Tribute to Murali from a Fan
Thank you Murali,from All of us.
What else can you say about Muttiah that hasn’t already been said. Everyone was busy typing up columns and articles for their respective bosses when he over took Shane Warne as the most successful bowler in the history of the game.
But in my opinion those articles cannot be compared to what us fans have been treated to by Murali over the years. So its fitting that this post is all about us- the fans, and we have to say about the man.
Here is what Muralis fans had to say about their favorite Murali Moment(s)
“Everytime he hits a six (his) arms and legs goes everywhere and somehow the ball manages to clear the rope - and usually he has fallen on his backside attempting the shot”
-Lee Barnes from Australia
All Time Sri Lankan Test XI
February 17th-21st in 1982 marked Sri Lankas first ever test. A game we sadly lost the Englishmen, after fighting with them, neck and tooth, for the first few days. All in all it was a good start to our test career as a country.
And so, its been 25 years of test cricket for the Island nation. There have been many ups and downs in our short history in the game and currently Sri Lankan cricket is at its strongest. 106 players have pulled on our national colours and they have done a great service to our cricket in their own way.
I found this an opportune time to put my self in the shoes of the “Joker” and try some “Muppet Mastering” my self. My quest was to come up with the All time Sri Lankan Test XI. NO easy task but luckily I did have my trusty handbook, provided by SLC, to make my decisions easier.
Men in White Coats
Umpiring is widely accepted as one of the toughest jobs in sport. With wave after wave of fans/ex-players/commentators increasingly asking for more technology to be brought into the game it doesn’t get any easier. Umpires are a strange breed, because unlike players they do not gain the accolades and the records and the media that the players crave and play for, and yet they sweat it out over 5 days. The money handed to an “elite” umpire at the end of the game is a joke- it’s close to what a FC cricketer makes (When you compare that with what some of the players make these days it’s absolutely nothing.).
Reading what the umpire needs
So it’s important to know what motivates an umpire to take up the role in the first place. Many umpires who have been offered the role to umpire in the elite panel have declined- eg: Peter Willey. Why? Because many do not want the demanding traveling, the public slandering of their name and the constant heckling.
Regardless of whether Darrel Hair was right or wrong in the decisions he has made- how can an upcoming umpire feel that the working environment is a safe one when looking at how hair was treated by the ICC?
Eng V SL 1st Test: Points to Ponder
Another home test and another win the Sri Lankans at Kandy. It was a bit tricky at the end and it took a couple of special balls from the golden boy from Kandy to seal the deal for the Lankans.
England came to Kandy knowing that they had to get something out of the 1st test if they were to stand a chance of winning this series. Visiting teams do unusually well in the former hill capital but order was restored and normal service resumed as Sri Lanka romped home for a 88 run victory.
100 and Out ?
Chaminda Vaas has been Sri Lankas bowling spearhead for as long as anyone can remember.He is easily the best fast bowler the country has produced, 320 test wickets at 29 and 387 ODI wickets at 26(wow) is a proof enough. Vaas joined the national team in 1994 and made an immediate impact, in only his 5th test match he got a return of 10-90 against NZ and was the chief architect in Sri Lankas first overseas test win.
Since then Vaas has stacked up some staggering records next to his name
- -In 2001-02 he took 26 wickets in a 3-0 rout of West Indies, becoming only the second fast bowler, after Imran Khan, to take 14 wickets in a match in the subcontinent.*-He went on to take the first-ever ODI eight-for, against Zimbabwe,which included a hat-trick.*
-He also claimed a hat-trick with the first three balls of the match against Bangladesh in the 2003 World Cup.*
But time as it seems time waits for no one, and it seems almost inevitable that the tight grip Vaas had in his bowling and his potency would slowly disintegrate.
Since 1st Aug 2005 he has not taken a 5fer. His best match figures have been 5/82. His average has shot up to 35 from his usual 28-29s. And the most telling figure is that his strike rate has taken a quantum leap to 71.6.
In 2006 he averaged a disappointing 45 with 12 wickets in 6 tests with an alarmingly high strike rate of 91.
Is Vass on his way out ?
Currently in 2007 he averages his normal 29 but as always the stats dont tell the whole story because 6 of the 7 wickets he has taken this year in the 3 matches he has played have been against Bangladesh,wickets may still be wickets but Bangladesh,with all due respect to them, are not the toughest opponents going around.