Phangiso’s action cleared for World T20

Proteas spinner Aaron Phangiso will travel to the ICC World T20 after his bowling action was cleared by independent tests.

|||

Cape Town - Proteas spinner Aaron Phangiso will travel to the ICC World T20 after his bowling action was cleared by independent tests.

But Phangiso won’t play in Wednesday’s final T20 international against Australia at Newlands (6pm start) so that he spend more time working on his revised action.

Phangiso was reported by the match officials for a suspected illegal bowling action during the Highveld Lions’ One-Day Cup match against the Warriors late last month, and he was tested after playing in the final against the Cape Cobras at Newlands on February 28, where he took 3/33 in nine overs.

The initial tests, conducted at an ICC-approved facility at the University of Pretoria, found that Phangiso’s arm was bent beyond the allotted 15 degrees when bowling. He was suspended immediately by Cricket South Africa (CSA), and had about eight days to change his action accordingly.

He worked with Proteas spin-bowling coach Claude Henderson and CSA’s high performance manager Vinnie Barnes to get his arm under the 15 degrees, and was tested again in Pretoria this past Monday, which saw him sit out of the two T20Is against Australia in Durban and Johannesburg.

But now the 32-year-old left-armer from Ga-Rankuwa is smiling after CSA said in a statement late on Tuesday night that the tests found that his action “for all deliveries is within the parameters as laid down by the international (ICC) regulations and his suspension from bowling in CSA competitions is thus lifted with immediate effect”.

Phangiso said in a statement: “It’s a huge relief to be cleared and to have my bowling action passed. It has been a tough and challenging few weeks for me.

“Many thanks to Cricket South Africa and the Proteas management for their support and for giving me the best opportunity of making it to India for the ICC World T20.

“In saying that, I’d really like to use the next few days ahead of the tournament to gain playing confidence, especially with some of the technical adjustments we have made to my action. My focus is on the World Cup and I’d really like to head into the competition with good form and confidence.”

CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: “Of course I am delighted that Aaron is back in action and I applaud him and all the CSA and Proteas support staff who worked so hard to get him back on track. I wish him well in future.”

Proteas coach Russell Domingo added that it would be best for Phangiso to miss the Newlands clash against the Aussies as well. The South African team leave for India on Thursday, play a warm-up game on Friday, and begin their World T20 campaign against England on March 18 in Mumbai.

“We are really happy and relieved that Aaron has passed his re-test and he can now ready himself for the big tournament ahead,” Domingo said.

“I said at the beginning of the series that we wanted to give everyone in the squad an opportunity to play and while it is tempting to play him tomorrow, both Aaron and I feel it’s best that he takes a little more time to work on and gain confidence with his new adjustments.

“We have an important few weeks coming up in India, so it’s going to be important to have him in the right frame of mind both mentally and physically.”

* Follow @IndyCapeSport on Twitter for live updates of the final T20 international between South Africa and Australia at Newlands. Play starts at 6pm on Wednesday.

ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za

@IndyCapeSport

Independent Media