My News
05.12.07
Herald Sun - Beefy, give my best to Kandy man
I WAS sitting on my couch watching the cricket from Sri Lanka on Fox Sports on Monday arvo when Murali wheeled in to bowl to England’s Paul Collingwood.
Obviously I was aware that he was pretty close to breaking the world wicket-taking record, but I can’t say that I was sweating on it or keeping any kind of mental log.
As I’ve said for a long time, Murali going past me has always been inevitable. The question was never if, but when.
I was just enjoying the cricket. So when the whirly-twirly man knocked over Collingwood with a straight one, it all looked pretty routine.
My first reaction was to say, “Well done”, which is pretty hard to do when I’m home in Melbourne and the Test match is in Murali’s home town of Kandy.
So I phoned a friend.
My old mate Ian Botham had been covering the Test on TV. I had his number handy and Beefy was happy to oblige, passing onmy personal bestwishes to Murali for passing the record.
AmI sad? Not at all. All good things must come to an end, and my reign as the world recordholder is over.
The Kandy man deserves the record. He has achieved the milestone with spitting off breaks and a lethal doosra.
Apart from the majority of Aussie batsmen who can pick him, not many other players can around the world. Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar are the exceptions who have managed to get on top of that rubberwrist.
The comparisons between Murali and Iwill always create debate and spark interest, but I am happy with what I achieved and the spirit in which I played.
My advice is just sit back with a beer (a VB for me) and enjoy Murali while he is still playing.
Some people come up to me and point out he has taken lots of wickets against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. True, but he has also taken lots against all the other countries.
What about the man? Well, he is a very likeable guy who is king in Sri Lanka and has helped the country in moreways than just cricket. It’s nice to look at the positives that people do.
When the tsunami hit Galle, Muraliwas one of the first to give his time helping families, helping out with food and being a positive influence. Just his presence lifted spirits in a time of need.
He is a happy man, always smiling and offering advice to young spinners and passing on his knowledge.
He has been put through the ringer regarding his action and I suppose that just comeswith the territory of being Murali.
He has handled himself well through that process and after a poor tour here in Oz.
He will feel happier in breaking the record in his hometown, where his wife and young child werewith his family and friends, and the people and children from where he went to school.Nice.
And how far will he go? Well, I reckon he will go close to 1000 wickets.
How? Well, if he plays another 40 Tests and gets seven a game, that’s it.
Playing 40 Tests these days is about three years, so it’s not out of the question.
And no one will ever break that.
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