Proteas spinner Aaron Phangiso suspended after his bowling action is declared illegal

Independent tests conducted on Aaron Phangiso’s bowling action have revealed that the left-arm spinner’s bowling action is illegal under the Laws of Cricket.

Phangiso’s tests were conducted by a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Panel of Human Movement specialists.

These tests were conducted last Friday at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre‚ which was accredited as an ICC testing laboratory in December 2014.

"The assessment revealed that all variations of his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations‚" Cricket SA said in a statement.

He was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action by the match officials in last week’s Momentum One Day Cup Play-Off match between the Highveld Lions and the Warriors.

In accordance with the Cricket South Africa Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions‚ Phangiso is suspended from bowling in domestic cricket with immediate effect.

"The suspension will remain in force until he has undergone remedial work on his bowling action and has passed a re-assessment of his bowling action."

Cricket SA has confirmed that Phangiso will not be considered for the first two T20 International Series against Australia. However‚ he will remain with the squad and will work alongside spin bowling coach‚ Claude Henderson‚ who will be joined by Cricket SA’s High Performance Manager‚ Vinnie Barnes‚ in an effort to remedy his action.

Phangiso will undergo a second round of independent tests next Monday‚ which will then determine whether he is available for selection for the last T20 against Australia and whether he travels with the Proteas T20 squad to India for the ICC World Twenty20.

“The timing of this issue for Aaron and for our World T20 squad is clearly inopportune but we need to deal with it. We will work hard to remedy Aaron’s action and have him retested as soon as practically possible‚” said Cricket SA Chief Executive‚ Haroon Lorgat.

“We are fortunate to have an ICC accredited Laboratory in South Africa and this will certainly make a quick turnaround possible.”

The new Cricket SA Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions came into effect in October 2015. Since then‚ six bowlers in Franchise and Senior Provincial cricket have been reported for illegal bowling actions‚ while another four were reported at under-19 level during the Khaya Majola Week.