Australian cricket’s inner circle reveal longheld fears for Matthew Kuhnemann

Just days after bowling Australia to victory over Sri Lanka, Matthew Kuhnemann’s world has been flipped on its head. BEN HORNE questions how the system let things get this far?

Has the Australian cricket system let Matt Kuhnemann down by not asking the questions the game’s governing body now has?

Cricket Australia expressed its surprise on Wednesday – when news broke that Kuhnemann’s bowling action had been reported by the ICC – that after 124 professional matches without incident, there was suddenly a query on the legality of the left-armer’s action.

However, it’s telling that the reaction being expressed behind the scenes in domestic cricket circles was more specifically surprise, but certainly not shock.

Numerous relevant sources across the Australian game have told this masthead that question marks have existed for some time over Kuhnemann’s delivery style.

Not just scuttlebutt from players in dressing rooms but the subject has also been mentioned at least in dispatches amongst domestic match officials.

WATCH: CODE Sports cricket reporter Ben Horne looks at the road ahead for Matthew Kuhnemann, and reveals the shock within Cricket Australia at the spinner’s reporting.

One suggestion is a vacuum has been created, where CA have passed on responsibility for identifying suspect actions to umpires, and umpires don’t want to bear that responsibility for impacting a career.

“It’s like a taboo subject. We don’t talk about it until it happens like this and now the poor kid is called out and embarrassed on the international stage,” one source said.

“Rather than grabbing a few guys early on in their development when it looks like something is not quite right, and saying, ‘what can we do to help you? Let’s get you up and tested and sort this out.”

Matthew Kuhnemann played 124 professional matches without a query. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images

It would be untrue to say scepticism of Kuhnemann’s action is universal, in fact far from it, because there are well-respected figures who think it is OK and certainly no worse than much higher profile Test bowlers over the years who have been allowed to flourish.

At this stage all that has happened is the ICC has reported him, and testing may yet prove his action is completely legal.

But the argument is that if there is even a thread of doubt, surely it’s better for testing to take place before the spotlight arrives, so any issues can be potentially nipped in the bud, rather than the humiliating and mentally taxing situation Kuhnemann now finds himself in.

And if domestic testing had already cleared Kuhnemann, then that would have been good information for ICC match officials to have before making the big call they just have after a Test series in Sri Lanka.

Matthew Kuhnemann’s career is at a crossroads after being reported for a suspect bowling action. Picture: Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP

Many umpires believe that when it comes to bowling actions, when it looks like there’s something wrong, there often is because 15 degrees is not a huge amount of leverage.

In India 10 years ago, the BCCI set up a three-man committee to tackle the problem of suspect bowling actions at junior age group and domestic cricket level head-on, and it produced significant results.

Umpires at domestic level don’t want to be ‘that guy’ who calls a bowler for a suspect action, aware of the stigma that brings, and by a time a player progresses to international cricket it’s hard for coaches to raise concerns when no one has previously asked the tough questions.

Perhaps a more proactive approach is needed across the game, for the benefit of the player.

No bowler wants to get queried over their action, but if it has to happen, you’d rather it be raised years before you’ve just bowled your country to victory in the high-point of your career.

Originally published as Australian cricket’s inner circle reveal longheld fears for Matthew Kuhnemann