The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Murali told not to bowl `doosra'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 13, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Murali told not to bowl `doosra'

LONDON, MAY 12. Three days after becoming the highest Test wicket taker of all time, Sri Lankan spin master Muttiah Muralitharan was ordered on Tuesday to stop bowling his fearsome ``doosra.''

If he does not, he could be suspended for up to a year.

Dogged for several years by allegations that he throws rather than bowls the ball, Muralitharan, who has a genetic defect, which prevents him fully straightening his bowling arm, was reported to the International Cricket Council over a suspect action.

The suspicion relates only to his `doosra', a delivery that spins quickly away from a right-handed batsman.

``The report forwarded by Sri Lanka Cricket proves that the degree of straightening is well outside the ICC's specified levels of tolerance,'' said Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the sport's ruling body, the International Cricket Council.

``In the light of this finding, Sri Lanka Cricket has now advised the ICC that it has instructed Mr. Muralitharan not to bowl this delivery in international cricket. The ICC supports this action.''

The blow to the Sri Lankan spinner comes three days after he overtook retired West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh as the highest wicket taker in Test history.

He took his 520th wicket against Zimbabwe in Harare to set the record and added one more to take the mark to 521. Now he will have to add to the record without the help of his `doosra'.

Murali ready to

dump the `doosra'

In Colombo, Muralitharan hinted that he would drop the controversial `doosra' delivery from his armoury after it was deemed illegal by the sport's world governing body.

``The `doosra' has always been at the back of my mind,'' Muralitharan was quoted as saying in the Colombo-based Daily News in perhaps his first public statement on the controversial delivery.

``People have questioned me about it. I have done all the tests that are required and the reports have gone to the International Cricket Council (ICC). At the end of the day what matters is what the report, the expert, my cricket board and the ICC says.''

Muralitharan was reported for a suspect bowling action by English match-referee Chris Broad during the third and final Test against Ricky Ponting's Australians at Colombo in March.

He was then sent to Australia to work on his action with a team of experts who found the Sri Lankan straighten his arm by 10 degrees, which was five degrees more than what is permitted under ICC regulations.

Muralitharan is currently within the six-week stage-one phase of the ICC's bowling review process after being reported by Broad. ``If his action does not conform to the laws of cricket, no second report can be made until this six-week period is completed. This period expires at midnight on Thursday, May 13, 2004,'' Speed said.

``Should the bowler go against the wishes of his Board, bowl this delivery and subsequently be reported within 12 months of the initial report, the issue would progress to Stage-Two of the ICC's process for dealing with bowlers with illegal bowling actions.

``This would result in this delivery being scrutinised by the ICC's own Bowling Review Group which has the power to impose a ban of 12 months on the bowler if his action is deemed illegal.''

To retire after 2007 World Cup

Muralitharan said he would quit international cricket after trying to win the 2007 World Cup for his country.

``I want to play till the next World Cup and go out on a high note. I will try to win it for my team before retiring,'' Muralitharan was quoted as saying in the Daily News.

The next World Cup will be held in the West Indies.

Muralitharan was part of the Sri Lankan side that claimed the 1996 World Cup. The controversial off-spinner is also the third-highest wicket-taker in one-dayers with 360 victims, behind only the retired Pakistani pace duo of Wasim Akram (502) and Waqar Younis (416).

``The world record means a lot to me and Sri Lanka, but winning the 1996 World Cup was the biggest achievement of my career,'' said Muralitharan, preparing for the second and final Test against Zimbabwe starting at Bulawayo on Friday.

``The World Cup was something different. You can't forget that easily. It was tremendous. It is bigger than my individual performance in Harare.''

Muralitharan, called thrice for `chucking', has so far figured in three World Cups, including the 1999 tournament in England and the 2003 edition in South Africa where he helped his team qualify for the semi-finals.

Muralitharan could finish with more than 700 Test wickets before retiring if he maintains his current strike-rate of almost six wickets a match.

The Sri Lankan, with 521 wickets in 89 Tests, however believes his Test record would not stay long.

``Records are meant to be broken. Somebody else may break my record. It won't stay for a long time,'' the 32-year-old said.

Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, 34, is Muralitharan's closest rival with 517 wickets in 110 Tests. — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport