Symonds speaks up for Murali

All-rounder Andrew Symonds has pleaded with the Australian public not to taunt spinner Muttiah Muralitharan when Sri Lanka tour Australia later in the year.

The great spinner who has just passed the 700 Test wicket mark and looks set to break Shane Warne’s record of 708 when Sri Lanka tours Australia this year for a two match series, has had a difficult relationship with the Australian public ever since being infamously no-balled in the 1995 Boxing Day Test by Darrell Hair.

However Symonds has expressed his wish for the Australian crowds to remain sporting during the series and not boo or taunt Muralitharan with cries of ‘no-ball’.

“We respect him for his skills and for what he has done and I think it would be rude, straight out rude, if they (the crowds) didn’t sort of respect him and give him the pat on the back he deserves,” Symonds said to AAP.

“I just hope the beer drinkers in the sun don’t give him a hard time and late one afternoon if he breaks the record they start on him. I hope that doesn’t happen, I hope people can stand up and actually applaud him for what he is, a legend of a game.”

Muralitharan needs only the nine wickets in two Tests against Australia at Brisbane and Hobart in November to break Warne’s Test record of 708 wickets.