Some doubts were raised about the legality of Clarke's bowling action while he was at Surrey. Several opposition sides even made official complaints about Clarke's faster ball and umpire Dickie Bird closely studied tapes of Clarke's action for any irregularities but found none, nor was Clarke ever called for throwing. It is commonly accepted that rather than chucking, it was Clarke's sheer strength and unusually open-chested action, combined with his speed, that left opposition batsmen often fearing for their safety when facing him.