The West Indies team management has
said they are fully behind off spinner Shane Shillingford, who was reported for
a suspect bowling action by ICC officials after the first Test against Sri
Lanka on Friday.
“I had a very good chat with Shane
and he understands what is going on,” said West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson
after a training session at the Sinhalese Sports Club. “We are 100 per cent
behind Shane. The entire team is behind him and he knows he has our full
support. Our job is to keep Shane focused on the upcoming match and the series.
“From what we have been told, he
can play and he comes into our thinking as normal, as we look ahead to the
match. We are building towards doing well in the second Test, as we did in the
first Test. As a team we are looking forward to the upcoming match. Shane
bowled very well for us in the last Test, and he’s a key part of our bowling
unit.”
The 27-year-old spinner had figures
of 4 for 123 and 1 for 79 in what was his fourth Test match. He has 21 days
from the time the West Indies Cricket Board received the report to submit an
independent analysis of his bowling action. Until the WICB receives a report of
the assessment, however, Shillingford was allowed to continue bowling, which
means he is playing in the second Test against Sri Lanka that begins on
Wednesday in Colombo.
Shillingford was reported
by on-field umpires Steve Davis and Richard Kettleborough, along with third
umpire Asad Rauf and fourth umpire Tyron Wijewardene. The umpires’ report cited
concern over the straightening of Shillingford’s arm while he bowled some
deliveries.
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