ReallyCrazy said:
Murali has a better record against every opposition team. In 1998, it was Sidhu and Tendulkar who took him apart. In 2001, it was Laxman and Dravid.
Yes, Murali has a better record against all countries, except Pakistan.
Also, Warne has failed dismally against the best players of spin – India (29 wickets at 55.44). Murali has done far better against them (51 wickets at 32.94).
Furthermore...
Murali has a better average, strike rate, economy rate, and takes more wickets per match than Warne; despite the fact that Warne has not had to play against the world's best team.
Mat O M R W Ave Best 5wi 10w SR Econ
Murali 90 5120.4 1366 11998 527 22.76 9-51 44 13 58.2 2.34
Warne 112 5248.2 1478 13425 527 25.47 8-71 27 8 59.7 2.55
Murali is far more consistent. Warne has been known to be hit around occasionally and although Murali has previously been nullified to a degree, he has never been smashed around the park.
Warne
45 7 150 1 3.33 3rd Test v Ind in Aus 1991/92 at Sydney
22 2 107 0 4.86 1st Test v SL in SL 1992 at Colombo (SSC)
30 7 122 1 4.07 1st Test v Ind in Ind 1997/98 at Chennai
42 4 147 0 3.50 2nd Test v Ind in Ind 1997/98 at Kolkata
15.5 2 70 1 4.42 3rd Test v WI in WI 1998/99 at Bridgetown
13 1 60 0 4.62 3rd Test v Ind in Aus 1999/00 at Sydney
34 3 152 1 4.47 2nd Test v Ind in Ind 2000/01 at Kolkata
30 6 108 2 3.60 3rd Test v SA in SA 2001/02 at Durban
Warne is part of a stronger bowling attack. If Warne was of equal ability to Murali he would take less wickets per match than Murali (because there are four good bowlers competing for wickets), but would have a lower average and strike rate (because greater pressure is put on the batsman by bowlers at the other end). Murali takes more wickets per match and has a lower average and strike rate.
Warne takes a lot of his wickets against the same batsman, whereas Murali takes more of a variety. A high proportion of Warne's test wickets are numbers 10 and 11 in the batting order; Murali does well against all batting positions. What’s the point in Warne taking the wickets of Nehra or Walsh game after game, if he cannot trouble Tendulkar, Dravid or Lara?
Although Warne has been less effective since his shoulder injury, even at his peak (1993-97) he was not as good as Murali has been this century.
Mat O M R W Ave Best 5wi 10w SR Econ
Murali 2000-2003 37 2347.3 684 4990 258 19.34 9-51 22 10 54.5 2.13
Warne 1993-97 57 2876.5 938 6457 277 23.31 8-71 11 3 62.3 2.24
You could take a look at their respective records in the English county championship:
Mat O M R W Ave Best 5wi 10w SR Econ
Murali 19 1049.1 322 2195 149 14.73 7-39 17 6 42.2 2.09
Warne 24 962.5 259 2682 113 23.73 6-34 8 0 52.7 2.69
One reason why Warne is rated so highly is Gatting’s reaction to the so called “ball of the century.” The shock that that ball sent through the cricketing world was immense because it was thought no one else could bowl that delivery. Actually, Warne was not the only one to bowl such a delivery in recent years, Abdul Qadir had bowled the same delivery a few years earlier, it just wasn’t highlighted at the time because it wasn't on such a big stage. Murali bowled similar balls which were every bit as good to both Sadgapan Ramesh and Mark Butcher a few years ago.
Murali was recently voted the best bowler ever in an objective Wisden analysis.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/2572069.stm
ReallyCrazy said:
Warne does not "suck". If this was true then all but about twenty (or less) bowlers in history do also.
ReallyCrazy said:
Warne will get killed in India. In 1998, it was Sidhu and Tendulkar who took him apart. In 2001, it was Laxman and Dravid. And this year, it will be Sehwag, Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj piling up on him and beating him to a pulp.
Its always dangerous to predict the future.
ReallyCrazy said:
If Warne goes down as a great spinner just coz he's australian, then thats just wrong
Its not just because he is Australian. 527 wickets at 25 is outstanding, his performances between 1993-97 were legendary, and he has performed well against all teams except India. Although his reputation (ie best spinner ever) outweighs the facts, he is definitely a great bowler.