Suspected of throwing, what happens next?

Aimee Maguire will undergo testing at an ICC accredited facility after being reported for a suspect bowling action

Spare a thought for Aimee Maguire.

Ireland’s left-arm spinner has been reported to the ICC for having a suspect bowling action. In layman’s terms, she has been accused of maybe chucking it. It’s a messy, situation.

The most important element of this story is the duty of care to the player. An 18-year old just two years into her career has been told that the way in which she earns her livelihood potentially contravenes the rules of the sport.

How did it come to this? Why was she called now? What responsibility lies with Maguire or her coaches? What happens next?

Answering all of these questions is a tall order. Cricket Ireland have been proactive in expressing support for the player. It should be said that, for now, Maguire is only suspected of breaking the rules. She still has to undergo testing which may yet conclude that her action is legal.

Regardless, that a young player is in this situation in the first place raises the above questions and more. Responsibility lies somewhere. It’s difficult to pin down individuals. Should Maguire be forced to change her action, it is the system as a whole which will have failed her.

Maguire initially bowled left-arm seam, but “was persuaded to change to spin due to the value placed on that skill in the world game,” according to her profile on the Cricket Ireland website. She went to the 2023 U19 World Cup as a spinner. There was no indication then that her action was iffy.

Since her senior debut in 2023, at no stage in any of her 20 senior international games had concern been expressed by ICC officials surrounding Maguire’s action. After Ireland’s first game of their recent India tour, however, the match officials submitted a report. Some or all of umpires Akshray Totre, Kim Cotton and match referee GS Lakshmi suspected that Maguire was breaking the rules on permitted elbow extension.

That report was then sent to Cricket Ireland, before the ICC made their public announcement. From when CI first heard of the issue, Maguire had 14 days to undergo testing with human movement specialists at an ICC accredited facility. There are a number of these centres in Cardiff, Loughborough, Brisbane and Chennai. Loughborough has been mentioned as the most likely destination for Maguire. Fortunately for both her and CI, the ICC bears all costs associated with travel and testing.

What will those doing the testing be looking for? The ICC document explaining its laws about bending the elbow (ie throwing) is lengthy. According to the experts, everyone chucks it to some degree; all bowlers bend and then straighten their elbow. So they set a limit.

An illegal bowling action “is defined as one where a bowler’s elbow extension exceeds 15 degrees, measured from the point at which the bowling arm reaches the horizontal until the point at which the ball is released.” This is why you hear the magic 15 degree figure bandied about. If Maguire’s action is 14 degrees, she’s fine. But the testers will need to be satisfied that the action tested reflects the one seen in match action. She can’t dupe the assessors.

Hyperextension of the elbow doesn’t count as bending. This is why someone like Jasprit Bumrah is not called for throwing.

Maguire was allowed to keep bowling during the 14-day limit to get tested, but Ireland opted to take her out of the XI for the last two games against India. She was still with the squad, seen in the dugout wearing a bib, just no longer in the firing line.

Once tested, the ICC-appointed specialist has 10 days to submit a detailed report. There are various groups, called “event” and “expert” panels which need to ratify the whole thing. These people have either 14 or seven days to do so, depending on who they are. All told, a decision on the legality of the action will be communicated to the player within roughly a month to six weeks of the first report from match officials. If Maguire exceeds the permitted 15 degrees, she is suspended from bowling immediately. She can apply for a re-assessment at any stage, meaning as soon as CI are satisfied they have carried out the necessary remedial work, Maguire can try to lift the suspension.

But they need to be sure. If Maguire fails two assessments within 24 months, she will be suspended from bowling for a year.

That’s all the technical stuff. Here’s where the questions come in.

Why did it take 20 international matches for someone to say something to the ICC? To the naked eye, Maguire looked a bit suspect when bowling against Sri Lanka and England during the home summer. Then, Sue Redfern, arguably the most experienced umpire in women’s cricket, stood in Ireland matches. Lauren Agenbag and Ireland’s Roly Black were also involved, two highly rated officials. Aidan Seaver, an Irishman who has done enough to be selected for the current U19 Women’s World Cup, also officiated. None of these umpires cried chucking.

There is a lack of transparency around why umpires call this at any given time. It is unlikely that Maguire’s action materially changed from September to January, meaning we are dealing with differing opinions of the naked eye.

It’s not just Maguire. Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladeshi left-arm spinner, has had a long and successful international career. He was called for throwing late last summer when playing for Surrey. He has now been banned from bowling, nearly 20 years after his international debut.

The system is not as steadfast as the ICC would like. Irish underage sides have come up against opponents suspected of throwing. Because games were bilateral and not part of an ICC event, there have been gentlemen’s agreements between umpires and coaches to sort the issue out before matches of real consequence. Avoid the paperwork.

Why Maguire needs to bowl in this way, if it is indeed illegal, is another question. She came up through the system as a seamer, playing for The Hills Cricket Club in Dublin. Her first national recognition came from bowling spin for the U19s but there were no major concerns about her action then. Even if there were, contact time between players and coaches was exclusively in preparation for World Cups. There was no space to implement mechanical bowling changes.

When she started training with the senior squad, there may well have been some overlap with former Australia bowler Nathan Hauritz, then the spin coach for the senior men, women and pathway groups. As the job title suggests, Hauritz was stretched thin and often toured with senior sides. He wasn’t always available to younger players. Hauritz left Cricket Ireland in early 2023, before Maguire made her international debut.

The Ireland women’s squad had no specialist spin coaching from then until January 2024, when James Cameron-Dow travelled on their tour of Zimbabwe as a consultant. A former left-arm spinner himself, Cameron-Dow has a Test cap for Ireland. He was head coach of the Dragons in the Super Series, but only started as the full-time national spin coach in July last year.

Since then, Ireland have had series against Sri Lanka and England before a two-month gap ahead of winter tours to Bangladesh and India. It remains unclear if Cameron-Dow, or any coach, expressed concern about Maguire’s elbow extension. If they did, it is unlikely they had time between series to sufficiently remodel the action. Besides, Maguire played plenty of games against top opposition without being reported.

Coaches did acknowledge the need to strengthen Maguire’s action. While this is a widespread need across all young spinners, this does seem the most likely explanation for the elbow kink.

Some spinners bend the elbow to disguise their variations. Think of Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistani off-spinner who had a doosra which was, at times, impossible to read. When he was forced to change his action, he came back no longer the same devastating force.

Maguire does not spin the ball both ways. Variations are not the issue. Instead, the most likely problem is strength, particularly in the shoulder area. She is young, having just turned 18 in September. At present, Maguire is not a full-time professional but still on an educational contract. In all likelihood, she has not had sufficient time with an S&C programme to build up the required strength to bowl the ball at international speeds.

Mainly because Ireland were desperate for her. Ireland’s spin attack has been weak for some time. Here was a young bowler taking domestic wickets who, crucially, offered some left-handed variety.

All of which is comforting in some ways. A period away from the pressures of international level should allow Maguire to remodel her action - if needed - and build up strength. This should not be terminal for her career.

This case is equally concerning, though, in what it reveals about the Irish system. Like so many players before her, Maguire has had to develop while on the international job. Lewis, Prendergast, Hunter, Tector, Little (I could go on…) have all been thrown in the deep end and figured things out. Maguire looked to have found a method for success, only the lack of specialist support meant she did so in a way which could force her to spend time out of the game.

The system has failed her.

With a lack of specialist international-class spin coaching, let alone in the youth pathway, Maguire has developed bad habits. Ireland’s lack of spinners has forced a rushed development. Ireland couldn’t play another spinner in big games because they didn’t have anyone of a similar quality. Even with gaps in the schedule, the increasingly busy calendar then did not allow time for remedial work, if concerns were outlined.

All of which makes it difficult to fault the player - who until recently was quite literally a child - or coaches, who are new in the job and don’t have the time or resources to carry out their roles. This should have been a problem identified and fixed before it got to this stage, but Ireland’s poor financial situation (a pathway coach costs money) combined with a lack of imaginative solutions ensures everyone involved was reactive, rather than proactive.

Should Maguire’s action exceed 15 degrees, Cameron-Dow and co will look to remodel, strengthen the player and, most importantly of all, provide psychological support throughout this process. Chucking is an emotive issue. We’ve all seen the rows in Division Eight games - without umpires - when someone spots a bent elbow.

CI have made the right noises. Graham West, in his first public utterances since taking over the high performance department, said the following: “The experience and expertise that we possess within our high performance coaching and support services at Cricket Ireland will provide Aimee with the care, support and guidance to deliver the remedial programme which will begin following the team’s return from India.”

These comments omit the lack of specialist support when Maguire was not in the senior international picture, or during the 18 months it took to hire a replacement for Hauritz. It also fails to mention that, should Maguire need to change tack, Cameron-Dow will have to combine this significant undertaking with preparing the other spinners for a World Cup qualifier.

What happens if Maguire still needs support while Cameron-Dow is away on tour? Do they take her along, even though she might not be selectable, or leave her at home with little support? Does Chris Brown, the men’s spin coach, step in to help?

There are plenty of good people involved, but capability can often have little to do with good intentions. Maguire has shown plenty of promise on the international stage. Her chances of fulfilling that potential rely on the system which has already failed her now building her back up again.