Ireland’s Aimee Maguire suspended for illegal bowling action

Aimee Maguire, a left-arm spinner for Ireland women’s cricket, has been banned from bowling in international matches with immediate effect after an Independent Assessment found that she utilises an improper bowling motion.

During the first ODI of the ICC Women’s Championship series against India at Rajkot on January 10, the 18-year-old was reported by match officials for a questionable bowling motion. She returned with figures of 3/57 in eight overs.

She then had a bowling evaluation on January 21 at the ICC Accredited testing facility in Loughborough, UK, where it was discovered that her elbow extension goes beyond the 15-degree tolerance allowed by the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations.

Aimee Maguire was a member of the Ireland Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup team that travelled to Malaysia.

However, because the competition and the assessment time conflicted, she had to be withdrew.

According to standard analysis protocols, an illegal bowling action is defined as “a bowling action where the Player’s Elbow Extension exceeds 15 degrees, measured from the point at which the bowling arm reaches the horizontal until the point at which the ball is released” (clause 2.1 of the regulations). Any elbow hyperextension will be disregarded when assessing whether a bowling action is unlawful.

According to section 6.1 of the rules, Aimee is thereby immediately barred from bowling in international cricket. Her suspension won’t end until her bowling action is reevaluated and it is determined that she is capable of bowling with a legal action.

In her brief career, Maguire, who made her debut for her country in 2023, has participated in 11 One-Day Internationals and nine Twenty20 Internationals, taking 25 wickets, including a career-best 5/19 against England in 2024.