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Is Muttiah Muralitheran set to bow out of Test cricket when he reaches the 800 wicket mark in the three match series with India which starts in Sri Lanka next month?

Posted on | June 22, 2010 | 2 Comments

Geoffrey pays tribute to one of world cricket’s finest.

The key ingredients for longevity in sport are ability, desire and fitness. You can be the fittest on the planet and desperately want to play against the best but if you haven’t any talent it’s all a waste of time.

Murali has an abundance of talent, gifted beyond the norm like Shane Warne, and both have captured the imagination of the cricketing world through their spin wizardry and the publicity and controversy which has followed their careers.

Both had the unique knack of imparting huge spin on the ball, and I mean HUGE spin, far more than anyone else, while exercising fantastic control and one without the other isn’t much good.

Murali started the ‘doosra’, bowled it with magical skill and this delivery more than any other has revolutionised off spin bowling. In the last 20 years pitches in international cricket have got better and flatter for batsmen making off spinners into defensive bowlers, used to give the quicks a breather, or entirely redundant. The ‘doosra’ gave them back the ability to attack, being able to beat the bat on either side.

As you get older it becomes harder to get up in the morning and look forward to a day’s cricket when you’ve done it so often, travelling all over the world, living out of a suitcase in lots of different hotels. It can become tiresome and if it becomes like just another day at the office, then you seriously need to consider retirement.

Murali says he still likes playing but his body is telling him it’s nearly had enough. There’s bound to be wear and tear on his shoulder and there’ll be lots of aches and stiffness after a long bowl which weren’t there when he was younger. Strains and injury are more likely in elder statesman bowlers than batsmen and Murali has had some problems with injuries recently.

All his career he has bowled long bamboozling spells in his 132 Test matches but that’s become more taxing on his body and he’s already said that he’s looking forward to bowling more manageable 10 and four over spells in one-day cricket. The fact is that as he gets older he becomes tired, that’s a fact of life and there’s no shame in that. Old Father Time has caught up with him as he does all of us so we should all enjoy his last appearances before he leaves the stage.

The controversy about throwing will never go away. He’s lived with it all his life and it will follow him to the grave. I’m confident, whatever the rights and wrongs, that he just bowls and had no intention of doing anything illegal or to gain an unfair advantage.

He is, and will remain a remarkable, likeable man.

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Comments

2 Responses to “Is Muttiah Muralitheran set to bow out of Test cricket when he reaches the 800 wicket mark in the three match series with India which starts in Sri Lanka next month?”

  1. Anthony
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 11:46 pm

    Nice tribute to Murali. I know Geoffrey that you were a had your doubts about his aciton a few years ago. Does this mean you have have changed your mind after being presented with the evidence ?

  2. devulapalli chakravarty
    July 24th, 2010 @ 6:28 am

    Dear Sir,
    I think Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakarra has raised a valid issue questioning the ICC ranking system and for a while I believe India was at the receiving end of these unfair rankings since their introduction in 2001.

    I propose here a formula worth consideration by the readers of “The Hindu”, the ICC, former players and others.
    Since the number of matches played by different teams are different and there is a significant disparity in the FTP schedule, in the number of matches being played and also in the ranking calculations (low ranked teams stand to gain more in case of a win over a high ranked team).
    I therefore propose the following parameters:
    A Win should = 2 points
    A Draw should equal = 1
    A Series win should equal = 3 for a 3-Test series, 4 for a 4-Test series; 5 for a 5-Test series and 1 for a one-off Test)
    Given this scenario, if we look at the ongoing IND-SL series, should SL win the series 1-0 (the remaining two tests ending in a draw)
    we have:
    SL on 2 (for a win) +1 (draw) +1 (draw) +3 (for the series win) equalling 7 points and Ind on 0 +1+1+0 equalling 2 points
    Next, we take the “cube root” of the points (since it is a 3-Test series)
    So SL would be on 1.9129 (cube root of 7)
    and Ind on 1.2599 (Cube root of 2)
    Now, lets also take the example of Aus-Eng Ashes series due to start in November 2010.
    It is a 5-test series.
    Assuming the series is a draw with 2 wins each and a lone draw
    we have England on 2+2+1+2.5=7.5
    and Aus on 2+2+1+2.5=7.5
    Now we take the “fifth root” of the result (since it is a 5-test series) = 1.4962 (fifth root of 7.5)
    So the final standings of the four teams based on these results would be:
    1 SL 1.9129
    2 & 3 Aus/Eng 1.4962
    4 Ind 1.4142
    Please notice that by taking the cube root and fifth root for the two series in question here, the formula marginalises the schedule, the disparity in the number of matches being played and also the current standings of the teams – All of which is beyond ICC’s control at this time! And the final points I believe – do give a fair and near accurate picture of the standings of the four teams! This method would therefore place all teams on equal footing and eliminate the need for seeking a Test Championship all together. So a series between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh has an equal weightage as an Aus-Ind series and thats how it should be! Every country always puts their best team in place for a match and a series and it does’nt matter who is playing whom. Ideally, there should be absolutely no difference even when playing “currently lesser ranked teams” like Pakistan (?), Bangladesh or Zimbabwe or Kenya or anyother! A Test win and a series win is a win no matter who the opponents are! And so the same formula can be extended to One dayers and T20s too!

    Your sincerely,
    dc
    –
    Devulapalli Chakravarty
    A-5 Chaitanya Apartments
    Rajendranagar
    Visakhapatnam-530016; India
    Ph: +91-8143310691; 0891-2783588

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