A video of this "stunt" is viewable on Youtube.

Last week, I had a bowler unintentionally do this. Many lanes away, I didn't see it, but he and another bowler came down. This captain (I later found out was on a different pair) was protesting the non-foul, since he went over the line but retained the ball.

As it occurred, a bowler on another adjoining pair was the one who alerted them to it not being a foul. And the protesting captain wasn't even on the opposing team, but I tell you, when someone has it in their mind what a rule is, or what they think it really is (especially when wrong), they get adamant. I won't say I was yelled at, but his voice was raised.

I calmly pulled out the rule book and located the FAQ in seconds, then I went further to describe how a foul occurs during or after a delivery ("But he went over the line!") and that a delivery occurs when the ball leaves the bowler's possession, showing the precise rule language.

Simplest terms: No release, no delivery. No delivery, no foul.

How often do bowlers wind up seeing this happen?

Oh, and back to the televised Machuga Flop: Afterward, the announcers state directly that it's not a foul....