‘I’ve never doubted my bowling action’: Kuhnemann’s relief after being cleared by ICC

Australia spinner Matt Kuhnemann said he had never doubted the legality of his action after being cleared of a suspect bowling action by the International Cricket Council.

Kuhnemann is now free to continue his international career in Australia’s Test tour of the Caribbean later this year after being cited by umpires in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle earlier this month.

Matthew Kuhnemann’s action was analysed after the Sri Lanka tour.Credit: Getty Images

“I am very grateful for all the support I have received from my family, friends and teammates, and to Cricket Australia who stood by me throughout the process,” Kuhnemann said on Thursday, after news of the ICC’s decision on Wednesday night.

“It was a disappointing way to finish what was such a successful Test series for Australia. I’ve never doubted my bowling action throughout my career and I’m always looking to improve the art of spin bowling in different conditions.

“I thought the process itself was quite fair and I appreciated the professional manner in which testing was explained to me and then conducted.

“I’m looking forward to finishing the season with Tasmania once my thumb has fully healed and then getting into my off-field preparations.”

Kuhnemann has not played at any level since the Tests in Sri Lanka due to the thumb injury he sustained in a Big Bash League match before the tour.

Cricket Australia on Wednesday night confirmed to this masthead that the ICC had determined Kuhnemann does not have an illegal bowling action.

“We are pleased for Matt that this matter is now resolved,” CA’s high-performance boss Ben Oliver said. “It has been a challenging period for Matt however he has carried himself exceptionally well.

“He has had the full support of Australian cricket and he can now move forward to the next phase of his international career with great confidence.”

The left-arm finger-spinner underwent extensive testing earlier this month at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane where he delivered all the variations in his repertoire at match intensity in a session that lasted over an hour.

It was conducted under the supervision of an ICC-appointed human movement specialist, who watched him bowl 18-36 deliveries in accordance with the game’s regulations. The test required Kuhnemann to bowl topless so that markers could be set on his bowling arm and body to measure his action in three dimensions.

Despite the potentially serious ramifications for Kuhnemann, the tweaker and Australia team officials had been confident the tests would clear him.

Kuhnemann, 28, would have faced the difficult task of remodelling his action if he failed the ICC’s testing.

Players and team officials had been surprised to learn Kuhnemann was cited by match officials Joel Wilson and Adrian Holdstock. Holdstock officiated in the first Test but made no report after that game.

Kuhnemann had played 124 professional games since his debut in 2017 without incident, including five Tests, four one-day internationals and 55 Big Bash League games. West Indies umpire Wilson adjudicated in one of those Tests, the third Test of the 2023 series against India in Indore, without raising any queries.

The ICC deems an action to be illegal if “the player’s elbow extends by an amount of more than 15 degrees between their arm reaching the horizontal and the ball being released”.

Kuhnemann stamped himself as a key part of Australia’s bid to defeat India away from home in the 2027 series by topping the wicket-taker’s list with 16 at an average of 17.18 in Sri Lanka.

Matthew Kuhnemann gave another impressive performance in the second Test in Galle.Credit: AP

Indian spin great Ravichandran Ashwin said two years ago that Kuhnemann’s wrist work gave the perception his action was illegal.

“An interesting feature of his action is his loading,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel during Kuhnemann’s debut Test series in 2023.

“For Kuhnemann, his wrist breaks during his loading. So sometimes it will look like there is an elbow extension. There is nothing like that in his action. But there is wrist involvement, for sure.”

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