Muttiah Muralitharan is kneeling alongside a wooden table here in the front room of his home.
His right arm, which made him the greatest — and most controversial — wicket-taker in Test cricket history, lies on the table palm up, in its resting position.
The flesh between shoulder and elbow is tight to the wood. But between elbow and wrist a funny thing happens: his forearm is suspended mid-air at an angle — Muralitharan claims — of 27 degrees.
I’m pushing down on his hand, but there’s very little give: this bent arm, a condition inherited from his grandfather, is not for straightening.
The Sri Lankan is trying to explain why he was never a ‘chucker’, why his physical quirks were misunderstood, and why, despite all this, he thinks the ICC are right to have embarked on a global clampdown on dodgy actions.
Now 42, he seems to have come to terms with the naysayers who accused him of javelin-throwing his way into the record books.
‘Scrutiny was always there,’ he says. ‘There will be 50 per cent supporting you and 50 per cent against.’
Back in November 2004, the ICC decreed that a delivery became illegal once the flex in the arm reached 15 degrees, the level at which, they argued, a chuck became visible to the naked eye. Many felt the rubric was rewritten for one man. Muralitharan was 532 Test wickets into a career that would bring him a world record 800.
And he is adamant his critics were wrong. Tests showed that when he bowled, his flex was 10.5 degrees. According to Murali’s logic, his action is perfectly legal. Complicating the issue was his double-jointedness. The effect is a whirl of joints and limbs. He argues the impression is an optical illusion, one which persuaded two Australian umpires, Darrell Hair and Ross Emerson, to no-ball him for chucking.
Almost two decades on from those humiliations, Murali is philosophical: ‘Every man makes mistakes. Two people’s opinion can’t be the judge of a career.’
But what of the doosra, the secret weapon of the modern-day off-spinner?
Many, including Graeme Swann, believe it cannot be delivered legally.
Murali on…
… whether his Test-wickets record will ever be broken
It’s very difficult to say. Nobody thought I would take 800, nobody thought Courtney Walsh would take 500, or Shane Warne would take 700. There could be a genius bowler who comes along and takes ten wickets a match and plays for a long time.
… Kevin Pietersen
He is one of the most talented cricketers in the world. I think he has under-achieved. His average should be more than 50. My personal view is that he became dragged into other issues and his cricket dropped a little. When he first started, he was smashing everything. He couldn’t cope with the fame. Maybe that’s the issue – if he had Sachin Tendulkar’s mind, doing his job, not getting into team issues, he would have been better.
… Alastair Cook
I think England need to have attacking openers. Without attacking openers, you’re not going to win. They can’t drop Cook because he is the captain.
… the World Cup
My four teams are Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and India. Dark horses are South Africa. England have to build a team, go forward, win at least the series here in Sri Lanka, then reach the finals of tri-series in Australia. Then they will have a chance. Until then it’s very difficult to say.
… Jos Buttler
He can be a brilliant player. He’s a good person as well. But he bats too low at 6 or 7.
Murali disagrees. First, he mimics the action used for his standard off-break; then his doosra.
He does something different with the wrist but the elbow remains unchanged. Not conclusive, but persuasive.
For a while, Murali wasn’t allowed to bowl his doosra. Following tests in Australia in 2006, that turned out to be legal too. Not that it silenced his detractors. ‘Let people shout whatever they want,’ he says. ‘I never wore long sleeves, unless it was cold. I am clear. If you’re throwing, you will know, because your elbow moves so much.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cr...izard-Muttiah-Muralitharan.html#ixzz3K3Tek1Ou
...murali didn't have hyper extension. He just couldn't extend.
