Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan claimed his 709th Test wicket yesterday to surpass the record set by retired Australian legspinner Shane Warne.
Muralitharan, playing in his 116th Test, reached the milestone when he bowled England's Paul Collingwood for 45 during the third day's play at his home ground of Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy.
Muralitharan had a frustrating first spell, bowling nine overs without success and conceding 19 runs. His breakthrough came in the first over of his second spell, the 26th of the day, when he clipped Collingwood's middle stump.
PHOTO: AFP
Muralitharan equaled Warne's mark on Sunday, claiming four wickets before play was abandoned at tea as a result of rain.
The offspinner previously held the record in 2004 when he overhauled West Indian fast bowler Courtney Walsh's mark of 519 wickets, only to be surpassed by Warne. In July, Muralitharan entered an exclusive club with Warne when he brought up his 700th wicket.
On Sunday, Warne predicted his rival would hold the record for some time to come.
"It was nice to have it for a short while but I knew I would only have it for a short time," he said. "Murali has said he wanted to take 1000 Test wickets and he is every chance of getting there. Although he will have to play for some time yet, if he does get there I don't think anyone else will catch him."
Kandy's Asgiriya Stadium is a lucky charm for Muralitharan. It was at this ground he first rose to prominence, created records as a teenager for St. Anthony's school, before equaling Warne's 700 wickets against Bangladesh.
Muralitharan's ability to turn the ball comes from his unorthodox wristy offspin and an elbow bent since birth. That bent joint has been central to the debate over his bowling action.
The legitimacy of his bowling action came to a head in 1995 in Australia, when home umpire Darrell Hair no-balled Muralitharan for "throwing" during a Test match in Melbourne.
His action was subsequently cleared by an Australian biomechanics expert, but he was no-balled again in Australia in 1998 and reported by English match referee Chris Broad in Sri Lanka in 2004.
The International Cricket Council, after a major investigation, ruled that as a result of his birth abnormality, his action is legal.
Despite the controversy, Muralitharan has become the most potent bowler in contemporary cricket using his trademark "doosra," topspinners and varying angles.
Wisden, the authoritative cricket almanac, named Muralitharan the best cricketer of last year.
Muralitharan's achievement on the cricket field has made him a household name in Sri Lanka and a source of hope and inspiration to a nation battered by decade of civil war. His status as the only Tamil in the national team links together the two warring parties on the national cricket team.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
RSS