Chuck the 'doosra', say Aussie spinners

Former Australian spinners, including the legendary Shane Warne, have raised a unanimous alarm against coaching the controversial 'doosra' in the country, with Ashley Mallett terming it nothing but 'chucking'.

Ever since its inception in international cricket, the 'doosra', an unorthodox finger delivery that moves away from a right-hander as opposed to a conventional off-spinner, has raised a lot of debate over its legitimacy.

Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq, who is credited to have introduced it to world cricket, leading wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and India's Harbhajan Singh have used it with great success.

However, a group of leading Australian spinners, including Warne, Stuart MacGill, Jim Higgs, Gavin Robertson, Terry Jenner, Peter Philpott and Ashley Mallett, voiced concern against the 'doosra' in a recent summit in Brisbane last month and questioned the legitimacy of the delivery.

Former off-spinner Mallett said the doosra can never be a legitimate delivery as it cannot be bowled by a finger-spinner without 'chucking'.

"There was unanimous agreement that the off-spinner's other one', the doosra, should not be coached in Australia," Mallett wrote in the Adelaide Review on Monday.

"I have never seen anyone actually bowl the doosra. It has to be a chuck.

"Until such time as the ICC declares that all manner of chucking is legal in the game of cricket I refuse to coach the doosra. All at the 'Spin Summit' agreed," he added.

Recently, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was found himself in the wrong side of the law when he was reported by the umpires while bowling a doosra during the second ODI against Australia in Dubai in April. His bowling action was later cleared by a bio-mechanic expert.

Similarly in May this year, South Africa's Johan Botha was warned against bowling doosra, when his delivery was ruled illegal by the ICC during a match.

Doubts were also raised against the bowling actions of Muralitharan, Harbhajan and Pakistan's Shoaib Malik during their career and all of them had to go through the ICC human movement specialist panel to get themselves cleared.