Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis may have invited trouble for himself after he seemingly accused Pakistan pacer Mohammad Hasnain of chucking during the Hundred match between the Oval Invincibles and Southern Brave.
Stoinis, who was the highest scorer for the James Vince-led Brave side, was dismissed by Hasnain off short delivery which the batter could only get as far as the mid-off fielder Will Jacks. As Stoinis was leaving the field after being dismissed for 37 (27), he not-so-subtly questioned the legality of Hasnain’s bowling action by mimicking it with a folded elbow despite the pacer being cleared of the same.
For the uninitiated, Hasnain’s action was reported earlier in the Big Bash League (BBL) after the game between Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers in January. Later on, Hasnain underwent biomechanics tests and it was confirmed from the finding of the Lahore University of Management Sciences that his action breached the 15-degree elbow extension allowed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
However, Hasnain was declared fit to bowl having tweaked his action a bit to meet the ICC’s limit and since the action was legal, Stoinis could face disciplinary action for showing dissent. Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq, a couple of journalists and fans said that Stoinis didn’t have to take a dig as this was not his job but the officials and his current action is legal as per them.
Stoinis called it out with his actions but his compatriot and Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques didn’t hold himself back from speaking about it during the BBL when he shouted “Nice throw, mate” after Hasnain had bowled a bouncer at him.
“Right from the first game he played and through to the tournament, it seemed that there was a few question marks there,” Henriques had told reporters then.
Hasnain, who made his debut for Pakistan in 2019 has played 18 T20Is and eight ODIs for his country with his last appearance in a T20 against West Indies in December last year.
As for the match, the Invincibles notched up their third consecutive win in the ingoing Hundred competition owing to a Will Jacks special, who became the second centurion in the competition with a 48-ball 108*
