Is Muralitharan racing Warne?
Muttiah Muralitharan added another to his kitty after taking 8-46. Here's what he had to say after his matchwinning spell
Charlie Austin
25-Jul-2005
Muttiah Muralitharan, who has taken the most ten-wicket hauls in Tests, added another to his kitty after taking 8-46. Here's what he had to say after his matchwinning spell:
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Muttiah Muralitharan
On his performance
I bowled well but if Vaas had been bowling I would not have got 10 wickets in the game. He is a great bowler, but unfortunately he got injured and it was my turn. I just had to put the ball in the right places as they were inexperienced cricketers.The younger guys gave us a good fight and their team spirit was obviously high. They wanted to do well. But the batting was a little bit thinner.
I bowled well but if Vaas had been bowling I would not have got 10 wickets in the game. He is a great bowler, but unfortunately he got injured and it was my turn. I just had to put the ball in the right places as they were inexperienced cricketers.The younger guys gave us a good fight and their team spirit was obviously high. They wanted to do well. But the batting was a little bit thinner.
On whether he is going to race Warne again for records
As you can see on TV, Shane is bowling really well in the Ashes and I am not thinking about records at the moment. I just want to play well and do well for Sri Lanka now. I am not setting targets for wickets because I want to focus on winning matches for Sri Lanka. The team doing well is the most important thing
As you can see on TV, Shane is bowling really well in the Ashes and I am not thinking about records at the moment. I just want to play well and do well for Sri Lanka now. I am not setting targets for wickets because I want to focus on winning matches for Sri Lanka. The team doing well is the most important thing
On his shoulder
The county stint helped me come through the injury. I had to play through some shoulder pain at the start but it got better and better My shoulder is perfectly alright now. There is always room for improvement but my bowling is normal and the shoulder has not had any bad effects
The county stint helped me come through the injury. I had to play through some shoulder pain at the start but it got better and better My shoulder is perfectly alright now. There is always room for improvement but my bowling is normal and the shoulder has not had any bad effects
On his future
I think I can go on for at least three or four years. After the World Cup, if I can play just Test cricket, then I think I can continue until 2009. But it depends on how well the Sri Lanka team is doing and how long I can take the pressure
I think I can go on for at least three or four years. After the World Cup, if I can play just Test cricket, then I think I can continue until 2009. But it depends on how well the Sri Lanka team is doing and how long I can take the pressure
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
On his team's performance
We have been doing a lot of work and it is going to take some time. We have some young guys and they are learning - they will come around eventually. Our fielding and catching was very good and our bowling in patches, like at the start of this test match, showed some fight.
We have been doing a lot of work and it is going to take some time. We have some young guys and they are learning - they will come around eventually. Our fielding and catching was very good and our bowling in patches, like at the start of this test match, showed some fight.
On whether he felt the pressure being the batting pillar
There is always pressure there and you just go out there to do your job as a batter. I was just looking to go out there and stick around so the other guys could bat around me. It didn't happen but that is just one of those things.
There is always pressure there and you just go out there to do your job as a batter. I was just looking to go out there and stick around so the other guys could bat around me. It didn't happen but that is just one of those things.
On the ODI series
We are just going to put this behind us and concentrate on the one-day series. It is a shorter version of the game and our guys are accustomed to playing one-day cricket so it should be better for us. We just want to come out and play some positive cricket.
We are just going to put this behind us and concentrate on the one-day series. It is a shorter version of the game and our guys are accustomed to playing one-day cricket so it should be better for us. We just want to come out and play some positive cricket.
Marvan Atapattu
On the positives to come out of the series
A lot of positives came out of the series but the main positive was the mental toughness shown to fight ourselves back into the game. In most cases, in Sri Lanka, we are used to batting one innings and then trying to bowl out the opposition twice, but it didn't happen here and we had close battles until the fourth innings.
A lot of positives came out of the series but the main positive was the mental toughness shown to fight ourselves back into the game. In most cases, in Sri Lanka, we are used to batting one innings and then trying to bowl out the opposition twice, but it didn't happen here and we had close battles until the fourth innings.
On the West Indies batting performance
They kept us guessing and gave us a bit of thinking to do in the dressing room from time to time, which we enjoyed, and in the end it was more joyful to overcome them because of that. They are a young side but they had nothing to lose. The pressure was on our side.
They kept us guessing and gave us a bit of thinking to do in the dressing room from time to time, which we enjoyed, and in the end it was more joyful to overcome them because of that. They are a young side but they had nothing to lose. The pressure was on our side.
On Sri Lanka's reliance on Murali
There is a reliance on Murali but we cannot change that. We all know Muttiah Muralitharan's abilities and until he retires we will depend on him.
There is a reliance on Murali but we cannot change that. We all know Muttiah Muralitharan's abilities and until he retires we will depend on him.
On the top order's poor form
It is a matter of one innings in the end. We are not doing things drastically wrong. You just need one innings to be back again in the runs. Kumar did it in style this time and hopefully, sooner rather than later, the others will chip in to.
It is a matter of one innings in the end. We are not doing things drastically wrong. You just need one innings to be back again in the runs. Kumar did it in style this time and hopefully, sooner rather than later, the others will chip in to.
On managing Vaas's fitness
Vaasy has been carrying the burden for some time now. We have to manage him carefully thinking about the cricket we are going to be playing in the nest 12 months. We need him to be right and on the park when we really need him rather than throwing him into every game.
Vaasy has been carrying the burden for some time now. We have to manage him carefully thinking about the cricket we are going to be playing in the nest 12 months. We need him to be right and on the park when we really need him rather than throwing him into every game.
Charlie Austin is Cricinfo's Sri Lankan correspondent