The Hindu : Sport : Murali's comments annoy Australians

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

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Murali's comments annoy Australians

MELBOURNE, NOV. 16. Muttiah Muralitharan's suggestion that Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie all bowl illegal deliveries was disappointing and unfair, Australia's players and officials said on Tuesday.

They responded after Muralitharan questioned the actions of the three bowlers in a Melbourne radio interview on Monday.

``It's probably a little bit disappointing. I've never said anything against him in the past and he was quick to name me,'' McGrath told local television.

Australia batsman Matthew Hayden told reporters: ``Sticks and stones kind of stuff from Murali in the papers is not going to get him any favours.

``Now suddenly we're getting people saying: `Well he bowls at 10 degrees and he bowls at this'... I think the best way is to let the naked eye judge who's bowling legal actions and who's not.''

Main reasons

The controversy over Muralitharan's bowling has been one of the main reasons behind extensive research into how much bowlers bend their arms.

The ICC ruled spinners should be permitted five degrees of bend, medium pacers 7.5 and fast bowlers 10. Muralitharan's doosra was initially measured at around 14 degrees.

But last week an ICC bowling committee recommended that all bowlers be allowed to straighten their arms by up to 15 degrees.

Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive, Tim May, responded: ``I sat on that (ICC) committee and I don't know where those figures (quoted by Muralitharan) came from. (But) there has been a lot of speculation around Murali. So I have sympathy for him.''

Muralitharan, whose bowling action is also affected by a birth defect preventing him from fully extending his elbow, has particularly bitter memories of his visits to Australia.

He has twice been called for throwing there and refused to join Sri Lanka's tour of Australia this year.

Cricket Australia chief executive, James Sutherland, said it was unfair on individual players for their names to be used in an emotional public debate, which does not take account of the complex science behind what the ICC is examining.

`ICC insulting greats'

Meanwhile, former New Zealand wicketkeeper, Ian Smith, said the ICC's assertion that greats such as Sir Richard Hadlee, Dennis Lillee and Imran Khan threw the ball is ``grossly insulting and degrading to the history of cricket''.

``After heaping with praise over the years and having been named in the best teams in the world, calling a chucker is an absolute insult,'' he said on Tuesday.

The ICC committee found that even Steve Harmison, Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock are chuckers under the existing rules, while Lillee, Khan, Hadlee, Fred Trueman and Ian Botham also threw the ball.

Smith, now a television commentator, said the ICC had let the issue of chucking gone out of hand over the years.

``The use of scientists has transgressed the rules to the letter of the law by degrading not only fast bowling but also Hadlee, Lillee and company who have been purists and models for bowlers,'' he said.

Smith, who played 63 Tests and 98 one-day internationals for New Zealand from 1980-92, added that it was a ``ludicrous system now that is pointing fingers at great bowlers with flippant comments''.

He did not agree that the proposal to allow up to a 15-degree of bending of the bowling arm could mean injecting some excitement and entertainment into a code notorious for its rigid rules. ``Allowing bowlers to chuck the ball will also mean the dismissal of batsmen. Why should the batsmen be on the receiving end?'' he said. — Agencies

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