The ICC's chief executive David Richardson has defended the timing of the recent clampdown on illegal bowling actions, which has resulted in Saeed Ajmal and other spinners being suspended months before a World Cup. Ajmal's loss could hamper Pakistan's chances in the tournament but he is just one of a number of spinners to be banned in recent months.

Sohag Gazi of Bangladesh, Prosper Utseya of Zimbabwe and Kane Williamson of New Zealand have all been reported and suspended since the June meeting of the ICC's cricket committee, where recommendations were made for stronger scrutiny of bowling actions. But the timing of the action has been the subject of debate, given that it has come within nine months of the World Cup, which starts on February 14.

"If we decide that there's something wrong with the game, why should we wait until after a World Cup?" Richardson told reporters in Dubai. "I think we'd reached that straw that broke the camel's back. There were just too many bowlers starting to emerge that people were starting to worry about.

"I think it was simply that we said no, this is far enough. It's arguable that we should have taken this kind of action earlier. That we can take on the chin."

Any of the bowlers already suspended can have their action re-tested if they believe they have corrected the flaws, meaning that Ajmal and the others could feasibly still bowl at the World Cup. However, he would still be at risk of being reported again during the World Cup, and at ICC events the usual rules requiring testing to take place within 21 days of being reported do not apply.

"There's a shortened testing time frame for ICC events," Geoff Allardice, the ICC's general manager of cricket, said. "A bowler needs to be tested within seven days. So pretty much, if you were reported in a World Cup for instance, you'd be straight off to the nearest testing facility, which we would have ready to go and the results would be fast-tracked."

The introduction of more testing centres - currently ICC-accredited testing can take place in Brisbane, Chennai, Cardiff or Loughborough - means the 21-day requirement might soon be reduced to 14 due to greater availability of venues. But what is not likely to change any time soon is the ICC's wider approach to illegal actions, with the 15-degree rule seeming to be set in stone.

A perceived imbalance in the contest between bat and ball has led to some commentators arguing that the doosra should be allowed in the same way that batting innovations such as the switch hit have been permitted. But Richardson said when such a move had been discussed at ICC level, the overwhelming sentiment was that the traditions of the game would be fundamentally dismantled if such leniency was written into the laws.

"We had that debate. Should we change the law to allow bowlers to straighten their arm so that they can bowl the doosra and get it to spin the other way?" Richardson said. "There were some who argue that, but the majority say no, stick with the laws as we've always had them. If you want to promote unorthodoxy, there were people in the history of the game, Johnny Gleeson, for example, who learnt how to spin the ball using his fingers.

"There are legitimate ways that you can do something special without actually changing the whole principle that you need to bowl with a straight arm. Hopefully we encourage unorthodox actions and deliveries, but within the laws. Even I could spin the ball when I threw it in the nets. I couldn't when I bowled with a straight arm. So why make it easier to bowl for most bowlers? The guys who get the wickets must be the best bowlers.

"Fifteen degrees was chosen as that is the point at which you will start to notice that someone is straightening his arm. We felt it's unfair to suspend a bowler who might be straightening his arm by five or six degrees now because we've got the technology, whereas in the history of cricket such a bowler would have gone unnoticed."

The June meetings of the ICC's cricket committee and chief executives' committee has led to the current crackdown, but Richardson and Allardice said there were no directives from the ICC for certain bowlers to be tested. Instead, they said the key factor in the increased number of reports and suspensions was that umpires now felt they had more support on the issue.

"Over the years, sometimes they felt like they were the ones being victimised for identifying bowlers with suspect actions," Allardice said. "The other thing that they want is a testing process or testing results that match up with what their observations were on the field. They're the two things that go together to giving them the confidence to express their views.

"In recent times I think the support from the ICC and its member boards in this regard has been good. I think they [the umpires] are sensing that, and I think that's why they're more confident in expressing their concerns."

(Cricinfo)