Chucking or throwing is an illegal mannerism of bowling in cricket. Overarm bowling in cricket requires the bowler to flex his arm from the elbow joint by no more than 15 degrees to bowl a legal delivery. When this angle increases, it is considered as a throw.
On the field, it is very challenging for the umpire to determine a throw through visual judgement. When the umpire suspects the violation of the law, then it is noted in the match report. If the umpire suspects only one delivery of the bowler to be a throw, then that too has to be mentioned in the report. In some cases when the throw is evident or intentional, then the umpires can call it a no-ball on the field.
The report of the umpire is passed on to the match referee who then notifies the team management and the ICC regarding the incident. A media statement is also published. If the report concludes that only one delivery of a bowler is illegal, then the bowler can continue to play matches at an international level provided they remedy the action in concern immediately.
In cases where a string of deliveries of a bowler have been deemed as throws, then the bowler is suspended from international cricket until their action is remedied. Upon reassessment, the player can clear the ICC’s tests and can again bowl at the international level. However, if a player is suspended twice in two years, then they are banned from international cricket for one year.
Since 1898, a total of 24 bowlers have been called for throwing in cricket.
