Milestone Man

BBC Sport

March 2, 2006

By Paul Grunill

When cricket fans of the future look back on the period either side of the millennium, Muttiah Muralitharan will surely be viewed as a phenomenon.

In 13 and a half years representing Sri Lanka, he has sent more than 1,000 international batsmen on their way back to the dressing room.

He is the first bowler in international cricket history to reach that mark.

Yet for all his magnificent statistical feats and despite his genial demeanour, Murali remains a controversial figure.

The legitimacy of his action has been repeatedly questioned and during a recent tour to Australia he had to put up with no-ball taunts from the crowd as he trotted up to the crease to bowl.

There is no doubt the remarkable anatomical flexibility of his bowling arm is responsible for the extravagant amount of spin he is able to extract from even the most bland of pitches.

But that is only part of the spin bowler's art. There are also subtleties of flight, pace, line and length to be mastered.

And as well as being Sri Lanka's chief weapon, Murali is also the most adept at stemming the flow of runs from opposing batsmen.

He has sent down more than 5,000 overs in Test cricket and almost 1,500 of them have been maidens, giving him an economy rate of under two and a half.

There are plenty of bowlers with more miserly records.

West Indies off-spinner Lance Gibbs, for example, the first spinner to take 300 wickets in Tests, had an economy rate of only 1.98.

But his strike rate of a wicket every 87.7 deliveries does not match up to Murali's 56.

And when looking at the number of times a bowler has taken five wickets or more in a Test innings, Sir Richard Hadlee's total of 36 is 13 fewer than Murali has achieved at the top of the list.

Now 33, Muralitharan has hinted that he may call time on his career after next year's World Cup in the Caribbean.

"I am a father and I have to plan my future carefully," he said.

If he does opt to retire, it will mean he ends his career second in the list of all-time Test wicket-takers.

Australian rival Shane Warne has 659 and although he too has expressed concern about the amount of time he spends away from his children, he has been urged by Richie Benaud to carry on until the next Ashes tour to England in 2009.

Currently on 593 victims in Tests, if Murali does not manage to pass Warne, it is unlikely he will have too many regrets.

"When I played my first Test I never thought I would have all these records. All I wanted was to play a few games.

"It is a dream for me to play 100 Tests and to take 1,000 international wickets. I never expected it," he said.

"I have had 16 years of hard cricket-and that has included good times, bad times, and very difficult times."

Whatever your view on his action, there is no doubt the game will be the poorer when Murali walks away from it.

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/cricket/4766626.stm

Published: 2006/03/02 13:01:25 GMT

© BBC MMVI