It’s a sad farewell to Sri Lanka’s king of spin
Roar Guru
By Vinay Verma, 9 Jul 2010 Vinay Verma is a Roar Guru
Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. AP Photo/Aman Sharma
Murali! A hero to his legion of fans in Sri Lanka and among the Sri Lankan Diaspora worldwide. He has announced that the First Test against India at Galle on the 18th of July will be his last.
Shane Warne was a wonderful bowler but his one weakness was his googly. He paid tribute to Murali and his comments revealed a surprising ill-concealed lack of grace. It was like giving your mother-in-law a box of chocolates you know she is going to hate.
Speaking with Andrew Miller of Cricinfo, Warne had this to say: “He’s always had a smile on his face, even when he’s had to live through the doubters, because there will always be those people who say ‘did he, didn’t he?’”
Perhaps Warne did not mean it to sound like this, but you would have thought he would be more diplomatic.
For millions, Warne was a magician.
His short walk to the crease, the tongue sticking out, the deadly flipper, the outrageous leg-break – all of these were the hallmark of the greatest spinner.
Warne was raw theatre: the incredulous look on his face when Tendulkar or Laxman slog-swept him for six. The manic exultation when he dismissed Hudson. The schoolboy glee at deceiving Cullinan once again.
You could not script such drama.
Further on in his tribute, he had this to say: “I suppose in Murali’s case, he had such an unusual action that there’s always going to be that doubt with some people. Others have no doubts. But that’s always been the case with Murali and it’s just a fact of life.”
“If he had a normal action, he wouldn’t have been talked about. That only happens when you’re different. People will make their own mind up, but I thought he was wonderful for the game.”
Murali has been criticized by many in his tumultuous career, notably Bishen Singh Bedi who called him a “javelin thrower”, and our erstwhile former PM, John Howard, who called him a “chucker.”
He has steadfastly refused to give in.
His longevity is testament to his will power. He has made batsmen fight for every run. He has given the art of off-spinning a credibility not seen since Laker and Prasanna.
Murali dared to be different. This was his abiding legacy. Having accepted his 15 degree legitimacy, there is no need to doubt his action.
Australian batsmen played Murali better than most and Hayden especially had his measure with the slog-sweep and the straight hit over the fence. Damien Martyn, too, was assured against Murali because he played late and with soft hands.
Brian Lara played some of his greatest innings against Murali and in 2001 scored 688 runs in six innings on tracks that were turning more than a Catherine wheel.
In spite of Lara, Murali spun Sri Lanka to a 3-0 series win.
To Sri Lankans, Murali was a hero and often their entire cricket team.
He gave a semblance of unity to a country racked by civil unrest. He was an uncomplaining man, modest and not given to hyperbole, unless it was the exaggerated deception of his doosra.
In the end, determining the legitimacy of Murali as a “great” comes down to intent, just like in a murder case, and it is determined by a jury, which is not always unanimous.
But knowing the personality of the man and speaking with respected cricketers, Murali was a gentle person and does not have a vicious bone in his body.
If I was a one-man jury, I would have no hesitation in accepting him as one of the greatest spinners in history.
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Brett McKay said | July 9th 2010 @ 9:22am | Report comment
Nice tribute Vinay. We can say what we like about Murali, but regardless of where we sit on his action, it would be very hard to doubt that he was/is a courageous bowler, always on the sniff for a wicket, and who would happily bowl 45 of the 90 overs in the day if he could. Moreover, he holds a record that I can’t see being topped in his or my lifetime.
And unfortunately, I never got to see him bowl live….
Hutchoman said | July 9th 2010 @ 9:39am | Report comment
Vinay,
While Murali may have been a hero to the Sri Lankan people and obviously to Sri Lankan cricket, it could equally be argued he is a poster boy for all that is wrong with cricket today.
To say his action does not break the modern day Laws of the game is moot. The Laws were changed to cater for him!
So, let us look at how this came to take place. At the risk of glossing over a whole range of issues, Sri Lankan cricket in concert with its Indian colleagues and their financial might, forced a change to the Laws under the time honoured concept of taking their bat and ball and going home. Ever since, we have seen the game lurch towards Indian centricity in so many ways. I, for one, believe cricket has suffered as a result.
So upon hearing the news of Murali’s retirement, I stand in salute … with one arm outstretched, parallel to the ground.
Brucy B said | July 9th 2010 @ 10:12am | Report comment
Very well said Hutchoman
‘could equally be argued he is a poster boy for all that is wrong with cricket today’
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 10:15am | Report comment
Hutchoman,with respect to your opinion may I suggest that your statement” in concert with its Indian colleagues” is a myth. It was actually done to preserve the reputations of bowlers from Larwood to McGrath and many in between. Slow motion replays showed that nearly all bowlers bent their arm to a degree and many between 6 and 18 degrees. Many critics of Murali stopped their objections stone-cold and shut up. If the 15 degree law had been in operation in the 60′s Meckiff would not have been hounded out of the game. Brett Lee, Harbhajan, Johnson etc all bend their arm. The 15 degrees is not perfect but it does offer a template.
To further this debate Bedi states that 132 bowlers in India have been reported. So it is a bit of a furphy to slate India and Sri Lanka.
Roentig said | July 12th 2010 @ 2:52am | Report comment
“all that’s wrong with cricket today” can be kinda summed up with that comment. The ICC changed the laws to allow 99% of currently playing bowlers to continue to do so, not to assist murali.
examining murali simply opened a can of worms. no umpire – let alone a bigot with a 2 dimensional TV – can detect sub 15-degree flexion. hence the limit. brett lee has been measured at 14+ degrees. murali’s doosra goes at 12. only ramnaresh sarwan had sub 2-degree extension.
what IS wrong with cricket today is taking the sheer joy of the game away from it. sledging a player when his sister died in a train accident is one example of this. bowlers failing drug tests is another. and promiscous sex lives and obscene smses pasted over tabloid covers qualifies too. murali – and sri lankan cricket – has been a bit above such rot.
Hombre said | July 9th 2010 @ 9:40am | Report comment
Well i suppose Murali could always counter Warne by saying he’s not a drug cheat …. very poor comments by Warne
Murali should also be remember for having to put up with the appalling baying Aussie crowds which drove him to consider not touring here and as someone who did so much to raise funds in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami
a great no doubt
sledgeross said | July 9th 2010 @ 12:23pm | Report comment
I think Warne was being honest. Murali will always have an invisible asterisk next to his records, due to the fact that the ICC changed the law so he wouldnt be called for chucking. Im not talking about the 15 degrees. The law was changed to stop umpires calling things as they saw it (according to the laws) to prevent backlash and controversy. Of course, people can rightly call Warnie a drug cheat as well! I dont entirely agree with you assertion Vinay regarding preservation of integrity, but appreciate the point.
Brett, I always loved watching Murali live, his enthusiasm and love for the game was infectious and there for all to see. I have to admit though, his action even after the 15 degree appeasement, would raise doubts even in suburban cricket.
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
And Caesar was an honourable man.
Hoy said | July 9th 2010 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
I have never understood how he kept bowling the Doosra after being told to stop it. Can someone explain that to me?
I am with a lot of people on this, and I still think he was a chukka, but I also understand what Vinay is saying in that a lot of bowlers bend up to 15 degrees as well. The difference is that perhaps their actions were not so visibly bent, or did not look so bent.
Darrell Hair copped a bit after that as well from memory, but again, it was the right call at the time. Being No-Balled was always going to taint the mans reputation. Botha was another one who was suspect and had to work through it.
The fact that they changed the rules for him (and everyone) will forever grind with people.
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 1:54pm | Report comment
Hi Hoy, Murali has two or three different doosras and they all distort the perception even further. I haven’t personally shaken Murali’s hands so can’t tell if in fact it is rubbery. But if he is even slighly double jointed it can explain a lot. Another point that makes me comfortable about his action is his flight of the ball and especially the doosra. To my mind a chucking motion would imply the ball is dragged down like a dart. But Murali rarely bowled darts. His control of flight was immaculate. Prasanna always defined flight as the sensation of the ball being projected up. Greg Chappell calls it the upside of spin. I hope this goes some way in explaining Murali’s action.
Hoy, I am not an apologist for any cricketer. But I try not to go with the bandwagon and I certainly won’t become a cheer squad. I know Hair is a man of strong convictions and I can understand he called it as he saw it. So too Emerson. The reasons may have been noble but the outcome was ignoble. And this also applies to the treatment of Emerson by the authorities. Apparently he was told by an administrator to call Murali. Interesting!
I too, was annoyed they changed the laws rather than tackle the problem but in the end with the advent of slow mo replays and hindsight I felt it was better to have the 15 degrees than run the risk of even further controversy on all the actions of bowlers past and present.
Brucy B said | July 9th 2010 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
To clarify the term double jointed is a myth, the correct term is Hypermobility. It is catergorised by joints that stretch farther than is normal.
Some people have hypermobility with no other symptoms or medical conditions. However, people with hypermobility syndrome may experience many difficulties. For example, their joints may be easily injured, be more prone to complete dislocation due to the weakly stabilised joint and they may develop problems from muscle fatigue (as muscles must work harder to compensate for the excessive weakness in the ligaments that support the joints).
I think it would be safe to say Murali would not have been able to have the longevity in his career if he had Hypermobility.
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 2:54pm | Report comment
Dr Brucy B, I hope I have a few years left because I am acutely double jointed. But I would be more interested in your reaction to my theory of flight and the difficulty in doing this while throwing. And I am comfortable in your having a different opinion to mine. This is what the site is about. To rationalise differing opinions.
Russ said | July 9th 2010 @ 4:04pm | Report comment
Vinay, Murali released the ball from the back of his hand. The biomechanical analysis done on him indicated that his arm came trough as fast as a paceman’s, but by releasing the ball over the wrist he got both flight and the slower speed a spinner needs (plus loads of spin and the ability to turn the ball both ways). Regardless of people’s opinion of his action – and I believe most bowlers throw occasionally, Murali merely exceeded the tolerance (even of 15 degrees) more often – his control over such a difficult release was freakishly good.
Roentig said | July 12th 2010 @ 3:02am | Report comment
youre lucky they changed the rules – because this means brett lee (whose faster ‘un sometimes bends it to 14, compared with muralis 12 degree doosra) can keep bowling!
JohnB said | July 9th 2010 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
Regardless of whether you think his action was diabolical or in fact no worse than Larwood, McGrath etc, you can only tip your hat to someone who (going into his last test) has taken precisely 6 wickets in every match he played. You’re great if you take 5, let alone 6.
You have to hope though (from a world cricket point of view) that the post-Muralitharan Sri Lanka is not like the post-Hadlee New Zealand – a force with him, a mid-table struggler without.
Incidentally, reading the Warne interview in Cricinfo, I thought there was a noticeable over-emphasis on the chucking element. I think it’s entirely reasonable to mention that, but as the article was written the balance between that and the saying nice things about a bloke who’s retiring looked wrong, and looked a bit ungracious on Warne’s part. It’s fair to ask though whether that’s a function of the editing of the interview? Did Warne say more of the nice (but bland) things that didn’t get in the article as published?
Brett McKay said | July 9th 2010 @ 1:45pm | Report comment
JohnB, it’s much like the commonly reported view that John Howard called Murali a ‘chucker’, which of course was never the case at all. Rather he just answered “Yes” to a question asking if he thought Murali “threw”. It’s a mere detail of course, don’t let the facts interupt, etc…..
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 1:56pm | Report comment
Brett,that is being cute..to all intents Little Johnny called him a “chucker”
sheek said | July 9th 2010 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
Brett,
Did you see the recent stock footage of Howard bowling?
And he dares to have a considered opinion on someone else’s bowling action….. ?????
I’m still rolling in the aisles with one of Howard’s deliveries barely making a yard after leaving his hand, & another going to extra cover!
Brett McKay said | July 9th 2010 @ 3:14pm | Report comment
I have Sheek, and even better, I’ve seen it used in the context of justifying why he’s unsuitable for the ICC VP job!!
I think he’s just got the standard young bowlers problem, he just wants to bang everything in short!!
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 2:16pm | Report comment
JohnB, I always think about Warne’s reaction to touring India . Remember how he had some baked beans imported and lived on cheese sandwiches through the nineties and early 2000′s. Well sample this after the first edition of the IPL…” I never appreciated the rich culture of India” or words to that effect…It is amazing how a million bucks can change your perception.
JohnB, I don’t think Sri Lanka will regress. In Angelo Mathews and Mendis they have two world class younsters and we have not seen the best of them yet. And Jayawardene and Sagakkara are in the top 10 batsmen in the world. Pace is their one weakness and Malinga perhaps is not delivering as much as he can. This is where Twenty20 is attractive to out and fast bowlers…and it is atough game this fast bowling…I don’t know how we preserve the thoroughbreds like Steyn and Johnson..the obvious answer is that don’t race them at the Bong Bong Races.
Finally on Warne if you are asked to pay a tribute either do that or just say..Sorry ,I have no comment. That would be all.
JohnB said | July 9th 2010 @ 3:10pm | Report comment
Well Vinay, I’ve lived and worked in Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos (where I am now) for about 10 years, so I have some sympathy with the bringing in baked beans approach. Some might say that wasn’t the dumbest way to keep yourself on the field, which is after all what you’re supposed to be doing there!
As to preserving fast bowlers – beyond the money, I’m not sure how 20/20 would be attractive to any bowler. To me if any form or level of cricket is akin to the lowest level of bush racing, it’s 20/20. But obviously (and fair enough too) money speaks loudly for most people – and not just Shane Warne.
I hope you’re right about Sri Lanka.
Like I say, I think the impression given by the article in Cricinfo was poor, and if that’s all Warne said, he probably would have been better off saying nothing (mind you, was he asked to pay a tribute as you express it, or for his views?). Even if just asked for a tribute I think he was entitled to mix some mention of throwing in with the laudatory comments. Any comment on Muralitharan’s career would be a bit disingenuous if it didn’t. For me, the question remains, did the article as published reflect all Warne said, or did the way it was edited change the tone. I’m not defending, or criticising, him – just saying, I don’t think you can rush to judgment without considering that question.
I think there’s a significant difference between a politician coming out with a statement and using a pejorative description of someone, and the politician being asked his opinion on a topic known to be of interest to him and answering yes/no. Sure the highly-spun risk free modern response would be to give a non-answer like “when it comes to cricket it doesn’t matter what I think” and leave it at that – but after all, what does it matter what he thought, so why shouldn’t he give his opinion?
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 4:33pm | Report comment
JohnB, I sympathise with anyone that has to eat baked beans. Especially in India. The hotels Warnie would have stayed in would have New Zealand Lamb and King Island Steak if he wanted it. But Warnie was a self confessed Pizza and toasted sarnie man. I have never been more enthralled watching cricket than Warne….I lie a bit, Subhash Gupte came close. He was part thespian,part hero,part villian and a whole hearted cricketer. Batting and fielding…an absolutely reliable first slipper. He relished the scrap. But more about Warne another time… this is a tribute to Murali..or at least that is how I envisaged it.
I think after a time Murali just stopped worrying about it and in the end it is a matter of private perception. I personally feel throwing (that word again) in the chuck diminshed Warne more than it did Murali.
Warne is always news and Cricinfo would have had little time to edit and sometimes news needs to be prickly in the eye of the Editor because the maxim is that even bad news is news.
JohnB said | July 9th 2010 @ 6:09pm | Report comment
Vinay, depends what you’re brought up on I suspect! And on what you put with the baked beans, but we’re getting a long way off topic even by Roar standards.
I agree the article as published was worse – much worse – for Warne than for Muralitharan.
However, your final comment re news needing to be prickly is exactly what made me wonder in the first place whether the editing of the article had more to do with creating the impression given by it than Warne’s actual words did. I don’t know of course, because I don’t know all that Warne said.
On even bad news is news – isn’t it more that bad news sells much more than good news?
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 8:38pm | Report comment
JohnB,that is social commentary reflecting on the ghoul in us.
Beaver fever said | July 9th 2010 @ 2:24pm | Report comment
So, Murali’s chucking it in !!.
sheek said | July 9th 2010 @ 2:43pm | Report comment
I must confess I have very mixed feelings about Murali which I haven’t resolved in my own mind yet. So I’ll keep quiet but wish him well in his retirement.
Murali is one of those examples thrown to us constantly by life to demonstrate that there is very little black or white, but plenty of grey, & the trick is to determine the shade of grey…..
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 2:50pm | Report comment
Sheek,In the words of the immortal Chuck Berry..there goes a brown eyed handsome man.
and to quote him again in reference to Jhoward…Go,Go, Go Johnny,,Go, Go, Johnny B Goode.
betty b said | July 9th 2010 @ 3:36pm | Report comment
it’s a pity that a tribute to Murali turns to a critique of Warne. My memory of both of them goes back a few years, seeing Warne praise Murali and saying how many more wickets Murali will take than him. It may have been one of Warne’s milestones (300 test wickets or something) but it was pure praise, one spinner to another. So I don’t think Warne should be held to account for his stated opinion of Murali.
Thoughts on his action aside, Murali must be remembered as one of the game’s great bowlers. While the critics are oft to point out that he played more games against lower ranked teams, we should not forget the fear in which he was held by most test batsmen of any team. If we must compare him to Warne, Warnie is miles ahead as far as an all-round cricketer goes but surely their bowling greatness is pretty close.
On crowd treatment – I doubt any team would tour os if they let crowds worry them – I think Murali was well liked and respected by Aust after that first tour, though we didn’t see that much of him here.
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 4:49pm | Report comment
BettyB..by and large the crowds in Australia are well behaved and appreciate good cricket from both sides. Some minorities.and this happens with all countries, spoil it for others. By and large the cricket spectator is sporting and appreciative. I also agree,for me, Warne is one of the all time great crciketers.
I mentioned in my piece that Murali had more trouble,relatively speaking,with Aussie and Indian batsmen. His economy (3.10) against Aus and 2.91 against India is the highest. His strike rate too suffered (69 against Aust and 68 India) Compare this with his carreer Strike rate of 55 and economy around 2.5. It says something about the calibre of the Aussie and Indian batters. But at some time or the other Murali has bamboozled the best in the business. Early on Allan Border remarked to mark Waugh: “I thought he was bowling leggies”
Shashi Maudgal said | July 9th 2010 @ 5:03pm | Report comment
Murali’s 792 wickets – with a Test match to go – are probably unsurpassable. Nobody with that kind of achievement would be expected to get a “mixed” send-off, as his is turning out to be.
My own reaction is mixed as well – respect for his enthusiasm and sustained hard work but ambivalence about his action.
The 15 degree allowance made his action officially legal. But i could never bring myself to feel the same way about his bowling as i did about Warne’s, Prasanna’s, Bedi’s,Holding’s or Wasim’s.
Perhaps a large number of people feel that way about Murali’s bowling – not enjoyable.
Vinay Verma said | July 9th 2010 @ 8:30pm | Report comment
Shashi, I started out to write the tribute because I felt Warne could have been more charitable. However the many comments here reflect your ambivalence also. In relative terms Bedi’s and Warne’s action represent the purity of the art. Murali’s is like some black magic that,perhaps,tests the boundraries of our rationality. But then sorcery and magic are from another world.
And,maybe,I can appreciate what Murali was about..defying the conventional mould.
Personally I rank Warne as the greatest Spinner and followed by Subhash Gupte. You will be familair with my reasons.
Holding ,too, was poetry in motion. And Wasim had a left arm that was fired in Merlin’s kiln. Good to hear from you ,Shasi and you have given a perspective,that is almost universal among cricket lovers.