When Salman Farooq made his one-day international debut for the UAE at the end of last year, it was the realisation of one lifetime ambition.
Given he bowled tidily in that match against Afghanistan, it also meant a second long-held dream was starting to look possible – namely, the chance to play in the World Cup for his country.
His hopes, though, were dashed the day after his ODI debut when the off spinner took a call from the Emirates Cricket Board informing him the umpires had reported him for a suspect bowling action.
He had no time to take a test to prove the legality or otherwise of his method of delivery before the national squad was named for the trip to Australia and New Zealand.
Had he done, the results would only have confirmed the worst. According to subsequent analysis at the UAE’s training base at the ICC Academy in Dubai, the angle of flexion in his elbow when bowling far exceeded the 15 degrees permitted by the laws of cricket.
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At 33, he might have been forgiven for feeling that it would not be worth the effort to try to repair a bowling action he has been used to for so long.
His response, though, has been the opposite. Farooq is in the final throes of a programme to remodel his action in which he will bowl more than 10,000 deliveries.
“It was my dream to play the ODI,” he said. “That is the top level of cricket we can play for UAE.
“Then getting to know I had been reported for a suspect action was a massive blow.
“I was sitting at home and got really depressed, thinking this is where cricket stops for me.
“Then I sent Aaqib (Javed, the UAE coach) a message and asked him if there was a way to get back.
“The kind of person Aaqib is, he said ‘the only way to get back is hard work, and if you are willing to do that, I will do it with you’. That’s when we started training.”
At his current rate, Farooq bowls about 150 balls – the equivalent of a 25-over spell – most days. The process is an exhausting one, and lonely.
Usually, he works on his own in a net at the ICC Academy, running in through a strategically placed lane of cones, bowling at a set of stumps with no batsman in front of them.
“Initially, bowling without a batsman, between cones, with lots of things in place to avoid. It got a little boring, but then I started seeing positive changes,” he said.
“We are nearly there. I have another month or so, when I want to get the accuracy back.”
Once he is confident, he will apply to be tested at an ICC-accredited biomechanics lab.
Aaqib, the former Pakistan bowler, said the corrective programme is exhaustive for good reason.
“Over the years I have worked with more than a thousand people with bad actions in Pakistan,” Aaqib said.
The UAE coach said that a bowler’s action is easier to correct for young players.
“But if a player is 32 or 33 it is not impossible,” he said. “It can be possible if somebody puts their heart and soul into it.
“Salman has been working really hard for three months. It is a process where you are challenging your natural movements and, until the new muscle memory dominates the previous one, you can’t make changes.
“I am really impressed. At this stage it looks fine to me, but he needs to make sure that he has a new bowling action when he is removed from this environment. I’m confident he will.”
The prospect of the UAE playing at another 50-over World Cup is difficult to foresee, while the national team also missed out on next year’s World Twenty20 in India.
Despite the lack of any high-profile competitions to aim for, Farooq is motivated by the idea of representing his country in any form of cricket again.
“The worst thing that happened was, being in the 20 probables, and doing well against Afghanistan, I was hoping to go to the World Cup,” Farooq said.
“That was the main aim and that is gone. But we have ODI status, so I hope to play more, and also four-day cricket, too.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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