Test cricket Muttiah Muralitharan

1 test cricket

1.1 emerging years
1.2 boxing day test 1995
1.3 mid career
1.4 passing walsh , warne
1.5 beyond world record
1.6 performance analysis
1.7 test wicket milestones

test cricket
emerging years

on 28 august 1992 @ age of 20, muralitharan made debut against australia @ khettarama stadium , claimed 3 141. craig mcdermott first test wicket. freakish action , angular run-up showed no run-of-the-mill spinner. during first test, there 1 dismissal convinced many of muralitharan s special powers. tom moody s leg-stump dislodged when shouldered arms delivery pitched @ least 2 feet outside off-stump.

the youthful muralitharan went strength strength, playing major part in sri lanka s back-to-back test victories against england , new zealand in 1992–93. @ point in career struck close bond leader, mentor , 1 time business partner, authoritative captain arjuna ranatunga. relationship formed bedrock of success , meant there few doubts status team s sole wicket-taker. ranatunga thoroughly convinced muralitharan s precocious talent signal new era in sri lanka s short test history.

in august 1993 @ moratuwa, muralitharan captured 5 104 in south africa s first innings, first five-wicket haul in tests. wickets included kepler wessels, hansie cronje , jonty rhodes.

muralitharan continued baffle batsman outside shores of sri lanka, irrespective of team s performance. in sri lanka s humiliating drubbing @ hands of india in 1993–94, 3 tests innings defeats, muralitharan sole success, 12 wickets in rubber. perseverance in face of astronomical scores fearsome quartet of mohammed azharuddin, sachin tendulkar, navjot sidhu , vinod kambli in sharp contrast submission team-mates played series.

it in new zealand in march 1995 muralitharan displayed qualities match-winner on surface. in sri lanka s first triumph on foreign soil, muralitharan confused crease-bound new zealanders on grassy pitch in dunedin. sri lankan manager duleep mendis claim muralitharan can turn ball on concrete confirmed. on eve of tour of pakistan later year, doubts cast on ability trouble subcontinental batsmen. taking 19 wickets in series , delivering historic 2–1 victory, off-spinner silenced doubters. pakistanis, had negotiated warne s leg-breaks in previous home series, never @ ease against him.

prior eventful boxing day test of 1995, muralitharan had captured 80 wickets in 22 tests @ unflattering average of 32.74. @ point in career leading wicket taker sri lanka having gone past rumesh ratnayake s aggregate of 73 wickets.

boxing day test 1995

during second test between sri lanka , australia @ melbourne cricket ground on boxing day 1995, australian umpire darrell hair called muralitharan throwing 7 times in 3 overs. hair believed 23-year-old bending arm , straightening in process of delivery; illegal action in cricket.

muralitharan had bowled 2 overs before lunch umpire steve dunne s or members end of ground umpire hair @ square leg , these passed without incident. @ 2:34 pm took attack umpire hair s or southern end. muralitharan s third on maiden deliveries again passed legitimate in fourth hair no-balled him twice throwing on fourth , sixth balls. umpire continued call him 3 times in fifth on over second, fourth , sixth balls. while bowler stood hands on hips perplexed, 5 calls provoked immediate response sri lankan captain arjuna ranatunga left field @ 3:03 pm in order take advice team management. returned @ 3:08 pm , continued muralitharan called 2 more times in sixth on over second , sixth balls. @ 3:17 pm ranatunga removed bowler attack, although reintroduced him @ 3:30 pm @ umpire dunne s end. although hair reports in book, decision make, @ end of tea break stated call muralitharan no matter end bowled, did not so. muralitharan completed twelve overs without further no-balls and, after bowling mark waugh, finished day figures of 18–3–58–1.

after being no-balled muralitharan bowled further 32 overs umpire steve dunne s end without protest either dunne or hair, @ square leg. sri lankan camp outraged after incident, icc defended hair, outlining list of steps had taken in past determine, without result, legitimacy of muralitharan s action. calling muralitharan bowlers end hair overrode regarded authority of square leg umpire in adjudicating on throwing. dunne have had break convention support partner.

at end of match sri lankans requested icc permission confer hair in order find out how remedy problem bowler. despite game s controlling body agreeing it, australian cricket board vetoed on grounds might lead umpires being quizzed teams after every game , meant throwing controversy continue world series cup during coming week. sri lankans disappointed did not explanation , decided continue playing bowler in matches not umpired hair , wanted know whether other umpires support or reject hair s judgement.

muralitharan s action cleared icc after biomechanical analysis @ university of western australia , @ hong kong university of science & technology in 1996. concluded action created optical illusion of throwing .

mid career

on 16 march 1997, muralitharan became first sri lankan reach 100 test wickets, when dismissed stephen fleming in second innings of hamilton test.

in january 1998, muralitharan took first ten-wicket haul against zimbabwe in first test @ kandy. sri lanka won 8 wickets , muralitharan had figures of 12 117.

in august same year muralitharan produces career-best test match figures of 16 220, in one-off test against england. in england s second innings muralitharan bowled marathon 54.2 overs pick 9 65 runs, other wicket being run out. ben hollioake becomes 200th test wicket. sri lanka won ten wickets, first test victory in england. after breaking world record test wickets in 2007, muralitharan commented 1998 performance @ oval against england, career highlight. stated thought bowler , didn t there.

playing 58th test, muralitharan claimed 300th test wicket when dismissed shaun pollock in first test in durban, in december 2000. dennis lillee reached milestone faster, in 56th test.

on 4 january 2002 in kandy muralitharan might have finished best-ever figures single innings, after had claimed 9 wickets against zimbabwe russel arnold dropped catch @ short leg. missed out on tenth when chaminda vaas dismissed henry olonga caught behind amid stifled appeals. muralitharan follows 9 51 in first innings 4 64 in second, equalling richard hadlee s record of 10 ten-wicket match hauls, needing 15 fewer tests so.

on 15 january 2002 playing in 72nd test, muralitharan became fastest , youngest reach 400-wicket landmark when bowled olonga in third test in galle.

on 16 march 2004 muralitharan became fastest , youngest bowler reach 500 wickets during second test between sri lanka , australia played in kandy. in 87th test, bowled kasprowicz claim 500th victim 4 days after warne reached landmark on fifth day of first test between 2 teams @ galle. warne took 108 tests reach 500. muralitharan took 4–48 on first day of second test australia skittled 120 in first innings.

passing walsh , warne

muralitharan receiving guard of honour after passing walsh s record, harare 2004

in may 2004, muralitharan overtook west indian courtney walsh s record of 519 test match wickets become highest wicket-taker. zimbabwe s mluleki nkala becomes muralitharan s 520th scalp in tests. muralitharan held record until shane warne claimed in october 2004. warne surpassed sri lankan muttiah muralitharan s mark of 532 wickets dismissing india s irfan pathan. warne said enjoyed duel muralitharan, sidelined following shoulder surgery @ time.

after outstanding year muralitharan adjudged wisden leading cricketer in world in 2006. in 6 tests, took 60 wickets. took ten in each of 4 successive matches, second time performed such feat. opponents 60-wicket haul england away, south africa @ home , new zealand away: serious opposition. in all, muralitharan took 90 wickets in 11 tests in calendar year.

in july 2007, muttiah muralitharan became second bowler after australia s shane warne capture 700 test wickets. off-spinner reached landmark when had bangladesh s last man syed rasel caught in deep farveez maharoof on fourth day of third , final test @ asgiriya stadium in kandy. dismissal signalled sri lanka s victory innings , 193 runs give host 3–0 sweep of series. muralitharan finished 6 wickets in each innings claim 10 wickets or more in test 20th time. however, unable pass warne s record of 708 wickets when sri lanka toured australia in november 2007, capturing 4 wickets in 2 test matches.

muralitharan reclaimed record test wickets during first test against england @ kandy on 3 december 2007. spinner bowled england s paul collingwood claim 709th test victim , overtaking shane warne in process. muralitharan reached mark in 116th test – 29 fewer warne – , had conceded 21.77 runs per wicket compared australian s 25.41. muralitharan s 61st 5-wicket haul. warne believed muralitharan take 1,000 wickets before retired. former record holder courtney walsh opined possible if muralitharan retained hunger wickets. muralitharan himself believed there possibility reach milestone.

beyond world record

in july 2008, muralitharan , ajantha mendis stopped india s strong batting sri lanka won first test record innings , 239 runs in colombo. muralitharan finished match 11 wickets 110, india shot out 138 in second innings after conceding lead of 377 on fourth day. supported debutant ajantha mendis, unorthodox spinner plenty of variation, took 8 wickets in debut match.

muralitharan believed emergence of mendis prolong own career. muralitharan, 36, , 23-year-old mendis formed formidable partnership in first test thrashing of india, taking 19 of 20 wickets between them. if keeps performing way, take lot of wickets in international cricket. has come, think can play test cricket few more years. bowling 50 overs in test innings hard. if bowl 30–35 , bowls more me, job easier me.

performance analysis

in july 2007, muralitharan achieved career peak test bowling rating of 920, based on lg icc player rankings. highest ever rating achieved spin bowler in test cricket. puts him in fourth place in lg icc best-ever test bowling ratings.

muralitharan has unique distinction of getting 10 or more wickets in match against other 9 test playing nations capturing on 50 wickets against each of them. obtained 7 or more wickets in innings against 5 nations, namely england, india, south africa, west indies , zimbabwe (refer table above). muttiah muralitharan took @ least 5 five-fors against other 9 test sides.

he holds highest wickets/match ratio (6.1) bowler on 200 test wickets , represented sri lanka in 118 tests of 175 have played (67.4%).

against teams excluding bangladesh , zimbabwe, muralitharan took 624 wickets in 108 tests. comparison, excluding matches against bangladesh , zimbabwe, warne took 691 wickets in 142 tests. murali s average of 24.05 superior warne s career average of 25.41. muralitharan won 18 man of match awards in test cricket.

during muralitharan s playing days, icc future tours programme denied sri lanka , several other teams level playing field. consequence muralitharan never toured south africa after december 2002 , never playing test @ spin-friendly sydney cricket ground.

another comparison of muralitharan s bowling record against other successful international bowlers career record away home. muralitharan received criticism enjoyed great success on home soil, taking wickets on pitches more spin-friendly other international pitches. quick analysis of test record of matches played outside sri lanka shows 52 matches took 278 wickets @ average of 26.24 runs per wicket, strike rate of 60.1 balls per wicket. similarly, spin bowling rival shane warne retired superior away record of 362 wickets 73 matches, @ average of 25.50 , strike rate of 56.7. due variabilities of test cricket such grounds played @ , opposition played against difficult compare quality of top level players and, such, difficult , subjective. however, clear muralitharan did better playing @ home test minnows zimbabwe , bangladesh, averaging less 16 runs wicket.

cricinfo s statistics editor s rajesh concluded decade 2000–2009 best 10-year period test batsmen since 1940s. muralitharan leading test wicket-taker during period, capturing 565 wickets @ 20.97 in spite of dominance of bat on ball. shane warne captured 357 wickets @ average of 25.17 during decade. of spinners on test 100 wickets john briggs (17.75), jim laker (21.24), bill o reilly (22.59) , clarrie grimmett (24.21) have sub 25.00 bowling averages.

muralitharan on winning side on 54 of 133 test matches played. in games captured total of 438 wickets (8.1 wickets per match), @ outstanding average of 16.18 per wicket , strike rate of 42.7. muralitharan took 795 wickets country sri lanka in 132 tests. next wickets sri lanka in these 132 tests chaminda vaas 309 – less 40% of spinner s pile. no 1 else managed 100. collectively sri lankan bowlers tallied 1968 wickets across span, of muralitharan accounted 40.4%. among 24 other sri lankans took more 10 of wickets, lasith malinga did @ better strike rate (52.3) muralitharan s 54.9 – , latter bowled rather more overs, 6657.1 of them precise.

test wicket milestones