Murali has variation now (7 April 1998)
Quite contrary to conservative charitable thinking which seeks to be submissively accommodative, there are the impetuous impulsive, who are of the view, that South Africa was very lucky to have won the first cricket test and that, Sri Lanka at the
07-Apr-1998
07, April 1998
Murali has variation now
By Richard Dwight
Quite contrary to conservative charitable thinking which seeks to be
submissively accommodative, there are the impetuous impulsive, who are
of the view, that South Africa was very lucky to have won the first
cricket test and that, Sri Lanka at the least, did not deserve to lose.
The questionable manner in which the Proteas won, did appear to have
caused a measure of disillusionment amongst the Lankan cricketers,
resulting in the lack of confidence and the attendant sagging of their
morale - This was manifest in their batting in the second and final
test, where they performed much worse than tail enders, giving the
impression that they were ignorant of what the bat was meant for. We are
not trying to be unduly harsh here, perhaps naive to suggest that the
reason for our world renowned batsmen to suprisingly bat out of
character inexplicably, and cave in to court disaster, was because they
unfortunately were the medium or excuse for God's wrath, for haven't we
heard that "God's" axe grinds slowly but surely: Bright spot
Notwithstanding all this, the only bright spot in the otherwise dismal
two test series, apart from the few isolated mediocre batting
performances, was the painstaking gallant bowling of, off spinner
Muttiah Muralitharan, who lived up to his widely acknowledged
reputation. Substantiating this, one finds that he was mainly
responsible for limiting the opponents to 263 runs in the second innings
of the first test, and later on in the second innings of the final test,
had a haul of 5 wickets to restrict South Africa to 200 runs - Thus
giving him two match bags of 8 wickets, making a tally of 16 wickets in
just 2 test matches, which is remarkably good going indeed.
Heartening
Furthermore, he has developed variation now - for apart, from being the
pedestrian like, routine, wide turner of the ball (for which he has
often been accused of) he now in addition bowls a leg break, a straight
through and, when the occasion demands goes round the wicket to bowl.
This is truly heartening and refreshingly reassuring in the light of the
years ahead and bespeaks of his perseverance, application and the
willingness to learn.
What he does seem to lack, probably through his make up and nature, is
to bolster his ego by resorting to dramatic, physical gestures to psyche
batsmen and nudge umpires, which other puffedup world class spinners are
prone to. This may not sound healthy, for one must solely depend on
one's ability and not on gimmicks. But a little bit of it, at crucial
stages may help.
Subtle reflection.
The hammering that Murali received at the hands of Hansie Cronje, rather
than discrediting the bowler, was a subtle reflection of the latent
regard and esteem Cronje had for the proven ability of the bowler.
Tentative batting at 96 for 3, and runs hard to come by, with Murali
having accounted for all three wickets, holding the whiphand and in line
for another haul of 5 wickets, to give his side a chance of being in the
reckoning, did not look good for South Africa. Cronje, was well aware of
the position he was in, and must have surely realised that attack was
the best form of defence and chose to break free from the strangehold,
by virtually taking the bull by the horns in taking the risks and
launching an assault on the dreaded Murali. His ploy worked, for it was
his day, he neither missed or miscued and so sprayed the field with
sixes and fours. When he did lift Murali for a six to complete his 50,
he with outstretched hands rushed to and fro, with delirious boyish
delelight in having triumphed over Murali and setting his side on to
victory. It was tacit recognition of the bowlers prowess, where Cronje
sparkled to demonstrate what test Cricket is all about.
Not alone
Murali can take comfort that he is not alone and has company, in that
many a spinner has at some stage received a bashing, just the way Warne
is experiencing presently in India.
At the age of 24, with years of cricket ahead Murali has done well to
take 168 test wickets and have 12 five wicket hauls. What is required
is, that our star performers, be given adequate publicity abroad,
through our agencies and the now sophisticated media, to give
psychological advantage and make them aweinspring. Just the way foreign
cricketers are kept in focus, even when they have simple things like a
cough, sprained muscle or whatever, in order to make them important.
Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)