Raisibe Ntozakhe's bowling action declared illegal just before World T20

South Africa has suffered a major blow to their squad with the World Twenty-20 looming. Just hours after they named her in their squad for the tournament, South Africa's front-line off-spinner Raisibe Ntozakhe has been suspended from bowling in international cricket as the International Cricket Council (ICC) has declared her bowling action to be illegal.



ICC conducted an independent assessment of Ntozakhe's bowling action and found it to be illegal. Consequently, she has been suspended from bowling in international cricket, effective immediately.



Keeping in line with ICC Regulations For The Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspect Illegal Bowling Actions, Ntozakhe's suspension will be acknowledged and followed by all National Cricket Federations for domestic cricket tournaments played in their respective jurisdictions. She may however be able to bowl in domestic matches with the permission of Cricket South Africa (CSA), under their supervision.



Ntozakhe's bowling action was brought forward during South Africa's tour of the West Indies when the teams were playing in the ICC Women's Championship. This was on the 16th September 2018 in Barbados and the independent assessment of her bowling action was conducted on 28th September 2018 at the University of Pretoria.



After altering her bowling action, Ntozakhe can apply for a re-assessment according to clause 4.5. With the World Twenty-20 only a month away, it seems to be highly improbable that she will be flying to the Caribbean with the team.



Speaking about Ntozakhe's suspension, the Chief Executive of CSA, Thabang Moroe said, "The timing of this issue for Raisibe and for our World T20 squad is clearly inopportune but we need to deal with it. We will work hard to remedy her action and have her retested as soon as practically possible. We are fortunate to have invested in an ICC accredited Laboratory in South Africa and this will certainly make a quick turnaround possible.”



South Africa will need to name their replacement player, if they want to, before 2nd November 2018, prior to the start of the warm-up matches for the World Twenty-20. If they delay their selection, they will have to seek permission from the Event Technical Committee.



This news will put a serious dent in South Africa's plans. Ntozakhe traveled with the squad to the West Indies earlier and her team would have found comfort in the fact that their off-spinner knew the conditions well and was used to them. Who South Africa will name as her replacement, if they do, is yet to be seen.