Feck off Murali

Sadly, your record will probably go unchallenged in my lifetime - a testament to the spineless chumps that infest the ICC.

Champion Muttiah

''Murali is a cult hero in the teardrop island nation.''

Muttiah Muralitharan exited the Test stage in much the same manner as he had lorded over it — with a beaming smile, a seemingly improbable milestone and in the knowledge that he had given his best for team and country, day after day for more than 18 years. With the retirement of Test cricket’s most prolific wicket-taker, the great spin triumvirate that had excited fans and lured batsmen to their doom has moved into the realms of history. At a time when the great craft of spin was in serious danger of extinction, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Muralitharan made connoisseurs sit up and take notice with their wonderful artistry. Between them, they accounted for over 2100 Test wickets, a phenomenal achievement in the modern era dominated by flat tracks, better bats and smaller grounds.

Muralitharan towered over even Warne and Kumble not only because he finished as Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker, with an astonishing 800 scalps, but also because of his on-field travails and his off-field role as the united face of a troubled country. The trauma of having had to be no-balled for ‘throwing’ in a Test match could have driven the most strong-willed to the throes of despair and depression. Despite being called repeatedly by messers Hair and Emerson in 1995, Muralitharan kept his composure about him, went through a series of tests that endorsed the veracity of his action, and went about tormenting batsmen like no one else has, with a beguiling mix of the ripping off-break and the brilliantly mastered ‘doosra’, all delivered with liberal use of the wrist as opposed to the fingers that most off-spinners employ.

His Tamil roots notwithstanding, Muralitharan emerged a cult hero in the teardrop island nation, his deeds bringing joy and succour in times of severe strife and violence. His human face was all too apparent in the aftermath of the tsunami of 2004 when he complemented the government’s reconstruction activities by adopting an entire village, Seenigama, just outside Galle and providing housing, education and self-sustainability to over a thousand families. It was in the fitness of things that the great man should have picked his favourite hunting ground, Galle, to bid adieu. It’s unlikely that his gargantuan tally of 800 wickets will ever be overhauled, but there is no doubt that as a human being, Muralitharan will remain in a league of his own. Take a bow, champion!

taipan wrote:

Anniyan wrote:The trauma of having had to be no-balled for ‘throwing’ in a Test match could have driven the most strong-willed to the throes of despair and depression. Despite being called repeatedly by messers Hair and Emerson in 1995, Muralitharan kept his composure about him, and hardly ever toured Australia again.

But still managed to average over 100 . . .

Yeah, wasn't he also the first bowler to concede 100 in an ODI?

Since when did ODI's matter ?

Credit where it's due ..............Well done MuMu ...

Merlin wrote:Since when did ODI's matter ?

Credit where it's due ..............Well done MuMu ...

Subi apologist

Call it subologist and put it in the dictionary.

Merlo on the Murali wind ups - a bit late then son, should have started early.

furriner wrote:Call it subologist and put it in the dictionary Glossary.

I like it, furry.

Basil - how can you be so lacking in grace?

You may think the guy is a cheating little swivel-eyed runt, but you could at least doff your cap and quietly applaud like the rest of us in honour of the occasion. It won't be beaten, that record.

Basil studies the Aussies - he's a criminologist.

Criminally so.

It takes one to know one.

Or rather, to the criminal mind, everyone else is a criminal.