Cricket: Making all the right moves with his wrong ' un

By RICHARD BOOCK

Let's start with the facts. He's the youngest cricketer to take 400 test wickets, the most successful spinner in ODI history; the No 1-ranked bowler of our time and easily the most controversial.

Having already extended his tally to 437 dismissals, wide-eyed Sri Lankan spinner Mutthiah Muralitharan now has his sights set on 600, a sobering thought for the New Zealand team preparing for today's first test in Colombo.

To put things in perspective, whereas Murali needed just 72 tests to smash the 400-wicket barrier, Sir Richard Hadlee required 80, Shane Warne 92, Wasim Akram 96, Curtly Ambrose 97 and Courtney Walsh 107.

And the way he's been going lately, Sri Lanka's greatest cricketer looks on track to become the first to overtake Walsh's world record of 531 test wickets, especially now that Shane Warne is out of commission.

The 31-year-old Muralitharan, who has already equalled Hadlee's world record of 36 five-wicket bags, raced from 300 to 400 wickets in just 14 tests, and has taken 135 wickets in his most recent 20 outings.

If that trend continues, he should soon sail past Warne's mark of 491, become the second man to cross the 500-threshold, break Walsh's world record and remain on course for a previously unheard of 600.

Muralitharan's phenomenal success rate encouraged Warne to suggest last year that, if his form and durability lasted, he could one day take 1000 test wickets.

The man with the helicopter wrist-action has made his name with a delivery that finger-spinners are not supposed to be able to bowl - a wrong'un that has left a procession of the world's best batsmen groping at thin air.

Apparently able to turn the ball on glass, Murali has proved particularly difficult on home surfaces and has caused his share of problems for New Zealand, against whom he has played four home tests, taking 26 wickets at 20.38.

His best performance was in the third test of the 1997-98 series, when his five for 30 helped Sri Lanka to a 2-1 series victory, only the fifth time a team have won a three-match series after losing the first test.

But no story about Muralitharan could be complete without a reference to his Achilles heel - a bowling action that has polarised cricket fans and officials throughout the world, and led to some of the most dramatic scenes in world cricket.

Born with a deformed right arm which will not straighten fully, his action nonetheless appears to contain a noticeable snap on release and, more importantly, allows him to bowl his devastating wrong'un.

In the history of test cricket, the only finger-spinners who have mastered the delivery - West Indian off-spinner Sonny Ramadhin, Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq and India's Harbhajan Singh - have also had serious questions raised about their actions.

When Sri Lanka toured Australia in 1995-96, Muralitharan was no-balled seven times in three overs by umpire Darrell Hair, and later by Tony McQuillan and Ross Emerson.

He returned with an ICC clearance in 1999, but was again called by Emerson.

Since then, he has escaped official sanction on the field, while still having to endure the jibes from legions of spectators when playing abroad, never mind the public complaints from assorted former players and umpires.

India's greatest spin-bowler, Bishen Bedi, described him last year as a javelin-thrower, saying that if the ICC did not do something soon, there would be a generation of chuckers trying to copy him.

"If Murali doesn't chuck," Bedi said at the time, "then show me how to bowl. I have nothing against him personally, but it's grossly unfair to the game. Tell me, how can you call it bowling?"

Even more astonishingly, Bedi's comments were supported by West Indian Michael Holding, who - apart from being a former West Indian test bowler of some repute - was also head of the ICC's technical committee, the body responsible for identifying and correcting illegal actions.

There have been continual rumblings in Australia over Muralitharan's action, the latest from former test umpire Lou Rowan, who suggested the ICC had not taken tougher action for fear of being branded racist.

"The name Muralitharan should be expunged from cricket records," said Rowan, who officiated in 26 tests.

"The actions of cricket authorities in permitting and encouraging this man to continue in cricket is incomprehensible and a travesty of justice."

As for Emerson, he was still firing from the lip late last year, claiming that Murali's action had got "worse" and that it was "an absolute joke" that he was on track to become cricket's most successful bowler.

"They are talking about him as the best spin bowler ever, but how many people has he got out through illegal actions?" asked Emerson, who was sacked by the Australian Cricket Board just two days after calling Murali in 1999.

"Over in the sub-continent they're now producing a generation of chuckers and nobody cares - it's just getting worse. Who's going to stop it? Where does it stop?"


Murali's path to the top:

* Educated by Benedictine monks from aged 9.

* Began school career as a medium-pace bowler.

* Wisden's 1999 Player of the Year.

* Fastest and youngest player to reach 350 then 400 test wickets.

* Holds world record for most wickets at a single venue - 83 at SSC Ground, Colombo.

* Averages 16.20 in winning tests.

* Outside of Sri Lanka, has enjoyed most success in Pakistan (49 at 21.48).

* Most consistent bunny: Zimbabwe's Grant Flower (10).