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| Sunday, 18 July 2004 |
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The 527-wicket odyssey by Srian Obeyesekere Not since its origin has Test cricket entered an odyssey as the neck to neck race between Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia's Shane Warne to be the highest wicket taker on earth. Never before in Test cricket history have two bowlers competed to be at the summit of their genre. In a bygone generation there has been Englishman Freddie Trueman, West Indian Lance Gibbs, later New Zealander Sir Richard Hadlee and Indian Kapil Dev whose record West Indian Courtney Walsh subsequently surpassed to hold the world record with 519 wickets. Since, it has been two of cricket's most colourful personalities - Muralitharan from the Asian sub-continent fermented by cricket crazed millions, and the blonde haired Shane Warne from the further away dominant white bloc that is Australia, who have coloured the game by their wonderful skills of wicket taking. It is the more so accentuated by the duo racing to the magical 500-wicket 'hall of fame' earlier this year on Sri Lankan soil when the two countries met in a three-Test series which Australia whitewashed hosts Sri Lanka 3-0. A series which saw the Australian achieve the feat first in the first Test at Galle, but which the Sri Lankan also achieved in the second Test fittingly in his hometown at Asgiriya. But it was Muralitharan who won the big race when he broke Walsh's world record of 519 wickets in the recent away 3-Test series against Zimbabwe with a harvest of 14 wickets. At the time, Warne lagged behind on 517, and an injury to the wrist of his bowling hand playing county cricket for Hampshire from a Darren Gough delivery seemed to rule the Australian out of the 2-Test home series against Sri Lanka. A series hyped by the build-up of the much looked to race between the spin wizards, but which reached an anti-climax when Muralitharan withdrew in the wake of a Western media hype against his banned controversial 'doosra' delivery when Australian Prime Minister, John Howard joined in calling the Lankan bowler a chucker. It opened the floodgate for Warne, who rescinding his decision to also give the series a miss on medical advice, made himself available so as to break Muralitharan's record. And that the Australian did not, but equalled the Sri Lankan's tally leaves two bowlers tied on the summit for the first time in Test cricket history at 527 wickets apiece. Celebrity For Warne, considered cricket's most celebrated personality ingrained in his wicket taking ability showcased from a host of magical deliveries including the 'ball of the century' which bowled England's Mike Gatting, scalping Upul Chandana in the drawn second Test at Cairns, must indeed be the high point of his career. That the Sri Lankans did not give Warne the extra wicket which would have taken him past Muralitharan who as it was a non starter is significant. Warne is aged 35, and Muralitharan 34, and as to which of the titans rounds off with the world record must certainly even push into a backseat the record breaking batting feats of West Indian Brian Lara who has caught the imagination of the world having set up the world Test record for the highest individual score on two occasions as well as holding the first class record as well. A race that looks like taking bowling to new heights with both looking at 600 wickets while interestingly the form book gives the Sri Lankan the advantage of getting the better of the Australia with something like 700 for his quicker wicket taking ratio. And tour-wise as well, Muralitharan seems to have the advantage with Sri Lanka down to host South Africa shortly while Australia's next series will be in October. While Muralitharan's absence for the Aussie tour was certainly a huge setback, a redeeming factor was the form with the ball displayed by leggie Upul Chandana. His match bag of 10 wickets in the Cairns Test match is remarkable for a bowler for whom opportunities have been far and few. Still more that he had five-wicket hauls in both innings. And still more considering the fact that wicket taking in his genre is so difficult where both flight and trajectory matter so much. Chandana Chandana's performance must enhance his status as a Test player and not just one-day material, and should not go unnoticed by the national selectors who have time and time again made him the whipping boy of Lankan cricket having him in the reserve benches condemning his career to be used in fits and starts. Incidentally, Chandana has not found permanency even in the one-day side for all his allround ability as a pinch hitter and above all laying claims to being the safest fielder of all. The Aussie tour as a whole must serve as a boost for captain Marvan Atapattu, who in his second stint since taking over the mantle from Hashan Tillekeratne at that level, did show the credentials by salvaging a draw in the second Test on the back of a captain's knock of 133 in leading from the front despite losing the series 0-1. Dilhara However, the treatment meted out to fast bowler, Dilhara Fernando, who has been a passenger from the Zimbabwe tour to Australia, is questionable. Fernando is a match winner and acclaimed internationally for his wicket taking ability underscored by his slower delivery. While it is true that he is trying to make a comeback from a shoulder related injury which has sidelined him for over a year, his nursing back to the big stage has left much to be desired. Fast bowling coach, Champaka Ramanayake has gone on record time and again saying voicing confidence of fine tuning Fernando which had extended upto having him rehabilitated after bowling before even Dennis Lillee. But it seems Fernando is still under wraps where the captain and tour management have not been satisfied of the bowler's match fitness. In contrast, the rehabilitation of Glen McGrath from over a year long injury related hibernation where he ended up as 'man of the match' in his very first outing against the Sri Lankans in the first Test match should be a classic example to the Sri Lankans. While McGrath got the nod to play despite a poor outing in the warm-up match against Sri Lanka ahead of the Test match for his proven experience, it was not to be in the case of Fernando. It is hoped Fernando will also not fall on the wayside like some of the others of his tribe due to bungling on the part of the administration. Jayasuriya run out syndrome Meanwhile, in the batting department the form of Sanath Jayasuriya and his running between the wickets is cause for concern. While Jayasuriya managed just 8 and 16 in the first Test at Cairns and 1 and 13 in the second Test, his running between the wickets has been questionable dating back to the 1995-'96 World Cup final. On that occasion he ran out Kaluwitharana going for a third run which was never there with the total just over double figures, and it was left to Asanka Gurusinha and Aravinda de Silva to lift Sri Lanka. What is lamentable is that Jayasuriya has not learnt from that lesson, and continues to run out batsmen as he did Sangakkara in the first Test against the Aussies. While the batting rule book says that converting the extra run is a bonus, certainly going for runs that are not there serves only to put the onus on the rest of the batsmen as it has happened umpteen times by Jayasuriya running himself out or the batsman at the other end. It is hoped that at this late juncture in his career at least the veteran former Lankan captain would rectify his running between the wickets, and be a example to some of the younger batsmen. |
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