The Sri Lankan cricket board (BCCSL) has condemned former West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding for questioning the legality of Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling action. It said that Holding's comments were "unwarranted" and "irresponsible". Speaking to Wisden Asia Cricket, Holding said that he agreed comments made by former Indian spinner Bishen Singh Bedi in his column on wisden.com (click here) that Muralitharan's action was illegal. But Holding's opinion could prove more important than those of other former international players because he heads the ICC's technical committee on illegal bowling actions.

The BCCSL said it had raised the matter with the ICC and stressed that Muralitharan's action had been cleared in 1999. "Mr Holding's comments are a deliberate insult to his predecessors on the ICC advisory panel on illegal deliveries," it said.

The BCCSL also questioned the timing of Holding's comments, which came ahead of the ICC Champions' Trophy in September and the World Cup in South Africa in March next year. "It is strange that Mr Bedi's and Mr Holding's comments were made 10 years after Mr Muralitharan began playing international cricket."

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