Muttiah Muralitharan backing UWA breakthrough in bowling monitor

Muttiah Muralitharan is lending his considerable star power to the Australian scientists who helped save his career.

Sri Lankan spin bowling legend Muttiah Muralitharan at UWA bowling with the biomechanics sensors attached to his arm. Picture: Colin Murty

Almost 25 years since umpire Darrell Hair famously no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan for chucking, the Sri Lankan spin-bowling legend is lending his star power to the Australian scientists who helped save his career.

Muralitharan was at the University of Western Australia on Monday to demonstrate the latest technology for monitoring bowlers’ actions.

Developed in partnership with academics overseas, the wearable sensors have come a long way in recent years. UWA’s biomechanics team believes it is on the cusp of releasing an off-the-shelf unobtrusive “sleeve” that would help junior players perfect their actions, but more importantly prevent back injuries.

The university’s biomechanics team cleared Muralitharan’s bowling action in the late 1990s in a series of tests designed to mimic match conditions.

In 2004, after International Cricket Council match referee Chris Broad reported Muralitharan for chucking while delivering his doosra, UWA examined his action using 12 cameras shooting at 250 frames per second.

Muttiah Muralitharan working with University of Western Australia biomechanist Jacque Alderson in 2004

The tests overseen by UWA biomechanist Bruce Elliott, then contracted to the ICC, found Muralitharan’s leg break with an offspinning action breached the five-degree arm-extension rule introduced three years earlier.

He straightened his arm 14 degrees, reduced to 10 degrees after some remedial work with the biomechanists.

At the time Professor Elliott shared his belief that other top bowlers would also be found in breach, and the ICC ultimately changed its rules to allow bowlers to straighten their bowling arm by up to 15 degrees.

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Muralitharan became the world record-holder for the most wickets taken in both Test and one-day cricket.

At James Oval in Perth on Monday Muralitharan, 47, said technology had helped him and he believed advances in biomechanical testing would help future generations of cricketers too.

“I went through my whole career (with) a lot of pressure behind whatever I achieved,” he said.

“I’m glad they are improving these sensors and it could go to all cricket playing nations and it will improve the bowling actions of world cricket. If they are doing wrong, they can instantly change their action … and so those are the benefits of the sensors.”

Senior UWA biomechanist Professor Jacqueline Alderson said the technology in the sleeve worked much like the technology in a modern mobile phone, though it was much more accurate. She believed the product would be ready within six months.

UWA said Muralitharan had no financial interest in the product and came to Perth because the scientists asked him to. “I want to give to the game,” he said.