Matt Kuhnemann’s public shaming after the Sri Lanka tour may lead to a change in how cricket tackles the process of testing bowling actions, as the spinner admitted “there’s definitely better ways” to handle the issue.
The public dissemination of Kuhnemann’s International Cricket Council report following the second of two Test matches in Galle led to days of speculation about the legality of his bowling action, before biomechanical testing in Brisbane revealed that he was nowhere near the threshold for a player to be banned.
Matt Kuhnemann takes a wicket in Sri Lanka.Credit: Channel Seven
Two sources with knowledge of talks, speaking on condition of anonymity because of their sensitive nature, have told this masthead that the requirement to publicise an umpire’s reporting of a suspect bowling action may be looked at for the future. The alternative is to keep the process confidential until testing results are known.
For Kuhnemann, that outcome may have made for a less stressful few weeks, as his enormous contribution to a 2-0 series victory over Sri Lanka in Galle was called into question. Bowlers once faced the humiliation of being called for throwing by umpires during games, before condemnation of the practice led to the current, more scientific process. Cricket Australia declined to comment.
Umpires, too, are aware that their judgement in the middle is also called into question by the current process, which was formalised before the age of social media and a much faster news cycle.
“The most disappointing thing was I didn’t want to take away from the fact we did play some amazing cricket over there,” Kuhnemann told this masthead. “Now it’s all done, you look back and know we played beautifully and everyone played a role.
“I was lucky I had a great support network around me to deal with it because it was so public, but there’s definitely better ways to do it, and if it doesn’t have to be public then so be it. But you’re playing Test cricket, so that’s something you’ve got to accept and trust that the people in charge are doing the right thing.
“I was always confident I was going to be fine, but I knew there was going to be a bit of noise in the public for a week or so. I have thickish skin so that didn’t really bother me, but does it have to be so public? I’m not sure. There are probably better ways.”
Like India’s pace ace Jasprit Bumrah, Kuhnemann hyperextends his elbow, creating the optical illusion that he may throw the ball. Testing showed that none of his deliveries came close to 15 degrees of flex, with the majority under 10 degrees.
“I’ve always known I hyperextend,” Kuhnemann said. “Once you’ve seen the slow motion camera you can see it, so it’s something I don’t try to do, it just happens.
“I watched the Ravi Ashwin podcast, he explained it quite well how it can cause an optical illusion. But I’ve always known how I bowl, and I knew exactly what I was doing.”
Kuhnemann’s 16 wickets at 17.18 in Sri Lanka were followed by a five-wicket haul in his final Sheffield Shield innings of the season for Tasmania, meaning he claimed a highly creditable 24 wickets at 34.20 in his first campaign for the Tigers. All that despite an unsightly dislocated thumb in the Big Bash League, which briefly threatened his Sri Lanka trip.
The move from Brisbane to Hobart was geared at getting more match bowling, after the Queensland selectors chose to prioritise Mitchell Swepson’s wrist spin for the Bulls. That left Kuhnemann as one of Australia’s most valued Test bowlers in south Asia, yet barely bowling in state games at home.
“I think my mind was made up halfway through last season when I wasn’t playing,” Kuhnemann said of the move.
Matt Kuhnemann (right) with Cooper Connolly in the victorious Australian rooms in Galle.Credit: Getty Images
“So I did go to them and say ‘do you see a future in me’, and they said ‘yes, but bide your time’. But I was 27 and there was a subcontinent tour coming up. So I was ready for a change.
“Tassie was the best option, I knew a few of the guys down there, we’ve had probably six of their players play for Gold Coast Dolphins, my club, in the T20 Max competition. I caught up with [Tasmania coach] Jeff Vaughan during the season last year for a beer and a chat and really love him as a person and a coach. So that’s how it came about.”
Kuhnemann also spoke warmly of his spin bowling mentor John Davison, who has also had a hand in the long and fruitful career of Nathan Lyon.
“No one knows my game better than him. He’s always someone I call and catch up with, and if I haven’t spoken to him in a while and there’s something wrong, he knows exactly what I’m talking about,” Kuhnemann said.
“I try to see him at least a few times a year – a couple of times in pre-season, and maybe a couple of times during the season – to check in and make sure everything is looking good. He sees things that I don’t necessarily see and feel.”
Kuhnemann’s next assignment for Australia is likely to be the three-Test series in the West Indies in June and July.
“When you’ve got Steve Smith at first slip, he’s reading the game as it unfolds and watching how I’m bowling,” Kuhnemann said. “If he sees something like my pace or thinks I need to go a bit squarer or bowl with more overspin, he’ll come and tell me.
“I’d like to say it was all me, but it definitely wasn’t. Even messages from Dan Vettori, he’d run out messages just making sure my pace was what it should be for that time of the game.
“I have so many great people around in that set-up to help me take wickets.”
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