Sydney Thunder coach Shane Bond says suspended bowler Chris Green is “gutted”, but the club will be with him every step along the way as he fights his way back from an illegal action.
On Wednesday the T20 specialist was handed a 90-day suspension for having an illegal bowling action.
The 26-year-old was reported by umpires Nathan Johnstone, Mike Graham-Smith and third umpire Paul Wilson after the BBL match between the Thunder and Stars at Sydney Showground Stadium on Thursday, January 2.
As per the Suspected Illegal Bowling Action Procedures, Green then underwent testing at the National Cricket Centre on Sunday, January 5, under the guidance of Dr Luke Kelly.
It was there that it was confirmed that Green’s action was illegal.
He will be unable to bowl for a minimum of 90 days in Cricket Australia-run competitions, effective immediately. He can, however, be selected as a batsman in the BBL, and can still bowl in Premier Cricket.
Former New Zealand fast bowler Bond said the overwhelming feeling was one of disappointment.
“I think today the word’s more gutted,” Bond said.
“We’re obviously gutted for Chris, the boys were gutted for him and now we’ve got some work to do to get him back ready to bowl again.
“He’s distraught as you can imagine. It’s not easy to go through what he’s going through at the moment.”
It’s the second time in three years that the Thunder has had a bowler suspended.
The Thunder had Arjun Nair also suspended for an illegal bowling action in January, 2018. Nair has since returned to the Thunder and played against the Stars during their six-wicket defeat on Wednesday night.
“We’ve obviously had Arjun go through the same thing, so there’s someone who understands him exactly,” Bond added.
“Look, we’ll give Chris some time to take stock. He’s still our vice-captain, still good enough to play as a batter, we’ll still have him around the environment, we’ve just got some work to do to get that action right.”
Bond added that the club were surprised by the findings, but backed the process by which it was conducted.
“Yeah it did (shock me),” Bond admitted.
“I’m all happy for any player who’s suspected of having an action to be illegal to be tested and so it’s very fair enough that anyone’s tested.
“I think what surprised us is when Chris went to the testing, the coaches went to the testing, we videoed it, it looked really good, so with the naked eye we thought, we were really confident he’d get through it, and it just goes to show how the naked eye doesn’t always tell the truth.”
Green has been a long-time member of the Thunder and took two wickets during their maiden title in 2015-16.
He recently signed a six-year deal to remain with the Thunder and was picked up in the IPL.
While Green could realistically feature in the competition, Bond said the priority was that his off-spinner took the necessary time out of the game to make sure he makes a successful return to bowling.
“Look, I hope not. But 90 days from now, it probably does (mean he’ll miss the IPL),” Bond said.
“You’ve just got to put that to the side and go, ‘ultimately, we just need to get Chris bowling with an action that’s legal and whatever competition that falls in line with, that’s what it is’.
“I think we need some coaching support around him. We need to work out what are the changes technically we need to make. After 90 (days) he can re-test to see where his action is sitting at, so we need to make sure that we take – whether it be 90 days, 100 days, 200 days – we need to get him to a point where we’re confident that he’s going to pass that test again.
“We’ll start that as soon Chris is ready and we’ve got the support around him to do it.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...r/news-story/9939c49b4cb777239f85d85dd4eced02
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