Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq’s much-talked-about bowling action is attracting attention across the ranks of cricket, with his distinctive pause before the release now being copied by younger players.Tariq’s action, which involves a visible stop before hitting the ball, has already come under scrutiny, with indirect suggestions for a throw from Australian all-rounder Cameron Green.The trend seems to have reached school cricket as well, where a Sri Lankan bowler attempted a similar approach during a traditional inter-school match. The match, which has been played annually since 1905, was in its 121st edition, Wisden reported.Nethuja Basitha, representing Richmond College, attempted to replicate Tariq’s method but added his own variation. He stopped in his run and jumped several times before making a full throw, but the umpire immediately called it a dead ball.Under Article 41.4 of the Laws of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which deals with “deliberate attempt to distract the batsman”, the umpire can call a dead ball if such an act is suspected. The law states that if the umpire believes that such an attempt has occurred, he “shall immediately call and signal a dead ball and inform the other umpire of the reason for the call”.The rule also allows five penalty runs to be awarded to the batting side, although in this case the umpire decided to award only a warning.Since the break was not part of Basitha’s regular action, it could have been seen as an attempt to distract the batsman. In contrast, Tariq’s pause is considered part of his usual bowling action and therefore may not fall under the same interpretation.Tariq attracted attention ahead of the T20 World Cup, including against India where he returned figures of 1/24. He later took 4/16 against Namibia and 2/31 against England but was wicketless for 43 runs against Sri Lanka in the last Super 8 match.
