Southern Vipers all-rounder suspended from bowling by the ECB after being found guilty of illegal ‘elbow extension’

Southern Vipers all-rounder Maia Bouchier has been suspended from bowling in ECB competitions.

That follows an independent assessment of her bowling action conducted at Loughborough University.

Maia Bouchier. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images.placeholder image
Maia Bouchier. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images.

The suspension follows the process set out in the ECB’s Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with a Suspected Illegal Bowling Action.

Bouchier’s bowling action was reported by the umpires standing in Southern Vipers’ Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy match against Western Storm at Bristol on August 31.

A statement said: ‘The subsequent assessment found that the elbow extension in Bouchier’s bowling action exceeded the 15 degree threshold as defined in the Illegal Bowling Regulations.’

The 21-year-old has been advised to ‘undergo remedial work on her bowing action before requesting a re-assessment’.

Bouchier will remain ineligible to bowl in ECB competitions until she is able to pass an independent re-assessment of her bowling action.

Bouchier was an ever present in the Vipers’ title-winning Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign, playing in all six group games the final.

She bowled 18 overs in the competition, taking just one wicket at a cost of 83 runs.

Formerly of Middlesex, Bouchier, joined Hampshire ahead of the start of the 2019 women’s county cricket campaign.

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