Something rather eye opening.

[hang on]

And perhaps even touching.

Came across this piece by Selvey - one of the better writers around in the cricket writing firmament - in the Guardian. It's about Murali and, of course, touches upon his action and the reaction to it the world over.

Right at the end there is an anecdote about Murali as recounted by the erstwhile lankan coach, Moody, that is really enlightening. I am not one given to hagiographic accounts of players' lives and influence, but I must confess that my respect for Murali shot up tenfold.

Might be worth a look.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/apr/01/muttiah-muralitharan-sri-lanka-final

 

[keeper]

I really wish you hadn't posted that. I almost dislocated my wrist trying that touching the forearm thingy.

Nice article. Always thought he was a great sportsman.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Good to see Mike's on-message about Murali's bastard offspring:

It is, to sidetrack a second, an unfortunate consequence that one aspect of his legacy has been to sow the seeds for a generation of bowlers who, seeking to emulate his doosra, really do throw it. We have seen more than one of those in this World Cup.

 

[keeper]

Who is he referring to?

 

[vcs]

Probably Ajmal and Botha. I have no idea why Botha chucks it, I've never seen him bowl an effective doosra even with his dodgy action.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Who is he referring to?

One has one's suspicions...

Probably Ajmal and Botha. I have no idea why Botha chucks it, I've never seen him bowl an effective doosra even with his dodgy action.

Botha's banned from "bowling" it. His mean flexion for his doosra was something like 28 degrees, IIRC.

 

[social]

Botha was an ordinary medium pacer before he adopted Murali's "action" and, hey ho, test cricket here we come

Sorry but I dont miss Murali

 

[vcs]

If Botha looks so bad now, I hate to think what he must have looked like when he was bowling doosras...

 

[Teja.]

I'll certainly miss Murali.

It's not his fault that he had a physical condition which enabled him to bowl a delivery legally which is impossible(or close to) to bowl cleanly by a normal person

 

[ankitj]

Interesting anecdote. What a great man. And they call him a cheat! *shrug*

Always thought great cricketers are not just great athlets but great human beings. Some personify humility, some grit and determination, some sheer devotion and perseverance, some great leadership . Murali is no different.

 

[Bun]

I challenge people to bowl like Murali for 16 years, with purposeful bent elbow and all that, and take 800 wickets,

Seems like people forget how trivial is the gain a spinner gets from chucking as compared to a fast bowler.

 

[Teja.]

It's interesting - from a purely cricketing opinion POV, I must add - that such a unique view on spinners and chucking was shared by a member called Sir Alex. What an amazing coincidence!

 

[social]

I challenge people to bowl like Murali for 16 years, with purposeful bent elbow and all that, and take 800 wickets,

Seems like people forget how trivial is the gain a spinner gets from chucking as compared to a fast bowler.

You are kidding

Try a simple experiment - take a ball (cricket, ping-pong, tennis, whatever) and flick it with a throwing action and then compare it to the work you can get on a ball by just using your fingers or wrist

The extra amount of spin you can get on a ball by using a throwing action is obscene and explains why spinners try chucking it

 

[Bun]

It's interesting - from a purely cricketing opinion POV, I must add - that such a unique view on spinners and chucking was shared by a member called Sir Alex. What an amazing coincidence!

 

[Bun]

You are kidding

Try a simple experiment - take a ball (cricket, ping-pong, tennis, whatever) and flick it with a throwing action and then compare it to the work you can get on a ball by just using your fingers or wrist

The extra amount of spin you can get on a ball by using a throwing action is obscene and explains why spinners try chucking it

Underarm yes, overarm?

 

[akilana]

So stupid how people try so hard to discredit Murali by alleging that it's because of him, Ajmal and Botha chuck. Bitterness.

 

[BoyBrumby]

So stupid how people try so hard to discredit Murali by alleging that it's because of him, Ajmal and Botha chuck. Bitterness.

Hardly.

Read Selvey's article; he's strongly pro-Murali. He just sees those who've come after him without his unique physical gifts as an unfortunate corollary.

 

[silentstriker]

So stupid how people try so hard to discredit Murali by alleging that it's because of him, Ajmal and Botha chuck. Bitterness.

I've learned a long time ago not to try and inject actual facts or sense in this debate. Just skip and move on. People are entrenched and it's not a matter of facts anymore.

Mike Selvey's article is actually an excellent one and he is right. Even guys like Harbhajan have doosras which are unfortunate.

One day, he said, when Sri Lanka were in Perth, Murali went missing. When he turned up, it was discovered that on his day off he had taken himself to the University of Western Australia, where many of the tests on his action had been conducted. He told neither his colleagues nor the team management where he was going but he came back with a dossier. Apparently, he had heard that for all the previous investigations, there were still some voices suggesting that the tests had counted for little, because he had not been tested while bowling at different speeds.

So, Moody said, under lab conditions, he bowled the lot. Off-breaks, topspin, doosra, from all angles and at a whole range of speeds. Not one delivery came close to, never mind exceeded, the 15-degree limit. Moody still has the report, detailing every ball bowled.

The most striking thing, though, was Murali's motive. He did not go to the lab to prove yet again that he was clear. He went because he was starting to wonder whether there might not be some truth in what his more informed critics were saying. There was no way he wished to play a game in which he might genuinely be cheating. So he went to dispel that in his own mind and he came away content. If he had not been vindicated, the chances are that he would have abandoned cricket.

WAG

 

[zaremba]

Really not sure what Botha brings to the party other than his hilarious bowling action. You'd hope that now that SA have imported a proper spinner they will now allow JB to retire gracefully. His place is forever assured in the top tier of chuckers alongside the greats of the discipline such as Meckiff and Perera.

 

[zaremba]

So stupid how people try so hard to discredit Murali by alleging that it's because of him, Ajmal and Botha chuck. Bitterness.

Which no-one here (nor Mike Selvey) has suggested, btw.