Line & Length
R Mohan
Praise the Kandyman, for you can't bury him
December 09, 2007
No spin bowler has polarised opinion within the sport like Muttiah Muralitharan.
He is hailed as a genius with claims to be the best ever spin bowler in the history of cricket. Opinions to the contrary — that he is no more than a licensed thrower — are held by many, mostly Australians and, nearer home, a very vocal critic of unclean bowling actions in Bishan Bedi.
Contradictions are something Murali has lived with all his life. For years he has been the only Tamil, descended from Indians who went over to Kandy to work the plantations in the time of the Raj, in a team made up almost entirely of Sinhalese Buddhists and some Burghers who are a Eurasian ethnic group. In a nation deeply fractured along ethnic and religious lines, Murali shines as a symbol of unity in conflicting diversity.
Given his background, Murali has long been inured to taking the most reasonable view of a polarised world. In cricket, they have hounded him in Australia, chanting "chucker" every time he bowled. The Barmy Army has a good-natured song dedicated to him that culminates in a shout of "No Ball" and it was sung even on the day he broke Shane Warne's world record at his home ground, Asgiriya stadium.
There are two ways to look at Murali. One is the logical, scientific view shaped by the research of boffins who examined his bowling action in all possible ways in laboratory conditions and came to the conclusion that he flexes his rubbery wrist as much as many other bowlers who go well over the old prescribed limit. After tests it was concluded that Murali "did not bend and straighten his arm illegally at the point of delivery".
The ICC ruled that his action only created "the optical illusion of throwing".
Once the law was changed to accommodate a more liberal flexion of bowling arm and use of wrist for all bowlers, the sane way to view the phenomenon is to hail Murali as an extraordinary spin bowler with helicopter wrists, strong fingers and a will to spin the ball every which way it will and who has achieved what no cricketer may achieve again in the Test arena.
The law was changed because of scientific observation defined by new research. If Murali chucked as per the old law, so too did many, including Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee and virtually anyone who came to possess express speed or bowled finger spin. Since Murali's action had been passed, one cannot anymore publicly question his bowling and can pick a quarrel only with the laws of cricket.
The contrary view is generally shaped by the emotional, knee jerk reaction everyone feels when a bowler with a quirky action delivers a ball at any level of the game. Any beer-drinking lout can go around cricket grounds shouting "bring on the chucker" for all his lager's worth but it will not change anything in the game or in the record books.
Lovers of the game have long enjoyed watching the Kandy king bowl. Those who can see beyond the boundary credit him for his gallantry and his professionalism. He has never hit out impolitely at opponents.
For all that Warne has said about him, all Murali ever uttered in counter was that Warne must be a miserable man.
Not for him the fighting language of the street, nor the invective of confrontational sportsmen. He has been generous in his help of tsunami victims despite living in the heights of Kandy where no waves will ever reach.
His modesty stood out in the candour with which he described the memorable ball that broke the world record, saying he bowled the orthodox off break that seemed to go the other way although it actually simply went straight on and bowled Collingwood.
His flying saucer like eyes, his impish smile at befuddling opponents with turn that he could possibly extract while bowling on glass, his "doosra" that he bowls with such guile as to have given him an extraordinary strike rate and average runs per wicket ever since the ball was cleared by authorities (he bows them with a 10 degree flex) and his infectious enthusiasm for bowling are features his team mates as well as opponents will never forget.
Those who are inclined to be sporting will admire Murali's bowling and his feats, which, however, do not take away anything from Warne's achievements.
The game is fortunate to have had two such practitioners of the art of spin bowling who took it to such dizzying heights as to leave their names far above those of bowlers of any category.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
He is hailed as a genius with claims to be the best ever spin bowler in the history of cricket. Opinions to the contrary — that he is no more than a licensed thrower — are held by many, mostly Australians and, nearer home, a very vocal critic of unclean bowling actions in Bishan Bedi.
Contradictions are something Murali has lived with all his life. For years he has been the only Tamil, descended from Indians who went over to Kandy to work the plantations in the time of the Raj, in a team made up almost entirely of Sinhalese Buddhists and some Burghers who are a Eurasian ethnic group. In a nation deeply fractured along ethnic and religious lines, Murali shines as a symbol of unity in conflicting diversity.
Given his background, Murali has long been inured to taking the most reasonable view of a polarised world. In cricket, they have hounded him in Australia, chanting "chucker" every time he bowled. The Barmy Army has a good-natured song dedicated to him that culminates in a shout of "No Ball" and it was sung even on the day he broke Shane Warne's world record at his home ground, Asgiriya stadium.
There are two ways to look at Murali. One is the logical, scientific view shaped by the research of boffins who examined his bowling action in all possible ways in laboratory conditions and came to the conclusion that he flexes his rubbery wrist as much as many other bowlers who go well over the old prescribed limit. After tests it was concluded that Murali "did not bend and straighten his arm illegally at the point of delivery".
The ICC ruled that his action only created "the optical illusion of throwing".
Once the law was changed to accommodate a more liberal flexion of bowling arm and use of wrist for all bowlers, the sane way to view the phenomenon is to hail Murali as an extraordinary spin bowler with helicopter wrists, strong fingers and a will to spin the ball every which way it will and who has achieved what no cricketer may achieve again in the Test arena.
The law was changed because of scientific observation defined by new research. If Murali chucked as per the old law, so too did many, including Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee and virtually anyone who came to possess express speed or bowled finger spin. Since Murali's action had been passed, one cannot anymore publicly question his bowling and can pick a quarrel only with the laws of cricket.
The contrary view is generally shaped by the emotional, knee jerk reaction everyone feels when a bowler with a quirky action delivers a ball at any level of the game. Any beer-drinking lout can go around cricket grounds shouting "bring on the chucker" for all his lager's worth but it will not change anything in the game or in the record books.
Lovers of the game have long enjoyed watching the Kandy king bowl. Those who can see beyond the boundary credit him for his gallantry and his professionalism. He has never hit out impolitely at opponents.
For all that Warne has said about him, all Murali ever uttered in counter was that Warne must be a miserable man.
Not for him the fighting language of the street, nor the invective of confrontational sportsmen. He has been generous in his help of tsunami victims despite living in the heights of Kandy where no waves will ever reach.
His modesty stood out in the candour with which he described the memorable ball that broke the world record, saying he bowled the orthodox off break that seemed to go the other way although it actually simply went straight on and bowled Collingwood.
His flying saucer like eyes, his impish smile at befuddling opponents with turn that he could possibly extract while bowling on glass, his "doosra" that he bowls with such guile as to have given him an extraordinary strike rate and average runs per wicket ever since the ball was cleared by authorities (he bows them with a 10 degree flex) and his infectious enthusiasm for bowling are features his team mates as well as opponents will never forget.
Those who are inclined to be sporting will admire Murali's bowling and his feats, which, however, do not take away anything from Warne's achievements.
The game is fortunate to have had two such practitioners of the art of spin bowling who took it to such dizzying heights as to leave their names far above those of bowlers of any category.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
