Murali - for Donny

[JLC]

Bedi slams Muralitharan
By Mike Coward
December 22, 2003
A CRICKET conversation with Bishan Bedi is one of the abiding joys of the glorious game.



With a heady mix of quaint Indian English and turns of phrase as colourful as the patkas and turbans that have always so readily identified him, 57-year-old Bedi is holding court and so the undivided attention of listeners wherever he travels in Australia this summer.

A genius slow bowler in his salad days (capturing 266 wickets at 28.71 in 67 Tests from 1966 to 1979), Bedi is among the most genial of men and an unabashed cricket romantic who holds dear the game's traditional values and virtues.

It was inevitable he would find his way Down Under for the visit of the Indian team this summer. After all, his two children, son Gav, 32, and daughter Gilli, 29, have lived most of their lives in Melbourne and he established countless friendships on his tours here in 1967-68 and again in 1977-78 when he captained India's first winning Test team in Australia.

The success of Sourav Ganguly's team in Adelaide brought him great pride and caused him to reflect on the revolution that has occurred within Indian cricket since his men overpowered Bobby Simpson's Australians at Melbourne the first week of 1978.

There are two things to which the Indian people can look for cheer - cricket and cinema. And, like Bollywood, cricket has become a great industry, said Bedi.

While his passion for cricket is undiminished and he is proud of India's powerful role in the modern game, it pains him that some traditional attitudes, standards and values are being seriously devalued.

As a spinner, Bedi was an intricate and subtle artist weaving his magic with variations in flight, pace, angle, loop and then some. As an observer, interviewee and occasional columnist for Indian newspapers and magazines, he is uncomplicated and unsubtle and determined to be heard on issues which he believes are damaging the game.

While there is no doubt he has the capacity to alienate with his forthright views, he has many more admirers for his preparedness to spurn political correctness and speak his mind.

Undoubtedly his bete noir is the subject of throwing and the very mention of controversial Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is enough to reduce him to a state of apoplexy.

"It makes me sad," Bedi said. "People say the game has changed for the better. It hasn't.

"The expression 'it's not cricket' truly means something. It's about uprightness, honesty and integrity. You don't hear people saying 'it's not hockey' or 'it's not football'. Cricket is special.

"The game's leading wicket-taker (among spinners) is one of the great masters in Shane Warne, and hard on his heels is a burglar, a thief, a dacoit. Just because Muralitharan has a genetic problem does not mean he should be on a cricket field. It is outrageous. By allowing Muralitharan to go unchecked, others with suspect actions are getting through. And there are plenty around. More and more kids are emulating the bent elbows."

Bedi said the game urgently needed a voice as strong and influential as was Donald Bradman's in the early 1960s when throwing and dragging was atop the agenda of administrators everywhere.

He is also disturbed by the indulgence in the one-day game and makes no attempt to hide his cynicism of the contemporary coach, whose doctrine is based on technology.

"All this stupid laptop nonsense," he exploded. "You can't rely on this all the time. God has given us a necktop and that's what you take on to the field. And while the batteries might run out eventually, hopefully they won't run out while you are strong enough to play.

"You've got to use your head and that's what (Rahul) Dravid and (VVS) Laxman did in Adelaide."

Bedi continues to use his necktop rather than a laptop at his renowned non-profit coaching trust in New Delhi. A warm and generous personality, who laughs loudly and a lot, he has a wonderful rapport with children and adolescents and has played a pivotal role in the development of more than 60 first-class and 14 international cricketers in India.

And whenever asked, he has helped with the education of visiting slow bowlers and worked with Australia's Brad Hogg and Nathan Hauritz. He was flattered when Steve Waugh canvassed the idea of him bowling to the Australians before the second Test in Adelaide.

As it is, Bedi is a great admirer of Waugh and is determined to remain in Australia to see his farewell Test appearance in Sydney next month.

"He is a man of enormous substance with so much more to offer to society when he leaves the game," Bedi said.

Recently Bedi has been encouraged by news that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering the development of what is being termed a "Spin Wing" at the national coaching academy in Bangalore.

Such an initiative would safeguard the future of spin bowling in India and beyond and provide Bedi with a priceless opportunity to work alongside his pals and fellow magicians from summers past, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

A spiritual soul who continues to enjoy great popularity within the game, he contends that "you don't play cricket, you live it".

"I'm sure I'll be talking about it on my death bed. It is life."

[JLC]

Murali's no tell-tale

Charlie Austin

December 14, 2003





Muttiah Muralitharan: branded a schoolboy snitch
© Getty Images




On Thursday, Nasser Hussain raised the stakes in this Test series. He was no doubt frustrated by England's inability to mop up Sri Lanka's tail and probably annoyed by the apparently chummy attitude between some of England's younger players and Muttiah Muralitharan. However, Hussain appears to have deliberately tried to rile Muralitharan with a verbal broadside.

According to Murali, it was not a cheeky one-liner or a sharp-tongued barb – it was a foul-mouthed attack upon his integrity as a player. Hussain was accused of calling him "a ****ing cheat and a ****ing chucker" as he walked to the crease. Bizarrely, though, it's England's players who are burning up inside with a sense of injustice. Sri Lanka have been accused of being squealers, and Murali is apparently a schoolboy snitch.

Hussain, aware no doubt that the stump microphones had not picked up his comments, naturally denied that he'd made such comments when he was hauled into Clive Lloyd's office after the close of play for an official inquiry. Had he been found guilty, Lloyd, the match referee, would have thrown the book at him as a former England captain. He would probably have been banned for one Test and fined. But Lloyd had no option but to clear Hussain for a lack of hard video evidence.

It was Murali's word against 11 tight-lipped English players. Lloyd, though, made it clear that he thought Hussain had muttered something nasty and warned that he would not tolerate any further behaviour, from both sides, that "threatened the integrity of the game."

The following evening, Graham Thorpe conveyed the team's surprise that Murali had bleated, first to the umpires and then to his manager when he returned to the dressing room. Thorpe likened the reaction to that of a wet-faced schoolboy. "As cricketers, we have come to expect a little bit of jabbering out in the middle," said Thorpe. "Most of the time it's in the right spirit. The only thing that surprises me is not too many players tell tales out of school. Sometimes you can push too far, but generally most players know where the line is. You don't have to run off and tell people about it."

Thorpe went even further, suggesting that Muralitharan had resorted to unsporting football style tactics to get an opponent sent off. "It's like trying to get players sent off in football by waving hands at the ref and telling him it's got to be a yellow or red card - you don't need to do it. That's not sportsmanship in my book." Fletcher also backed Hussain, although he did so in his typically bland code: "Test cricket is tough, you just have to get on with it."

No one disputes that some on-field banter is acceptable. Test cricket is a game for men; few sports provide such a searching examination of character. Witty one-liners like Kumar Sangakkara's on the third evening to Gareth Batty are fair enough. "Where's England's best offspinner?" he asked Batty at the start of his innings.

Heat of the moment comments can also be acceptable, although Darren Lehman's racist outburst in earshort of the Sri Lanka management in Brisbane earlier in the year was intolerable and rightly punished harshly. But cold-blooded, pre-meditated and obscene verbal assaults on the integrity of a player need not be tolerated. They are boorish, unnecessary and threaten the very essence of a game that is not just about winning.

We cannot be sure that Hussain said what has been alleged, although the Sri Lankans are convinced. If he did, then he did cross this fuzzy "thin line" that we keep hearing about and he should have no complaints about Murali's reaction. Michael Vaughan, the captain, who was conspicuous by his absence at the hearing on Thursday evening, also needs to decide whether he condones such behaviour within his team.

Rather than being ridiculed as a tell-tale, Murali should be lauded for standing up for himself and the game. There are few in world cricket that can match his unbridled passion and love for the game. To be accused of being a cheat would have appalled him (like it did Michael Atherton during an altercation with Kumar Sangakkara during the last tour). Sledging has never been part of his game and he, quite justifiably, does not see why he should play according other people's crass standards simply because other players have put up with obscenities before.


© Wisden Cricinfo Ltd

[JLC]

Muralitharan needs urgent support
Wisden Cricinfo Staff - December 17, 2003



Clearly something has to change. Sri Lanka's most precious natural resource, Muttiah Muralitharan, is in danger of being mined into an early retirement. His bowling shoulder, packed with ice after every practice session and massaged continuously by the fitness team, is hurting more each week.



Natural joints can only take so much wear and tear. The longevity of his career, and the size of the world record he eventually posts, depends upon Sri Lanka's second spinner in particular and Sri Lanka's support bowlers in general.

Muralitharan's workload during this England tour has been phenomenal. Already, in the first two Test matches, he's bowled 164 overs out of the 459 sent down by Sri Lanka – that's a 36% share of the workload. His total series figures are: 164-79-217-19. Not bad!

The problem that Hashan Tillakaratne faces is that his spin wizard is bowling quite brilliantly. England's batters had arrived in Sri Lanka quietly confident of decoding his trickery, but they now admit that he's been fiendishly difficult to read from the hand. The ball has been spitting both ways and all the batsman to score runs have lived charmed lives – except perhaps Michael Vaughan who played him expertly in Kandy.

But Muralitharan appeared to wane during that final day. He bowled 56 out of the 140 overs in the innings. It was an unreasonable and unacceptable workload. Although he loves to bowl and bowl, Tillakaratne should have used his support bowlers more.

Chaminda Vaas's workload in the final two sessions was, for example, strangely light: nine overs spread over 4 ½ hours in the field. At first we thought he was poorly after he vomited on the outfield at the end of his run just after lunch. It turns out though that that was merely a badly timed helping of fruit salad. Tillakaratne surely missed a trick.

The unwillingness to use Dinusha Fernando – who was given just one over with the second new ball after Tillakaratne delayed taking it until the final hour – was also surprising. One wondered how many overs Dilhara Fernando would have bowled – certainly more is the answer. I have no doubt that Dilhara will play in Colombo on his home ground.


© AFP

But it was the relative ineffectiveness of the second spinner, Kumar Dharmasena, which caused most concern. Dharmasena's offbreaks provided England's batters with few problems. Perhaps, with hindsight, Upul Chandana should have played? The legspinner had in fact been announced in the final XI at the pre-match team meeting but a last-minute change on the morning of the match saw Dharmasena being drafted in.

The more controversial view is that neither should have played. Instead, Rangana Herath, a left-arm spinner that has been hauling in wickets in South Africa and India with the A team, should have been in the squad.

The argument against his selection is that Sanath Jayasuriya provides a sound slow left arm option. But such thinking is flawed. You don't pick variation for variation's sake; you pick the best bowlers. Jayasuriya is a useful spinner, someone who is capable of nicking out a wicket or too, but is not in the same class as Herath. On the evidence of the first two tests, Chandana and Dharmasena are also no match.

Unfortunately we also have to be honest, Herath is no world-beater. When he bowls in tandem with Muralitharan he will no doubt look ordinary. The fact is that Muralitharan is truly exceptional. His standards are so far above most bowlers in the world that comparisons are unfair. Nevertheless, Herath may well be a better bet, possibly even for the third Test in Colombo.

In the long-term though, the selectors must intensify their search for bowlers. The Muralitharan era is, I'm afraid, slowly drawing to a close. He believes he can last until 2007, but with his current workload burnout might happen much sooner. A premature end to his career would be a travesty. Sri Lanka must protect him.

[JLC]

Sri Lanka v England, 3rd Test, Colombo, 4th day

Vaughan: 'Murali beat us fair and square'

Andrew Miller in Colombo

December 21, 2003





Michael Vaughan in reflective mood at the end of a tough tour
© Getty Images


Michael Vaughan was in a reflective mood as England sifted through the wreckage of the third Test in Colombo. It was a match that had promised so much after those fighting rearguards at Galle and Kandy, but it the end the defences caved in and England crumbled to the third-heaviest defeat of their Test history.

"These things happen," said Vaughan. "We came into the game at 0-0 and fully expected a better performance, but it wasn't to be." But, after getting first use of an excellent batting track, Vaughan was fully aware that England should have scored more runs in their first innings. "We simply didn't get enough to put Sri Lanka under any pressure," he admitted. "With an inexperienced attack, we needed to take advantage."

Inevitably, it was Muttiah Muralitharan, with 26 wickets in the series, who was the difference between the teams. "In the first two games, we played him well, and fought hard to keep him out," said Vaughan. "But he's ended up as Man of the Series, so you have to say he beat us fair and square. That new delivery of his has caused us a lot of problems, and even the experienced batsmen have struggled to pick him. We've been up against a world-class performer. His wickets and the way he has bowled has always had us under pressure.

"I didn't expect the game to be over today, but we've been on the ropes for three hard games, and today was the knockout blow." The man who delivered the knockout, in Vaughan's opinion, was Dilhara Fernando. "He was excellent. He varied his pace, mixed slower balls and yorkers, and found a bit of reverse swing. He got good use out of the wicket."

Vaughan summed up: "Looking back throughout the series, Sri Lanka had us under pressure every day. We can only take so many blows. But there's no point in blaming fatigue. With three days between each Test, we always came back fully refreshed. As long as we get those days off, there's no problem with back-to-back Tests."

A slight disappointment for England was the form of Graham Thorpe, who was England's batting hero in the 2000-01 series victory here. But this time, Murali had the better of him, and he managed a solitary half-century in his six innings. "It's not for me to say how Thorpe has to bat," said Vaughan, "but he's admitted he's struggled in this series. He has an outstanding record against Murali, and has tried every policy to score off him. But that new delivery has caused a lot of problems – it's one thing seeing it, quite another thing playing it."

Vaughan conceded that his inexperienced bowlers have struggled in this series, but was adamant that the only way they would improve was if England kept faith with what they've got. "Obviously the best we've had for many years were Gough and Caddick, and to emulate them, our players have got to be given a good run in all conditions. Bowling quick out here is hardest job of all, so this experience will stand the likes of Jimmy [Anderson] in good stead. A few years down the line, we hope to be pretty potent."

The next stop for England is the West Indies, but not before a much-needed break. "First things first, we need to rest our bodies for a month, and then it's back to training in February," said Vaughan. "It should be a good series. The Windies have good young batters and pacemen like ours. The one thing they don't have is a Murali."

And who will be on that plane to the West Indies? "We'll be weighing up every option for the Caribbean," said Vaughan. "The discussion will be in the next few weeks, and it's going to be tough to whittle our options down to 16. There are several headaches for the selectors, with many good players to choose from."

© Wisden Cricinfo Ltd

[Donny]

No mention of a new inquiry there, JLC.

Just Bishen Bedi giving an opinion and Michael Vaughan stating, ""But he's ended up as Man of the Series, so you have to say he beat us fair and square"

[JLC]

Be patient Donny and all will be revealed. I am surprised you are not at the forefront of the new cutting edge stories.

jlc

[JLC]

Throwing row on the cards
By Michael Crutcher and Robert Craddock
December 25, 2003

A MAJOR chucking row is looming with controversial Sri Lankan Muthiah Muralidaran on the verge of plucking one of the game's most coveted records from under Shane Warne's nose, perhaps on Australian soil.

Muralidaran has steamed to 485 wickets, six behind Warne, and 34 adrift of Courtney Walsh's record of 519, after taking 26 wickets in three Tests against England at an average of just 12.31 in the past month.

For years it seemed inevitable Warne would hold the title, but it now seems likely Muralidaran will pip him and surge off into the uncharted waters of 600-700 Test victims or beyond.

Even Warne has long conceded the Sri Lankan will end up the winner when their careers end, but the sprint to pass Walsh could be a thriller igniting worldwide interest, particularly as the duo's next Test assignment is scheduled to be against each other in Sri Lanka in March.

"Hopefully I get the chance to go head-to-head with Murali in Sri Lanka to see who can get to No. 1," Warne said. "I think he's been wonderful for Sri Lanka."

They will also play two Tests in Darwin and Cairns in July when the record could be broken in a precious treat for cricket-starved fans.

If their strike rates are maintained, the duo would pass Walsh in the Cairns Test.

But plenty of issues must be resolved including:

WILL Warne make an immediate return to the Test team when his drug ban ends on February 10?

WILL Muralidaran tour Australia after threatening never to play again in this country?

WILL Muralidaran's action stand up to the rigorous examination planned by the International Cricket Council?

Muralidaran is still not in the clear despite insisting cricket's leading bowling officials have cleared him of any chucking suspicions.

International Cricket Council general manager Dave Richardson has revealed new research could provide an exact definition of legal bowling.

"Muralidaran went before a bowling review group and they decided, on the evidence that was available at that stage, that they couldn't tell whether he was straightening his arm to any degree or not," Richardson told Sky Sports.

"So he was cleared for that purpose, but that's not to say that he's cleared for ever and a day." Muralidaran is talking up the wicket race, although his form is so good he could overtake Walsh during the tour of Zimbabwe in May. "I can get the record easily now, but it all depends on how well Shane Warne bowls when he comes back," Muralidaran said on Sunday. The 31-year-old would be desperate to break the record as soon as possible because he has threatened never to return to Australia because of crowd taunts about his action. Muralidaran left the country almost 12 months ago insisting he was fed up with spectators making him a target. "I thought it might have been better this time but people still say things like 'chucker'," he said. "If it's going on like that I might not be able to come and play here any more. They should keep their mouths shut."

Herald Sun

[London Dave]

Here's the story.... he's a chucker, the sri lankans figured he'd win em games, and they'd play the race card...end of cricket integrity...the umpire cannot call a no ball for a throw.....thank you Ranatunga and Dalmiya for screwing up the game, you f********** p*******.