Murali upstages the return of the
king
Murali's torment of Aussie batsmen overshadows
Warne's return
David Hopps in Galle
Tuesday March 9, 2004
The Guardian
As his career has progressed, Shane
Warne has taken his wickets with an
increasing number of straight balls. No
matter: yesterday the finest leg-spinner
the world has known summoned what
he will regard as the greatest, most
life-affirming straight ball of his life.
A two-year drugs ban would probably
have destroyed Warne's career, through
a combination of stiffening body and
softening mind. Its reduction, on appeal,
to one year offered him the chance of
survival. The wicket of Sanath
Jayasuriya as the heat began to fall out
of a blistering south-coast day was a
piece of driftwood for him to cling to.
Muttiah Muralitharan, his great rival in the race to become the
first spin bowler to take 500 Test wickets, had turned the ball
sharply from the outset on Jayanda Warnaweera's spin-doctored
pitch as his six wickets bundled out Australia for 220 and
sharpened Sri Lanka's hopes of going one up in the series.
Warne has so far promised to turn over a new leaf, but nothing
much else. But Jayasuriya's wicket, leg-before as he tried to
sweep in the bowler's fourth
over, brought Australia their
only consolation. Warne
enters the second day with
492 Test victims. Murali
now has 491, and all the
impetus rests with the Sri
Lankan.
Every ball that Warne
bowls is laced with
kidology. The weight of
history insists it will turn
one way, the devilry of a
cricketing prankster insists
that it must turn the other, and instead his devilish collection of
toppies, zooters, sliders, flippers and imagined mystery balls
keep his career alive. The one that did for Jayasuriya yesterday
was called the godsend.
The generous applause, from Sri Lankans and Australians alike,
that greeted his entrance into the attack will have heartened
him. Darren Lehmann, whose 63 prevented Australian calamity,
imagined that he had recognised the Warne of old. "Standing at
bat-pad, it just seemed that he was back to his best," he said.
"It was great to see." Except, of course, that standing at bat-pad
he couldn't actually see it.
Another sound Australian judge, the former fast bowler Geoff
Lawson, reckoned that Warne's rhythm was still lacking and his
delivery stride remained restricted. Lawson's guarded judgment
did seem nearer the mark.
For Australia, dominating batting in Test cricket has become an
article of faith - it is they who have quickened the rate of scoring
in Test cricket virtually single-handedly.
But yesterday the story was one of Murali's supremacy. His six
for 59 was his best return against Australia. On average, he
would have needed about 45 overs to register that against
England; yesterday it took half the time, which freed us all from
an awful lot of defensive pushes.
Sri Lanka fielded only one seam bowler, Chaminda Vaas, whose
12 overs leaked 39 and gave Matthew Hayden a flyer. But more
relevance came in the other new-ball bowler, the off-spinner
Kumar Dharmasena. Justin Langer fell to him, cutting, and Upul
Chandana's leg-spin had Ricky Ponting stumped in an
unrewarding beginning to his reign as Australia's Test captain.
Murali took only one top-order wicket - that of Hayden, who
swept him to deep square leg.
At 148 for three in mid-afternoon Australia looked reasonably
secure, as Lehmann cudgelled Murali straight for six and
Damien Martyn squirted leg-side singles with ease. But Martyn
lapped Dharmasena weakly to leg slip and Australia's last six
wickets tumbled for 72. Murali silenced the two rapid scorers in
the middle order, having Andrew Symonds caught bat-pad at slip
for a duck and snaring Adam Gilchrist as he swept to backward
square.
Warne daubed on the sun cream to hit 23, but Murali wrapped
things up by bowling Lehmann behind his legs with the wrong
'un and dismissing Michael Kasprowicz and Stuart MacGill with
successive balls.
For Warne to stage a Test comeback so soon is achievement
enough. For him to upstage Murali not only here, but in Kandy
and Colombo to follow, would rank as a minor miracle.
