5 ugly bowling actions in cricket

#2 Lasith Malinga

Malinga in action

For someone who started off by bowling with tennis balls on a beach, an unorthodox action isn’t surprising. But Malinga’s is something else.

He bowls with a peculiar round-arm action which is difficult to pick for even world class batsmen. Actually, the point from which he releases the ball is low.

In a tour to New Zealand in 2005, the then captain Stephen Fleming asked the umpires to remove their tie and put on a white jersey around their waist so that the batsmen could see Malinga’s deliveries better. While Steve Bucknor agreed, Darrel Hair refused to do it.

“We found it extremely tough when he bowled a certain line and length to pick him up. We’ve asked for the uniforms to be changed. The umpires are there to help, not hinder. I know it’s tradition that they wear that colour, but this circumstance is pretty unique,” Fleming had told the media then.

Malinga couple with such a weird action was pacy too and bowled yorkers at will. He also developed a brilliant slower ball in later years. He has 470 international wickets to his credit.