Muralidharan: Aussie headline screams foul

"But where are these critics? Who are they? They quoted the former Cricket Australia chairman and Test umpire Colonel Egar as saying that separate records for bowlers with illegal actions should be kept. Jon Pierik also stated that this record will forever be etched in controversy."

(December, 04, Sydney, Australia, Sri Lanka Guardian) New South Wales’ The Daily Telegraph of today (Tuesday December 4, 2007) screamed in its sports headline “Murali doesn’t deserve title”, reflecting a joint report by two of its staff, Jon Pierik and Robert Craddock. They claimed that no sooner Muralidharan became the world’s greatest Test wicket-taker critics immediately demanded his name be scrapped from record books.

But where are these critics? Who are they? They quoted the former Cricket Australia chairman and Test umpire Colonel Egar as saying that separate records for bowlers with illegal actions should be kept. Jon Pierik also stated that this record will forever be etched in controversy.

Apart from these, there were no other critics. The headline was evidently a newspaper deception and without doubt it contains an element of racism. Much is being made about Muralidharan having got rich hauls against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The truth of the matter here is that the Australian spin wizard, Shane Warne conceded 27.27 and 22.83 runs per wicket against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe respectively while Muralidharan conceded only 11.95 against Bangladesh and 16.86 against Zimbabwe.

Muralidharan’s wicket tally of 710 was achieved in 116 Tests whereas Shane Warne got 708 wickets in 145 Tests. Except against Pakistan, with every other country, Muralidharan’s performance was better than Warne’s and while the former got 20 ten-wicket hauls in Tests, Warne managed only half of that figure. Against India, Warne conceded 47.19 runs per wicket and Muralidharan’s worst was against Australia, 36.07 runs.

The former Australian Wicket Keeper Ian Healy said: “Having had a close look at his action this summer, I am happy enough going along with Muralidharan being the world record holder for a bloke that has been through the mill.” Added Ian Botham the mercurial English all-rounder: “For a man who has faced so much controversy since he first came on the scene, I think he has done exceptionally well to get where he has today.”

Muralidharan is a role model sportsman, never been disciplined and his smile on and off the field is a trademark that reflects the inner spirit of this great cricketer and his love for the game. His nature is such that cricket has been considerably enriched by this gentle guy from the hills of Sri Lanka.