In yesterday's Herald Sun, unlinked and unarchived, Kevin Sheedy lays into Murali. There's plenty in the article that would be robustly argued, the two tiers, deducting wickets, copy-cat juniors -- no doubt Sheeds would say he's merely floating ideas -- but the guy's got eyes and he obviously knows what he sees:
As a fan and a cricket lover, Murali turns me off the game
This week Muttiah Muralidaran broke the world record for Test wickets, but did as much harm to the sport of cricket so many of us love.
I only played district cricket as a leg spinner but, as a fan and a cricket lover, Murali turns me off the game.
He should be playing baseball or some other sport because he chucks his off spinners and now he throws the "doosra" even more.
Sheeds is right about Murali chucking, but elsewhere:
1) What with the comp Kenya, Holland and even the USA play in, we've already got two tiers. The problem is Bangladesh were promoted too early, and Zimbabwe are a basket case. Perhaps they could be sent back.
2) Deducting wickets is stupid. Do the ICC next deduct bunny wickets? Jim Higgs, Courtney Walsh, Bagwat Chrandrashekar?
3) The ICC are already dealing with flawed actions in the junior ranks. Chances are that dodgy offies won't ever again get through the system.
His core point though, that umpires should be allowed -- I maintain encouraged -- to call throws is an absolute must.
As a fan and a cricket lover, Murali turns me off the game
This week Muttiah Muralidaran broke the world record for Test wickets, but did as much harm to the sport of cricket so many of us love.
I only played district cricket as a leg spinner but, as a fan and a cricket lover, Murali turns me off the game.
He should be playing baseball or some other sport because he chucks his off spinners and now he throws the "doosra" even more.
It has made Ian Meckiff being thrown out of cricket a joke. I even had problems with Meckiff getting chucked out the way he did, but Murali is blatant.
Meckiff was banished by the call of an umpire. But umpires are too scared to call Murali and kids watching him are already starting to bowl like him. That is where the trouble begins.
Every sport is trying to be as fair as possible with qualifying rules and performance enhancing drugs, and the ICC is going the other way, letting him bowl around the world.
This week he said he was going to bowl the doosra anyway, even though he knows it is over the legal limit for bending his arm.
Why would you want to go and watch him anyway?
The other area of concern is that the strongest nations count test wickets against developing nations like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. It must make Dennis Lillee, Richard Hadlee and Richie Benaud think, "Where are we going with all this?"
It is like counting Wizard Cup games as proper AFL game.
They should deduct any wickets that have been collected against developing nations, any wickets not collected against established teams like Pakistan and South Africa.
Why can't they have a category like we have with Wizard Cup games and still play the tests, but count the wickets separately.
The ICC have lost sight of that, and of the importance of these long held records.
Why don't the umpires call Murali? He is being deliberately confrontational by saying he still wants to bowl the doosra.
Keep calling him every time he does it and that would stop him pretty quickly.
At least in the AFL the umpire can call something without fear or favour. In international cricket they are scared because the authorities will come down on them.
It would be great to see Col Egar, who no-balled Meckiff out of cricket, umpiring at Murali's bowling end.
He bowls the doosra -- no-ball. Sorry mate, you are out.
Some of these wickets against a third-rate Zimbabwe team are hard;y first-class wickets.
Cricket has made an accidental mistake. They aren't the only one to do that, but how could Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne honestly claim wickets against Zimbabwe?
It is enough to turn you off cricket for good.
This is a true case of sour grapes. White man can't stand it when black man breaks record.
Sri Lanka itself is a developing nation (in the sense the author uses this phrase). Just calling Murali a chucker because you can't see properly is wrong by any standards (even white).
I love to see Murali bowl and it thrills me everytime to see Aussies urinate in their pants when he threatens to come down under. This time they've even got their prime minister (who said that there were WMD in Iraq) to join the frey. OK. So Murali is not coming. He is disgusted with you lot. And you can celebrate when you win, you sons of rotten British convicts.
Posted by: True Indian | 17 June 2004 at 21:08
I love you too, True Indian.
Posted by: Tony.T | 18 June 2004 at 10:13