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ICC again asked to scrutinise Murali's action

Umpires are reluctant to call Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing because of the backlash they might face, South African official Peter van der Merwe said today in Melbourne.

Van der Merwe, series referee for the three-nation one-day competition involving Australia, Sri Lanka and England, is to send a report to the International Cricket Council requesting a review of the bowler's unorthodox action.

"It's just that some of the balls that he bowls look a bit doubtful," van der Merwe said.

Rather than call the Sri Lankan on the field, at least two Australian umpires are reported to have raised concerns about his bowling style in their reports to van der Merwe.

"Umpires are reluctant -- they're prepared to do their duty. But it's a case of a law that has far more ramifications than other laws," van der Merwe told Channel 7 television.

Asked if some umpires had been scared off calling Muralitharan because of the controversy surrounding the player, van der Merwe replied: "I think in view of the furore that's been stirred up here by the media, there is a chance, quite frankly."

But Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga treated the latest allegations against his match-winner with disdain.

"It started here and we know it will come through here. Nothing happens in other parts of the world," he said.

No one at the Sri Lankan Cricket Board offices in Colombo was available for comment because of a national holiday today.

It will be the sixth time in as many years the ICC has received reports over Muralitharan's action. Australian umpire Darrell Hair had called him seven times in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1995.

The spinner was called again in the one-day series later that season by umpires Ross Emerson and Tony McQuillan.

Hair stood down from officiating in matches involving Sri Lanka this year after being criticised for describing the spinner's action as "diabolical" in his autobiography.

He faces censure from the ICC over his comments.

Hair also said he received death threats after calling Muralitharan for chucking.

Van der Merwe was careful to avoid branding the Sri Lankan a chucker when he faced the media. "I would say some balls he delivers are more strange than other ones, but that doesn't mean to say he throws every ball by any means," he said.

"It's not an ordinary action, but whether that's caused by the fact [that] his wrist is extremely mobile, or by his bent arm which apparently can't straighten, I can't answer."

The Sri Lankans deny that Muralitharan is a chucker, and say his bent-arm bowling action is the result of a birth defect.

AP