3 posts tagged “cricket”
A superficial analysis of the numbers might suggest that Murali has the edge. But then you need to remember that Murali's figures are padded by the fruits of no fewer than 25 tests against hapless Zimbabwe and Bangladesh (Warne has a total of three tests against such feeble competition). Secondly, Wanre's record away from home is just as good as his record at home; Murali is less effective away from the comforts of Sri Lankan wickets. Thirdly, their records when they confront the world's best players of spin in India are broadly similar. You can make an eminently defensible case for either man.
But the question of whether Warne is a better bowler than Murali or vice-versa is the wrong one. Of course, it's the only one you can really ask if you want to have a debate since if you were to wonder which of them is the greater bowler there is only once credible, sensible answer: Shane Keith Warne.
Numbers play a part in establishing greatness of course, but they can't tell the full story. There are players whose statistical records struggle to bear witness to the full extent of their greatness (Keith Miller is one obvious example that comes to mind, even though his figures are pretty damn impressive in themselves). Numbers aren't enough.
Warne is without doubt the greatest and most important cricketer of my lifetime. Though the art of leg-spin had been kept alive by Abdul Quadir and Mushtaq Ahmed in Pakistan and by a number of journeyman Australians, it took Shane Warne's genius to show that leg-spin - the greatest and most romantic form of spin there is - was no mere frippery or luxury but that it could be a deadly match-winning weapon even in less than perfect conditions.
Warne made spin possible again, demonstrating the absurdity of the attitude - especially prevalent when England were skippered by dullards such as Bob Willis and Grahame Gooch - that spin bowling was too risky, too unpredictable, too idiosyncratic to be relied upon. A fast bowler could be smashed for a couple of boundaries and it was nothing to be worried about; a spinner suffering such a fate would immediately b hauled out of the attack. That thinking led to the drudgery of picking four identical fast medium bowlers all the time.
Warne's freakish command and control raised him above all those who would emulate him of course, but his efforts dismantled this dreary, anti-spin mentality. (Granted, some of it still lingers, at least in England, where until Monty Panesar's emergence spin bowlers were expected to justify their selection by means of their usefulness as a batman; a criteria never ever imposed upon quick bowlers, no matter their own shortcomings with ball in hand). Warne changed the way we thought about the game and changed it for the better. In his own way, then, he was a revolutionary.
And, of course, there is the other matter that no-one really wants to talk about: the unfortunate fact that Murali, through no fault of his own (thanks to that defective arm) is a chucker. It's a sad business, made worse by the ICC's refusal to do anything about it, but I don't quite see how you can talk about these two bowlers' respective merits without mentioning that it requires a charitable interpretation of the laws to call one of them a bowler at all. What Murali does with the ball is remarkable but, IMHO, it merits a mental asterisk.
Mind you, I might have to revise this opinion in the unlikely event that Murali can take the Aussies down a peg or two this month...
UPDATE: Commenter Matt chides me for not pointing out that though Warne has fewer matches against NZ and Bangladesh, he has played more tests than Murali. True, which is why I think it is possible to build a statistical case supporting Murali. But that's rather the point isn't it? The numbers are a useful but insufficient pointer to greatness.
As for wickets-per-test figures, how do you factor in
the fact that Sri Lanka have generally speaking relied upon Murali whereas Warne
had to compete for wickets against Glenn McGrath et al? Alternatively you might
say that batsmen rarely had a breather against Australia, ensuring that they
always felt pressure - and were hence liable to crack at any time - whereas
Murali had to carry the Sri Lankans all the time (no disrespect to Chaminda
Vass, mind you). I suspect that's a wash.
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Much has been written and said in recent times about Australia's dominance of world cricket.
Smaller crowds than expected in Brisbane and Hobart have fuelled the debate.
It wasn't that long ago that Australia amassed a world record 16 consecutive victories under Steve Waugh's leadership, eclipsing the previous best of 11 by the great Clive Lloyd-led West Indian side of the mid 1980s.
The current Australian team is aiming to set a new benchmark for sustained excellence.
A 2-nil sweep of the series against Sri Lanka has seen the world champions their 14th consecutive win.
Part of the current streak encompasses the team's historic 5-nil whitewash in last summer's Ashes series.
Australia's last Test series loss on home soil was against the West Indies in 1992/93.
Since then, Australia has played 26 opponents at home without a series loss.
Earlier this year, the Australian one-day team made history by becoming the first outfit to win three consecutive World Cups.
Under Ricky Ponting's stewardship, Australia has won 119 of its 154 matches, with a winning percentage of a stunning 77.3 percent.
In terms of prolonged success, the Australian team of the past dozen years is hard to beat.
They have set standards that many aspire to, but few, if any, can attain.
So, the question remains - is the Australian team's dominance killing the sport and turning the fans away?
History would contend that such a theory may be short-sighted.
The Chicago Bulls' demolition of every other team in the NBA when it had Michael Jordan at the helm provided the sport worldwide with its greatest ever fan base.
No matter where the Bulls played in the United States, they were the hottest ticket in town, despite the fact that they swept the floor with most of their opponents.
When Tiger Woods won four consecutive majors amongst his 13 to date, galleries were at record levels.
The winning streaks of the likes of Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Martina Navratilova never seemed to have fans turning their back on Wimbledon because the result seemed pre-destined prior to a ball being served in anger.
It's too easy to say that this current Australian cricket team, through its dominance, is killing interest in the sport.
Wherever they travel in the world, they draw bigger crowds in both forms of the game than any other team, with the possible exception of an India-Pakistan series.
The crowds for the first three days of the Gabba Test earlier this month would have been near sell-outs at most English grounds.
Perhaps a little perspective is needed.
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Muttiah Muralidaran overtook Shane Warne as the 'greatest' wicket taker in Test cricket history. Muralidaran currently has 710 test wickets but it is likely to continue to increase substantially as his career continues over the coming years.
If you look closely at Muralidaran's test scalps, he has taken a truckload of wickets against some of the worst cricketing nations in the world - namely Bangladesh and Zimbabwe (over 150) and also against countries who are in 'rebuild mode' from former greatness such as the West Indies, Pakistan and India. As well as that, Muralidaran plays a lot of cricket in the sub-continent where pitches are deliberately prepared for spin.
If you compare that against Shane Warne's record, the majority of his test wickets came against, shall we say, much harder teams such as England and South Africa. He has taken hardly any wickets against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe (17 all up) - because Australia hardly play against them. Warne was able to bowl well and take wickets on any pitch type - regardless as to how it had been prepared. Warne was a game breaker, a specialist, a champion !
To top it off, Muralidaran is a fair dinkum chucker with the dodgiest action in the history of test cricket. Seriously, I reckon I could take 10-for in a match against Bangladesh too if I was allowed to chuck !!
It would have at least been nice to see Warnie's record stand for a decade or so before being broken to give it the due respect it so well deserved. And when it was eventually broken - to be broken by a player who was worthy. I remember when Dennis Lillee broke Richie Benaud's record - that was well deserved by a champion bowler who truly earned it. And when Richard Hadlee broke Denis Lillee's record.... again, well deserved.
I don't think Muralidaran's record comes anywhere near Warne's - regardless as to whether he has taken more wickets or not.
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