Lives in Cricket No 42 - Frank and George Mann

107 The Creation of Watney Mann prior to the ball leaving the hand.’ Australia objected on the grounds that the words ‘immediately prior to’ were ‘open to doubt and that in some countries there were those that believed that the words implied that the bowler was fair provided his arm was straight at the instant of delivery’. In October, the MCC appointed a special sub-committee to advise what further steps could be taken to eliminate throwing from first-class cricket as fairly and as quickly as possible; to eliminate it from other grades of cricket in the United Kingdom; and to find an improved definition to help umpires in all grades of cricket to apply a unified interpretation of the Law. They asked George Mann to serve as chairman, with a committee including Gubby Allen, Doug Insole, Raman Subba Row, Trevor Bailey, Ted Dexter and the umpires Charlie Elliott and Bill Price. After deliberation the committee recognized that was some substance in the Australian objections and that the procedure in operation in English cricket created a lack of uniformity as there was a natural reluctance by some umpires to become involved in unpleasant incidents. 56 It was agreed that this system should be supplemented by the creation of a standing sub-committee composed of George as chairman, Gubby Allen as vice-chairman, with representation from retired umpires, members of the Board of Control Selection Committee, current players and county committees. The task of this sub-committee should be to adjudicate on bowlers who had been called or reported. It was agreed that any bowler who had been called should be reported to an ‘adjudication’ sub-committee who had the powers to clear or condemn a bowler, including suspension until the end of the season. George then asked his committee to study a selection of films of bowlers in action to determine the best angles to be used when a bowler’s delivery was going to be examined − from long on; long off; the eye of the batsman; or the position of the square-leg umpire. It was agreed that black and white films were better than colour and that slow-motion segments were desirable where possible. The committee also suggested that a new coaching film should be made as soon as possible concerned principally with instruction on correct bowling technique. Some critics wanted more immediate action and The Cricketer published details of the ‘Horizontal Law’, an alternative definition of throwing conceived by Ian Peebles, and commended for its simplicity by Walter Robins, Bob Wyatt, Alf Gover and Jim Laker. This read: ‘The ball shall be bowled, not thrown or jerked. That is to say that when, on the final swing, the bowler‘s arm reaches the horizontal, it shall be fully extended from the shoulder to the waist until the ball is released. This does not preclude the use of the wrist.’ Forced to respond, the ‘throwing’ sub-committee produced its latest definition: ‘The ball shall be deemed to have been thrown if, in the opinion of either umpire, the process of straightening the bowling arm, whether it be partial or complete, takes place during that part of the delivery swing which directly precedes that ball leaving the hand. This definition shall not 56 The umpire had to call a bowler when he was satisfied that the ball had been thrown, then send a report to the secretary of MCC, and then the suspect bowler had to be reported to his county.