Muttiah Muralitharan

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Muttiah Muralitharan
Source: [1], 8 August 2006

[[2]]

Muttiah Muralitharan (born April 17, 1972 in Kandy), often referred to simply as Murali, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. A hugely successful off spin bowler, he is generally recognised as the greatest Sri Lankan player and the greatest off spinner in cricket history. Since his international debut in 1992 he has enjoyed more success than any other spinner except Shane Warne and has become one of the most acclaimed cricketers of the modern age. However, he has been dogged by controversy over the legality of his unorthodox bowling action.

Statistically, there is no doubt that he is one of the most effective bowlers ever to play cricket in both international forms of the game (Test and One-day Internationals), having taken 600 Test wickets and over 400 ODI wickets. Currently his Test average is just 22.02, which compares favourably to other contemporary spin bowlers like Shane Warne (25.25), Anil Kumble (28.75) and Harbhajan Singh (29.86).

In 2002, Wisden named him the greatest bowler of all time. In May 2004, in Zimbabwe, he overtook West Indian Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test match wickets to become the highest-wicket taker of all time. Warne, an Australian leg-spinner, is his only current rival for that record; indeed he overtook Muralitharan's number of wickets in late 2004. Warne believes that the younger Muralitharan will eventually be the one to finish with the record, saying he believes that Muralitharan will take "1000 wickets" (in truth an unlikely achievement) before he retires.

Muralitharan's unorthodox bowling action begins with a unique "flapping wings" run-up, complete with bulging eyes, and culminates with an extremely wristy delivery which, he claims, often had him mistaken for a leg spinner early in his career. He generates a prodigious amount of turn, in addition to the flighting of the ball that is very hard for a batsman to play at. Aside from his off break, he also a bowls a fast topspinner which goes straight on, and his own interpretation of Saqlain Mushtaq's controversial doosra delivery, which turns from leg to off.

Murali became politically active in 2004, becoming an ambassador for the United Nations World Food Program, and joining an anti-poverty campaign. He said he was "lucky to be alive" after narrowly missing the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake by just 20 minutes [3]. One week later, he was reported [4] to be helping distribute food to victims of the tsunami.

He is one of two Tamils in the Sri Lankan cricket team (the other being Russel Arnold [5]). Muralitharan married an Indian woman, Mathimalar Ramamurthy, in 2005 [6].

World records and achievements

Muttiah Muralitharan holds a number of world records, and several firsts: File:Http://images.supersport.co.za/MuralitharanMuttiah031204AppealsGbg.jpg

  • The highest number of international wickets in Tests and ODIs combined (1073 wickets) [7][8]
  • The most 10-wicket hauls in a match at Test level (18 matches) [9]
  • Along with Jim Laker (England), he is the only bowler to have taken 9 wickets in a Test innings twice, and the only Sri Lankan to have taken more than 8 wickets in a Test innings.
  • The most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Test level (56 innings) [10]
  • The first (and only) player to take 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation.
  • Taken 7 wickets in an innings against the most countries (5 countries) [11]
  • Reached 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600 and 650 wickets in the least number of matches played [12][13][14][15][16][17]

[18]

  • Bowler to remain ranked as No.1 by PWC (PriceWaterhouse Coopers), now ICC cricket ratings, for the longest period of time.
  • One of the few bowlers in the world to reach 1000 first class wickets in the least number of matches, most of those in the test matches.
  • Taken 5 wickets in an innings more than 100 times at the first class level.
  • Only player to take 10 Wickets in a Test match in four consecutive matches twice. No player in the history has even done it once. [19]

Controversy of bowling action

Muralitharan's bowling action is controversial amongst many purists, as to some it appears that it contravenes the laws of the game by straightening the arm in the course of the delivery. This is despite his action being exonerated unanimously by an international panel consisting of members from every Test playing nation. The controversy came to a head after Australian umpire Darrell Hair called a "no ball" for an illegal action seven times during the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne, Australia, in 1995. After discussions between the Australian Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, Hair umpired no further games involving Sri Lanka in the season. Reaction to Hair's actions was mixed. He was widely criticised in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, but some, particularly in Australia, felt that it was long overdue. It would be simplistic to assume that opinion was divided purely by nationality though, with Australia's greatest ever cricketer, Sir Donald Bradman, quoted as saying it was the "worst example of umpiring that [he had] witnessed, and against everything the game stands for. Clearly Murali does not throw the ball". [20] [21]

Muralitharan was later no-balled for throwing by Australian umpires Ross Emerson and Tony McQuillan in a one-day international against the West Indies, in Brisbane, Australia, in the same summer. Following this season, Muralitharan underwent biomechanical tests in Hong Kong and Australia under the supervision of bowling experts, who cleared his action as legal, citing a congenital defect in Muralitharan's arm which makes him incapable of straightening it, but giving the appearance of the arm straightening in the bowling action. [22]

Doubts about Muralitharan's action persisted, particularly in Australia. In 1999, he was once again called for throwing by umpire Ross Emerson in an ODI against England, at the Adelaide Oval in Australia. The Sri Lankan team almost abandoned the match, but after instructions from the president of the BCCSL (relayed to captain Arjuna Ranatunga by mobile phone) the game resumed.

Muralitharan took his 500th Test wicket in the second Test against Australia in Kandy on March 16, 2004. At the end of the series his doosra delivery was officially called into question by match referee Chris Broad and Muralitharan was entered into a two-stage remedial process for bowlers with suspect actions under the supervision of the International Cricket Council ('ICC'). The delivery was examined by biomechanical experts who found it to exceed the current tolerance limit, regarding the degree of bend in the arm, of five degrees for slow bowlers. Australian prime minister John Howard weighed in, controversially labelling Murali a 'chucker'. Despite this he won accolades from former Australian captain, Steve Waugh, who said he was "the Don Bradman of bowling". Waugh went on to say that he felt Muralitharan's action was perfectly legal.

Bowling action of Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan has subsequently been videotaped bowling while wearing an arm brace that prevents the straightening of the arm, in an attempt to clear his name once and for all. It appears unlikely that this will ever happen, as his critics maintain that only his bowling during real matches can be considered and that it's possible he changes his action when under scrutiny. Some experts who have viewed such tests have dismissed their value. Former Indian spinner Bishan Bedi has been particularly vocal in his criticism of the testing, asking, "Why should a bowler be allowed to chuck because he has a defective arm?" and comparing Muralitharan's action with that of "javelin thrower".

There is speculation that the match referee's actions were an attempt to derail Muralitharan's attempt to become the all-time leading wicket taker. Former players like Arjuna Ranatunga believe this to be a "white conspiracy" with some Australians and Englishmen wishing to get the name Muralitharan expunged from cricket records. Ranatunga asserted that Muralitharan was being picked on because of his skin colour. Ranatunga's actions were seen by some as an attempt to deflect inquiries over Muralitharan's action by branding those making such claims with the pejorative term "racist". It should be noted that Muralitharan has many powerful allies in Australia and England. Examples include Mark Nicholas, Bruce Yardley, Andrew Flintoff, and Steve Waugh, all of whom have supported Muralitharan publicly. It is claimed that Sir Donald Bradman also spoke very highly of Muralitharan. Not to mention, Asian greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Wasim Akram, Imran Khan and others have always stood behind him.

File:Odi dn gabba.jpg
Muralitharan bowls to Adam Gilchrist at the Gabba.

An extensive ICC study, the results of which were released in November 2004, was conducted to investigate the 'chucking issue'. A panel of former Test players, with the assistance of several biomechanical experts, revealed that 99% of all bowlers bent their arms when bowling. Only one player in the world (batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan) did not transgress the rules when tested. Muralitharan's off break and topspinner were deemed within the rules (2 to 5 degree straightening), but the doosra was still an area of concern. The flexion measured when bowling the doosra was not excessive, however, considering the amount of flexion in the actions of many other bowlers. The results of the study has led to the ICC issuing a guideline allowing for extensions or hyperextensions of up to 15 degrees thus deeming Muralitharan's doosra to be legal. [23]

This scientific evidence has gone a long way to convincing many of Muralitharan's former critics that his action is legal. Two vocal critics of Murilatharan's action were former Test cricketers: West Indian Michael Holding, a member of the ICC's Advisory Panel on Illegal Deliveries, and Australian Dean Jones. Holding had been quoted as being in "110% agreement" with Bedi regarding Muralitharan's action and Jones had said "by my interpretation, I think he throws it". Following the ICC study, Holding, a member of the panel that conducted the ICC study proclaimed, "The scientific evidence is overwhelming... When bowlers who to the naked eye look to have pure actions are thoroughly analysed with the sophisticated technology now in place, they are 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."[24]

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See also

Bowling Controvesy


Tributes

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