did not look bad but on the slow-motion you could see that he had a bent arm and the straightened it in his delivery mechanism which gave him an unfair advantage. His action was relatively orthodox.

    Malinga is a great bowler to watch, God, how boring would it be if everyone bowled with a technically perfect Glenn McGrath action?

    Here he is below.....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwOGPSjVs94

    As you will have seen from the vision he clearly does NOT straighten his arm. His arm comes from behind his back at 45 degrees then comes round his shoulder towards fine leg rather than straight down the wicket, that's why he inswings it so well.

    Besides, look at his very fast approach to the wicket and the way his bowling arm travels from as far back as he can deliver right through to the point of delivery, he would gain nothing by bending his arm.

    He is brilliant to watch and people should not whinge about him being illegal, which he obviously is not, but should be asking a simple question - why can't we teach our kids to bowl like that? Or like the amazing Murali for that matter?
  • [cite]Posted By: Ormiston Addick[/cite]

    His action is very similar to Jeff Thompson, the great Aussie quick, who also had a very slingy action.

    His action is NOTHING like Jeff Thomson's.
  • Erm, it is actually quite like Jeff Thompson, not identical but very similar. How do I know that? Could be because Jeff Thompson was on the TV news here in Oz today saying that Malinga, "Bowls a lot like I used to, really slingy action and hard for the batsmen to pick up."

    Like Malinga, Thompson is not a very tall bloke (could not believe how short Thompson was when I met him a couple of years back, he's an arrogant prick, actually) and got his pace from bringing the ball from right behind his back which means, just like Malinga, that the batsmen does not see the ball until the very last moment and they both bowl incredible inswinging yorkers.

    Also, like Thompson, Malinga has already had back problems because of the strain he puts on his lower back in his delivery stride.

    Sorry, but you're wrong on this one.
  • Another thing to note about Malinga's action is how hard it is to pick up for batsmen. I know when I'm batting I hate facing a round arm bowler. With a straight arm, high action bowler it is relatively easy to pick the line of the ball as the shoulder and arm all come down the same line. With round are the line of the ball is dependant on when it's released and it takes you a good part of it's flight to deduce the line it's taking, thus giving you that much less time to react.
  • its my personal opinion that Malinga's action is the eqivillant of Cambridge United in the early 90's constantly using the off side trap. I remember at Upton Park the boos when they kept on doing it against us.
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  • It's Jeff Thomson NOT Thompson. Have a look at some old footage of Thommo, there is plenty on YouTube. His action was more like a javelin throwers. Malinga bowls round arm with his arm virtually at right angles to his body, nothing like Thommo's, who's arm was much higher.
  • listen Malinga has had his action scrutinesed like no tomorrow and it is not illegal - he would not be allowed to play if it was.

    I am waiting for the day he gives an umpire a right hander by accident as he gets quite close
  • [cite]

    His action is NOTHING like Jeff Thomson's.

    Looks like it to me ....
  • Ledge Knows said 'listen Malinga has had his action scrutinesed like no tomorrow and it is not illegal - he would not be allowed to play if it was.'

    Was this from the same people who overuled drug test for the two Pakistan bowlers six month or so, and allows players to change national teams i.e Ed Joyce. Makes the English FA look professional.
  • Totally irrelevant mate and totally unrelated.

    He was put through the wringer like James Kirtley and it was , i believe although could be wrong, scientifically proven he was not chucking.
  • TT
    edited March 2007
    "why can't we teach our kids to bowl like that? Or like the amazing Murali for that matter?"

    If we identified a Malinga or a Murali we'd have changed their action to something resembling 'a proper action' and ruined them well before they had a chance to play at the top level rather than letting them play enjoy their cricket and learn the technique that works best for them.

    My biggest gripe with English cricket is that players identified with a little something are coached to do things 'properly' and lose that something that made them special in the first place. Peiterson is the most exciting dangerous batsman in the england side because he's the most unorthodox, he's happy to cross swat a ball like a tennis shot back past the bowler, english coaches would have over coached him so he would be forced to play with a straight bat.

    The fact Kevin Shine is trying to change all the fast bowlers techniques rather than looking to get the best out of the technique they have say's it all really, and sums up why we don't produce enough world class players.
  • [cite]Posted By: T[/cite]"why can't we teach our kids to bowl like that? Or like the amazing Murali for that matter?"

    If we identified a Malinga or a Murali we'd have changed their action to something resembling 'a proper action' and ruined them well before they had a chance to play at the top level rather than letting them play enjoy their cricket and learn the technique that works best for them.

    My biggest gripe with English cricket is that players identified with a little something are coached to do things 'properly' and lose that something that made them special in the first place. Peiterson is the most exciting dangerous batsman in the england side because he's the most unorthodox, he's happy to cross swat a ball like a tennis shot back past the bowler, english coaches would have over coached him so he would be forced to play with a straight bat.

    The fact Kevin Shine is trying to change all the fast bowlers techniques rather than looking to get the best out of the technique they have say's it all really, and sums up why we don't produce enough world class players.

    Spot on fella.
  • edited March 2007
    [cite]Posted By: T[/cite]"why can't we teach our kids to bowl like that? Or like the amazing Murali for that matter?"

    If we identified a Malinga or a Murali we'd have changed their action to something resembling 'a proper action' and ruined them well before they had a chance to play at the top level rather than letting them play enjoy their cricket and learn the technique that works best for them.

    My biggest gripe with English cricket is that players identified with a little something are coached to do things 'properly' and lose that something that made them special in the first place. Peiterson is the most exciting dangerous batsman in the england side because he's the most unorthodox, he's happy to cross swat a ball like a tennis shot back past the bowler, english coaches would have over coached him so he would be forced to play with a straight bat.

    The fact Kevin Shine is trying to change all the fast bowlers techniques rather than looking to get the best out of the technique they have say's it all really, and sums up why we don't produce enough world class players.
    Absolutely bang on.

    We had it with Dean headley - he showed a hell of a lot of promise and I remember watching him as a raw youngster thinking he would be a fantastic bowler. Admittedly injuries took their toll on him, but even before they bit you could see that the coaches had wrung any ingrained ability out of him. It was the same with Alex Tudor for Surrey - fantastic talent completely rinsed by coaches looking for a metronome like McGrath.

    What really pisses me off about it is that a freak like McGrath comes along about once every fifty years or so - the vast majority of successful quicks are successful because they either have a quirky action, (Thomson) ridiculous pace, (Akhtar, Younis, Garner) all-out aggression (Lee, Shoaib, Ambrose) or that little bit 'extra' (Walsh). How many bowlers can you name that pitch everything on off stump, every ball, drifting away enough to tempt even the best batsmen into mistakes - and have managed to sustain it for nearly fifteen years. Not bloody many I bet!

    Oh, and there's no way Malinga is any more of a slinger than loads of other quicks I could name (Lee and Shoaib spring to mind). I've watched him bowl and it seems that about one ball every two overs looks a bit suss - possibly when he's trying to get a bit of extra pace. Every other ball his arm is straighter than most 'orthodox' quicks - if you don't believe me, have a close look at an extended spell of Brett Lee's bowling. besides, its a moot point as there's no way he'll be able to sustain an action like that for more than a couple of years, by then we'll all have moved onto the next cricket controversy.
  • Feckin Hell DJDD, I MEANT to write Thomson and not Thompson as well!!!

    Must have been the couple of shandies I had been enjoying...

    As for T - You are bang on my son, which is why nobody at the ECB will ever listen to that sort of nonsense!
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