By Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
WEST INDIES fast bowler Jermaine Lawson will need to work more on his bowling action before he can start playing again at a competitive level.
The 21-year-old Jamaican returned to the island yesterday from Queensland, Australia, where he spent the last 19 days doing remedial work on his bowling action.
He was accompanied on the trip 'Down Under' by the West Indies Cricket Board's development officer in Jamaica, Phillip Service, who said Lawson will now rest for about three weeks.
Service says after that period, Lawson will return to the nets to practise in preparation for competition, possibly at a level below Test cricket as they seek to get him ready for the English tour of the Caribbean next year.
Lawson is doing remedial work on his bowling after being reported for throwing in the second innings of the fourth Test against Australia at the Antigua Recreation Ground earlier this year, when he took seven wickets.
"We started our work based on that. At the end of the period we feel that we have made some progress although as we got closer and closer to the end of the period it became more and more difficult for Jermaine.
"It's intense work," Service said. "We made sure we did not push him over the edge to aggravate his old injury. When you are doing remedial work and making slight changes to action, you are going to expect some pains.
"That is where we are, we think we have made progress. They will be reporting to us in a another week or so," Service explained. Stating the WICB's reason for sending Lawson to Australia, Service said.
"It was to continue the remedial work and to get them to use their experience with the technology that they have to help us in the remedial process which is ongoing.
"When they analysed his action they felt there were two major problems - lateral flexion, which is leaning over to the left rather than leaning forward in the direction of bowling the ball and counter rotation. Counter rotation is when the hips and the shoulders rotate in opposite directions, this normally happens in delivery stride," Service pointed out.
"In their estimation this contributed to the majority of injuries in their (Australia) fast bowlers. We were aware of lateral flexion, but we don't have the facilities in the West Indies to measure counter rotation because it needs overhead projectors and so on."
"We recognised though that we had made significant progress since August, which is when we had done the ICC Test."
