MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN

'Muttiah Muralitharan' (born April 17, 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka), often referred to simply as 'Murali', is a Sri Lankan cricketer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history.''BBC Sport'', Murali 'best bowler ever' His unique bowling action coupled with his ability to amass wickets has made him one of the most famous cricketers of modern times. He currently lies second in the list of all time wicket takers in both Test cricket and One-Day International cricket.''ICC'', Highest Test Wicket-takers''ICC'', Highest ODI Wicket-takers He has signed as an overseas player for Lancashire in 2007.
However, Muralitharan's career has not been without controversy, with the legality of his bowling action being called into question, although he has been cleared by a number of scientific studies.

Contents

Career

Controversy of bowling action

Batting

Personal life

World records and achievements

Test wicket milestones

See also

Notes and references

External links

Career

Since his debut in 1992, Muralitharan has taken over 700 Test wickets and over 400 One-Day International wickets, becoming the first player to take 1,000 wickets combined in the two main forms of international cricket. Currently his Test average is 21.33, which compares well to any modern era spinner.
Muralitharan's unique bowling action begins with a short run-up, and culminates with an extremely wristy release which had him mistaken for a leg-spinner early in his career by Allan Border.^[1] Aside from his off break, he also bowls a fast topspinner which goes straight on. He is also a master of the doosra, the surprise delivery which turns from leg to off (the opposite direction of his stock delivery) with no discernible change of action. In addition to his variations of spin, he is able to make the ball dip in flight abruptly, making him difficult to hit out of the attack
In May 2004, he overtook West Indian Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test match wickets to become the highest wicket-taker, a record he kept until Shane Warne claimed it in late 2004 after an injury forced Muralitharan to miss a considerable number of matches. However, Warne believes that the younger Muralitharan will eventually be the one to finish with the record, saying he believes that Muralitharan will take "1,000 wickets" before he retires.^[2] Former record holder Courtney Walsh has also opined that this is possible if Muralitharan retains his hunger for wickets.^[3] Muralitharan himself believes there is a possibility that he will reach this milestone.^[4] He is the only bowler to have taken five wicket hauls against every other test playing nation. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh called him "the Don Bradman of bowling".^[5]
In 2002, Wisden carried out a statistical analysis of all Test matches in an effort to rate the greatest cricketers in history, and Muralitharan was ranked as the best bowler of all time. However, two years earlier, Muralitharan was not named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. Recently, Wisden named him the "Leading Cricketer in the World in 2006".^[6]

Controversy of bowling action

Muralitharan's bowling action is controversial amongst the cricket community, with concerns raised as to whether he contravenes the laws of the game by straightening his right arm further than is allowed while bowling. 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. Former Australian batsman, Sir Donald Bradman, was 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".^{[7] [8]}
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, during the same summer. Following the end of the 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 any further, but giving the appearance of the arm "straightening".^[9] Doubts about Muralitharan's action persisted however, and in 1999 he was once again called for throwing by Ross Emerson during a One Day International against England at the Adelaide Oval in Australia. The Sri Lankan team almost abandoned the match, but after instructions from the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, the game resumed. It later emerged that at the time of this match Emerson was on sick leave from his job due to a stress-related illness, and he stood down for the rest of the series.^[10] Muralitharan has voiced his frustration at routinely being heckled by Australian crowds who accuse him of throwing - one common jeer directed at him was "No Ball!" ^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}. Australian Prime Minister John Howard called Muralitharan a "chucker" ^[16].
Muralitharan continued bowling however, taking 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.
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 straighten their arms when bowling.^[17] Only one player in the world (part-time bowler Ramnaresh Sarwan) did not transgress the rules when tested.¹⁷ 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 results of the study led to the ICC issuing a new guideline allowing for extensions or hyperextensions of up to 15 degrees thus deeming Muralitharan's doosra to be legal.^[18] Former New Zealand captain and cricket commentator Martin Crowe however called for Muralitharan's doosra to be monitored more closely after his action seemed to deteriorate during a match ^[19].
Three vocal critics of Muralitharan's action are former Test cricketers: West Indian Michael Holding, a member of the ICC's Advisory Panel on Illegal Deliveries, Australian Dean Jones and Bishan Bedi, the former India captain. Holding has been quoted^[20] as being in "110% agreement" with Bedi, who likened Murali's action to a "javelin throw" ^[21] and more recently, compared to a "shot putter" ^[22]. Following the ICC study, as a member of the panel that conducted the study, Holding stated, "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."^[23].

Batting

Although he usually comes in at No. 11 for the Sri Lankan national team, Muralitharan is an extremely entertaining batsman known for his tendency to back away to leg and slog, which brought him his highest Test score of 67 against India at Kandy in 2001, including three sixes and five fours ^[24]. He has made valuable scores on occasion, including 30 runs against England at the Oval in 1998, including 5 fours ^[25], 38 runs (4 fours, 1 six) against England at Galle in 2003 ^[26], 43 runs (5 fours, 3 sixes) against Australia at Kandy in 2004 ^[27] and 36 runs against the West Indies at Colombo in 2005 ^[28]
Muralitharan was run out in controversial circumstances by New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum at Christchurch in 2006 ^[29]. After his batting partner Kumar Sangakkara reached his century, Muralitharan grounded his bat and went to congratulate Sangakkara ^[30]. However the ball was not yet dead, allowing McCullum to complete the run out ^[31]. New Zealand Stephen Fleming defended the run out, although the Sri Lankan team and many others did not consider the dismissal to be in the spirit of the game ^{[32] [33]}.

Personal life

Muralitharan, who is a Tamil, married Madhimalar Ramamurthy, an Indian national, in 2005.''The Tribune'', Murali to tie knot with Chennai girl His first child, Naren, was born in January 2006.''Lanka Newspapers''World Cup to be Murali`s swansong?
Muralitharan 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.^[34] One week later, he was reported to be helping distribute food to victims of the tsunami.^[35]

World records and achievements

Muttiah Muralitharan holds a number of world records, and several firsts:

★ The highest number of international wickets in Tests and ODIs combined (1155 wickets as of 14 July 2007).^[36]

★ The most 10-wicket hauls in a match at Test level (20). He is the only player to take 10 wickets/match against every Test playing nation.^[37]

★ The most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Test level (60).^[38]

★ Fastest to 350,^[39] 400,^[40] 450,^[41] 500,^[42] 550,^[43] 600,^[44] 650^[45] and 700^[46] Test wickets, in terms of matches played.

★ Only player to take 10 wickets in a Test in four consecutive matches. Murali has achieved this feat twice. ^[47]

★ Only player to take 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation.^[48]

★ Muralitharan and Jim Laker (England), are the only bowlers to have taken 9 wickets in a Test innings twice.

★ 7 wickets in an innings against the most countries (5).^[49]

★ Most Test wickets taken bowled (153),^[50] stumped (37)^[51] and caught & bowled (30).^[52] Bowled by Muralitharan (b Muralitharan) is the most common dismissal in Test cricket (excluding run out). Most ODIs before a Test, and double figures all in a row

★ Most successful bowler/fielder (non-wicket keeper) combination - c Mahela Jayawardene b Muttiah Muralitharan (62). ^[53]

Test wicket milestones

★ 1st: Craig McDermott lbw 9 vs Australia - Match #1 - Test #1195

★ 50th: Navjot Sidhu caught Ruwan Kalpage 43 vs India - Match #13 - Test #1247

★ 100th: Stephen Fleming bowled 59 vs New Zealand - Match #27 - 1359

★ 150th: Guy Whittall caught sub (Mahela Jayawardene) 17 vs Zimbabwe - Match #36 - Test #1395

★ 200th: Ben Hollioake lbw 0 vs England - Match #42 - Test #1423

★ 250th: Naved Ashraf lbw 27 vs Pakistan - Match #51 - Test #1489

★ 300th: Shaun Pollock caught Tillakaratne Dilshan 11 vs South Africa - Match #58 - Test #1526

★ 350th: Mohammad Sharif caught and bowled 19 vs Bangladesh - Match #66 - Test #1561

★ 400th: Henry Olonga bowled 0 vs Zimbabwe - Match #72 - Test #1585

★ 450th: Daryl Tuffey caught Sanath Jayasuriya 1 vs New Zealand - Match #80 - Test #1644

★ 500th: Michael Kasprowicz bowled 0 vs Australia - Match #87 - Test #1688

★ 550th: Khaled Mashud caught Thilan Samaraweera 2 vs Bangladesh - Match #94 - Test #1764

★ 600th: Khaled Mashud caught Lasith Malinga 6 vs Bangladesh - Match #101 - Test #1786

★ 650th: Makhaya Ntini caught Farveez Maharoof 13 vs South Africa - Match #108 - Test #1812

★ 700th: Syed Rasel caught Farveez Maharoof 4 vs Bangladesh - Match #113 - Test #1839

See also

Notes and references

1. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,6903,1258512,00.html
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3626081.stm
3. http://ia.rediff.com/cricket/2006/nov/10walsh1.htm
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/sri_lanka/6209055.stm
5. http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2004/mar/11murali.htm
6. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/287072.html
7. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/135717.html
8. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/12/04/1101923389044.html?oneclick=true
9. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/terg/1999/00000042/00000010/art00011
10. http://www.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/256472.html
11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2740000/newsid_2741800/2741859.stm
12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/4680246.stm
13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/4676700.stm
14. ''Fairfax Digital'', Abuse driven by jealousy, says Murali
15. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/235625.html
16. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/296648.html
17. ICC study reveals that 99% of bowlers throw
18. http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/faq/bowling.html
19. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/273536.html

20. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020309/sports.htm#5
21. http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/139300.html
22. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/current/story/306935.html
23. http://cricket-online.org/news.php?sid=4327
24. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/276556.html
25. http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1998/SL_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/SL_ENG_T_27-31AUG1998.html
26. http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2003-04/ENG_IN_SL/SCORECARDS/ENG_SL_T1_02-06DEC2003.html
27. http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2003-04/AUS_IN_SL/SCORECARDS/AUS_SL_T2_16-20MAR2004.html
28. http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/WI_IN_SL/SCORECARDS/WI_SL_T1_13-17JUL2005.html
29. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/nzvsl/engine/match/251485.html
30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlbTN4eieRY
31. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/nzvsl/content/story/271888.html
32. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/nzvsl/content/story/271912.html
33. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/nzvsl/content/story/271945.html
34. ''Cricinfo'', December 28, 2004, http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/136260.html
35. ''Cricinfo'', January 3, 2005, Cricketers help relief programme
36. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/current/player/49636.html
37. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Most 10 Wickets in a Match
38. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Most 5 Wickets in an Innings
39. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Fastest to 350 Career Wickets
40. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Fastest to 400 Career Wickets
41. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Fastest to 450 Career Wickets
42. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Fastest to 500 Career Wickets
43. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Fastest to 550 Career Wickets
44. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Fastest to 600 Career Wickets
45. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Fastest to 650 Career Wickets
46. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Fastest to 700 Career Wickets
47. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - 10 Wickets in Most Consecutive Matches
48. http://www.newagebd.com/2006/mar/11/spt.html
49. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - 7 Wickets in an Innings against Most Countries
50. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Most Wickets Taken Bowled
51. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Most Wickets Taken Stumped
52. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Most Wickets Taken Caught and Bowled
53. ''Cricinfo'', Tests - Most Wickets by Same Fielder/Bowler Combination

External links

★ Muralitharan.com

★ CricInfo Player Profile: Muttiah Muralitharan

★ Muttiah Muralitharan International Fan Club

★ Murali Tracker

★ Muralitharan.cricket-records.com

★ Murali's throwing controversy was resolved at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology