Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Mura-litharan will be able to bowl his controversial 'doosra' under a recommendation from an International Cricket Council (ICC) committee.

The delivery, a leg-spinner bowled from the front of the hand, was outlawed as illegal by the ICC last May after a report concluded Muralitharan bent his arm during delivery and accordingly threw the ball.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the ICC said the committee had recommended that all bowlers be allowed to straighten theirarmsbyupto 15 degrees.

At present spinners arc permitted five degrees, medium pacers 7.5 and fast bowlers 10. Muralitharan's doosra was initially measured at around 14 degrees.

"Levels of foierance arc in place to deal with the reality that almost every bowler in international cricket will straighten his arm to some extent because of the bio-mechanical forces al work in his action," the statement said. "Expert advice had identified that the recommended level of tolerance of 15 degrees will accommodate any straightening th at is as a result of bio-mechanical forces al workin the action."

Former West Indies’ fast bowler Michael Holding, a member of the committee which was chaired by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, said he had been convinced that all bowlers straightened their arm to some extent.

"The scientific evidence is overwhelming," Holding said.

"When bowlers, who to the naked eye look to have pure actions, are thoroughly analysed with the assistance of the sophisticated technology now in place they arc likely to be shown as straightening their arm by 11 and in some cases 12 degrees.

"Under a strict interpretation of the law these players are breaking the rules. The game needs to deal with this reality and make its judgment as to how it accommodates this fact."

The statement said the committee had recommended that the starting point for any report on a suspect action should be the appearance of the delivery to the naked eye.

"The law is written for all levels of cricket," said ICC genera) manager Dave Richardson.

"In order that all bowlers at all levels arc treated in the same way and that the bowlers of today are treated in a similar manner to the bowlers of previous generations, the consistent position is to retain the naked eye viewing the action at normal speed as the starting point for any report."

Richardson said the ICC needed to find a way to respect the tradition and spirit of die game while still taking advantage of advances in technology.

"The issue of illegal actions has been a controversial one in cricket for decades and is often clouded by the emotional responses that accompany the reporting of a player," hesaid.

The recommendation will now go to die ICC for approval.

Muralitharan, the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 532 victims, has been called twice for throwing.

I le is expected to make a comeback to Test cricket in the series against New Zealand in January after recovering from a shoulder injury. He has been out of action since August.