Match referee denies complaints against Murali (18 January 1999)

18 January 1999

Match referee denies complaints against Murali

The Daily News

MELBOURNE, Australia, Sunday

The sword of Damocles that was hanging over number one off spinner Muthiah Muralitharan, from the time he began to spin a ball here, has been removed with the match referee Peter Van der Merve confirming that there is no report by himself or by any umpire against Muralitharan.

Newspapers on Saturday quoted the match referee of having said that complaints had been received regarding Muralitharan's action. But with the match referee's denial, it is likely that the off spinner will go through the entire Carlton and United one day series without being called.

However Muralitharan has one more hurdle to clear. He will come under the scrutiny of umpires Ross Emerson and Tony McQuillan in Adelaide next Saturday, who called him for throwing during the 1995/96 tour, and it will be interesting to see how the two umpires will react.

With the on going furore about Muralitharan's action the International Cricket Council issued the following statement:

"Any umpire may invoke law 24.2 at any time, if there is uncertainty about a bowler's action, the following process is available to any umpire or a referee. The umpire may advise the referee of this doubt and the referee shall request the home Board to instruct the official television network to discreetly obtain footage of the player from different angles using a mix of normal speed and slow-motion cameras.

"The resulting video is then sent to the ICC office in London where it is duplicated and distributed to a nine-men advisory panel on illegal deliveries, led by chairman of the cricket committee, Sir Clyde Walcott.

'That panel will convene by tele-conference and reach a decision on whether there is a problem with the player's action. If so, the player's Board will be requested to withdraw the player from international cricket and have him undergo remedial action.

"It is the ICC policy not to reveal the name of any player going through this process, as that may be prejudicial to his public image and to the assessment of him by umpires in subsequent matches.

'Notwithstanding this policy, it is public knowledge that Muthiah Muralitheran's action was referred to the panel in late 1997. At that time, the panel determined on the video evidence available to them, that his action was fair.

"Subsequently, it has been reported that Muralitharan has been cleared by the ICC. The panel can only decide on what has happened, not what may happen. Boards and players understand that an umpire can apply Law 24.2 or the above process can be reactivated, at any time, but without an umpire prejudging the situation.

"The ICC referee is able to explain this policy to media, Mr. Peter Van der Merve, in recently doing so, left the impression that an official report had been made against Muralitharan. He has since confirmed that there is no report by himself or by any umpire.

'Public comment about any player's action by an umpire or referee is not consistent with the confidential nature of the ICC panel process, and Mr. Van der Merve will be making no further public comment on this matter during or after the tour.

The ICC's illegal deliveries advisory panel is made up of nine men - Brian Basson (South Africa), Bob Simpson (Australia), Javed Burki (Pakistan), Kapil Dev (India), Dough Insole (England), John Reid (New Zealand), Michael Holding (West Indies) and umpires representative Englishman Nigel Plews.

The Sri Lankan cricket management was furious when they heard that there was no truth about official complaints about Muralitharan's action. Apparently it is a figment of imagination of some mediamen here who are out to rouse garbage.

Manager Ranjith Fernando reacted angrily by saying that someone must take responsibility for this sad state of affairs. He said that Muralitharan's career is in jeopardy because of these wild allegations. Now that the ICC and the match referee has confirmed that there had been no official complaints, I hope that everyone will keep their mouths shut and allow Muralitharan to play his trade unhindered, said Fernando.

According to skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, Muralitharan is a tough character and is able to take the jibes very well. To label him a chucker is not the right thing', said Ranatunga.

The Sri Lankans play their next game in the one-day series on Tuesday against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)