These are the pictures which sports scientist Rob Harley believes prove there is nothing wrong with James Kirtley's bowling action.

The sequence was taken by Harley and his team at the University of Brighton last year when the Sussex vice-captain underwent exhaustive video and biomechanical analysis.

Kirtley was subsequently cleared by the ECB, but the Sussex vice-captain may come under scrutiny from the ICC after his action was questioned by match referee Colonel Naushad Ali following his debut in England's one-day international against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

Harley said: "The tests we did proved there is nothing wrong with James's action and he has done nothing since to change it. We're quite happy to dig out all the data again and show it to anyone who wants to see it, we're convinced he's fine."

During two days of filming last October Harley's team used special high-speed cameras and videoed Kirtley's action from several different angles.

"The laws state that the elbow angle mustn't change during the action. If you put your palm facing upwards you should be able to draw a straight line between the shoulder and hand," added Harley.

"James has a hyper-extension in his elbow, but we were able to calculate the degree of elbow angle in delivery and it doesn't change at all, it's the sort of thing gymnasts have."

The ECB tests do not apply to international cricket however, and Kirtley is likely to have to go through the whole process again if Colonel Ali makes his concerns official by contacting the ICC.

Under a process introduced last year, Kirtley would have to work with ECB and ICC experts to correct his action and only if he is reported twice during the next year would he face the ultimate sanction of a 12 month international ban. But Kirtley can at least be reassured by the fact that since the procedure was introduced no player has been suspended under the new guidelines.

The quirk in Kirtley's action has been with him since school days but the ECB only launched their probe last year after doubts were expressed on England A's 1999 winter tour to New Zealand.

Kirtley said: "My joints hyper-extends beyond 180 degrees and my elbow bends a bit like an archery bow. It can look bad from behind the arm or in the stands, but I've never been called by an umpire."

Match referee Ali viewed TV evidence yesterday and he will continue his observations tomorrow when England play the second game of the five-match series. The team management have held an emergency meeting and will decide today whether to play Kirtley while he is under such intensive scrutiny.

An ECB spokesman said: "The ICC guidelines for these matters state the match referee only has to inform the relevant team once his report becomes official, but Colonel Ali has insisted he is still at the observation stage."

Sussex are furious that Kirtley's action has been questioned again and coach Peter Moores today called on the ECB to support Kirtley.

He said: "I hope the ECB take a very strong line on this. They have been there already so it would be strange if they didn't back him. It's the vogue thing that any young quick bowler had to go through the mill of 'if he's any good he chucks it'. It was expensively examined, the elbow joint was proved not to move."

Darren Gough, whom Kirtley has replaced in the England one-day side for the short tour, also defended him.

Gough said: "His action doesn't bother me. I don't like it when people say others throw the ball.

"I use my wrist when I bowl, it's an important part of a fast bowler's make-up. It can add an extra two or three miles-per-hour to a delivery.

"He's a fellow professional and it's not up to us to make decisions on his action. He's full of energy, he's enjoying his cricket. I should let him enjoy playing for England and not even let him think about what some people say."