Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralidaran

Personal information
Full name	Muttiah Muralitharan
Nickname	Murali
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Sri Lanka
Test debut (cap 54)	28 August 1992 v Australia
Last Test	22 December 2007 v England
ODI debut (cap 70)	12 August 1993 v India
Last ODI	28 April 2007 v Australia
ODI shirt no.	08
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1991/92 - present	Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club
1999 - 2007	Lancashire
2003	Kent
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA Matches 118[1] 297[2] 217 378 Runs scored 1,144 491 2,075 693 Batting average 11.67 5.77 11.33 6.41 100s/50s 0/1 0/0 0/1 0/0 Top score 67 27 67 27 Balls bowled 39,202 16,094 62,096 20,095 Wickets 723 455 1,297 575 Bowling average 21.77 22.68 18.93 22.97 5 wickets in innings 62 8 114 10 10 wickets in match 20 n/a 32 n/a Best bowling 9/51 7/30 9/51 7/30 Catches/stumpings 66/– 117/– 117/– 138/–
Source: CricketArchive, 22 December 2007

Muttiah Muralitharan (born 17 April 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka), often referred to as Murali, is a Sri Lankan cricketer who was statistically rated as the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002.^[3] He is Test cricket's highest wicket-taker, having overtaken the previous record-holder Shane Warne on December 3, 2007,^[4] and is also second in the list of wicket-takers in One Day Internationals.^[5][6] He plays domestic cricket for the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and county cricket for Lancashire, as an overseas player.

Muralitharan's career has not been without controversy, with his bowling action being called into question on a number of occasions by umpires and sections of the cricket community.^[7]

After biomechanical studies, Muralitharan's action was cleared by the International Cricket Council, firstly in 1996 and again in 1999.^[8] The legality of his doosra delivery was first called into question in 2004. Based on of official studies into bowling actions, the International Cricket Council revised the elbow flexion limits to applicable to all bowlers in 2005. ^[9] Muralitharan's doosra falls within the revised limits. ^{[9] [10]}

Muttiah Muralitharan was born in the village of Nattarampotha in Kundasale (near Kandy), as the eldest of the four sons to Sinnasamy Muttiah and Lakshmi. Muralitharan's father Sinnasamy Muttiah, runs a successful biscuit-making business. ^[11]

When he was nine years old Muralithran was sent to St.Anthony’s College, Kandy, a private school run by Benedictine monks. He began his cricketing career as a medium pace bowler, but on the advice of his school coach, Sunil Fernando, he took up off spin when he was fourteen years old. He soon impressed and went on to play for four years in the school First XI. In those days he played as an all rounder and batted in the middle order. In his final two seasons at St Anthony's he took over one hundred wickets and in 1990/1 was named as the 'Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year.'

He joined Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and was selected for the Sri Lanka A tour of England in 1991. He played in five games but failed to capture a single wicket. On his return to Sri Lanka he impressed against Allan Border's Australian team in a practice game and then went on to make his test debut at R. Premadasa Stadium in the Second Test Match of the series. ^[12]

Since his debut in 1992, Muralitharan has taken over 700 Test wickets and over 450 One Day International wickets, becoming the first player to take 1,000 wickets combined in the two main forms of international cricket. He currently holds the highest wickets/match ratio (6.1) for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets and has also represented Sri Lanka in 118 tests of the 175 that they have played (67.4%).

Muralitharan is the first wrist-spinning offspinner in the history of the game.^[13] His unique bowling action begins with a short run-up, and culminates with an extremely wristy release which had him mistaken for a leg-spinner early in his career by Allan Border.^[14] Aside from his off break, his main deliveries are a fast topspinner which goes straight on, and the doosra, a surprise delivery which turns from leg to off (the opposite direction of his stock delivery) with no easily discernible change of action.^[15]

On 28 August 28, 1992 at the age of 20, Muralitharan made his debut against Australia at the Khettarama Stadium and taking 3 for 141. Craig McDermott was his first Test wicket.

In August 1993 at Moratuwa, Muralitharan captured 5 for 104 in South Africa's first innings, his first five-wicket haul in Tests. His wickets include Kepler Wessels, Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes. In January 1998, Muralitharan took his first ten-wicket haul against Zimbabwe in the first Test at Kandy. Sri Lanka won by eight wickets and Muralitharan had figures of 12 for 117. In August that same year Muralitharan produces his career-best test match figures of 16 for 220, in the one-off Test against England. Ben Hollioake becomes his 200th Test wicket. Sri Lanka won by ten wickets, their first Test victory in England.

Playing his 58th Test, Muralitharan claimed his 300th Test wicket when he dismissed Shaun Pollock in the first Test in Durban, in December 2000. Only Dennis Lillee reached the milestone faster, in his 56th Test.

On January 4, 2002 in Kandy Murali captured nine Zimbabwe wickets on the first day but missed out on the tenth when Chaminda Vaas dismissed Henry Olonga. Murali follows up his 9 for 51 in the first innings with 4 for 64 in the second, equaling Richard Hadlee's record of 10 ten-wicket match hauls, but needing 15 fewer Tests to do so. On January 15, 2002 playing in his 72nd Test, Murali became the fastest to reach the 400-wicket landmark when he bowled Olonga in the third Test in Galle.^[16]

In May 2004, he overtook West Indian Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test match wickets to become the highest wicket-taker, a record he kept until Shane Warne claimed it in late 2004. ^[17] Zimbabwe's Mluleki Nkala becomes Murali's 520th scalp in Tests.

In July 2007, Muralitharan achieved a career peak Test Bowling Rating of 920, based on the LG ICC Player Rankings. This is the highest ever rating achieved by a spin bowler in test cricket. This also puts him in 4th place in the LG ICC Best-Ever Test bowling ratings.^[18]

File:Muralidaran Test Bowling Summary.png

Muralitharan reclaimed the record for most test wickets during the first Test against England at Kandy on December 3 2007. Murali took his record breaking 709th Test wicket in his 116th Test, overtaking Shane Warne in the process.^[4] In England's first Innings, he took 6-55, the 5th of which, the wicket of Paul Collingwood, was the record-breaker. This was Murali's 61st 5-wicket haul.^[19] Warne believes that Muralitharan will take "1,000 wickets" before he retires.^[20] Former record holder Courtney Walsh has also opined that this is possible if Muralitharan retains his hunger for wickets.^[21] Muralitharan himself believes there is a possibility that he will reach this milestone.^[22]

Muralitharan has the unique distinction of getting 10 or more wickets in a match against all other 9 test playing nations as well as capturing over 50 wickets against each of them. He has also obtained 7 or more wickets in an innings against 5 nations, namely England, India, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe (refer to table above).

File:Muralidaran Best ODI Bowling.png

On August 12, 1993 Murali made his one day international (ODI) debut against India at the Khettarama Stadium and took 1 for 38 off ten overs. Praveen Amre was his first ODI wicket.

On October 27, 2000 in Sharjah, Murali captured 7 for 30 against India, which were then the best bowling figures in One Day Internationals.

In April 9, 2002 Muralitharan achieved a career peak ODI Bowling Rating of 913, based on the LG ICC Player Rankings. This is the highest ever rating achieved by a spin bowler in One Day Internationals. This also puts him in 4th place in the LG ICC Best-Ever ODI bowling ratings.^[23]

In 2006, Muralitharan had the second (now third) highest number of runs (99) hit off him in a One Day International Innings.^[24]

Currently, Muralitharan has second highest number of career wickets in One Day Internationals, behind Wasim Akram.^[25]

Muralitharan has played in 4 Cricket World Cup tournaments, in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007. He has captured 53 world cup wickets in 31 matches,^[26] and has represented Sri Lanka in two World Cup finals. In 1996 Muralitharan was part Sri Lanka's World Cup winning team that defeated Australia in Lahore, Pakistan. Muralitharan also played in the 2007 World Cup final, when Australia defeated Sri Lanka in Bridgetown, Barbados. He picked up 23 wickets in the 2007 World Cup, and finished as the second highest wicket taker in the tournament behind Glenn McGrath.

In domestic cricket, Muralitharan has played for two first-class Sri Lankan sides, Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in the Premier Trophy and Central Province in the Provincial Championship. His record has been exceptional - 234 wickets at 14.51 runs in 46 matches.^[27]

He has also played county cricket in England, mainly for Lancashire (from 1999 until 2007) where he appeared in twenty eight first-class games for the club. He played five first class games for Kent during the 2003 season. His bowling record in English domestic cricket is also exceptional - 236 wickets at 15.62 runs in 33 matches.^[27] Despite his efforts, he has not been on a title winning first-class domestic team in either the Premier Trophy or the County Championship. He is unusual amongst the majority of current test players in having played in more test matches than other first-class games (116 tests and 99 other first class matches as of 30 November 2007).

File:Qzgb9x.jpg

In 2002, Wisden carried out a statistical analysis of all Test matches in an effort to rate the greatest cricketers in history, and Muralitharan was ranked as the best test bowler of all time.^[3] However, two years earlier, Muralitharan was not named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh called him "the Don Bradman of bowling".^[28]

Muralitharan was selected as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2000 and in 2006.^[29]

On November 15, 2007, the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy was unveiled named after the two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket, Shane Warne and Muralitharan. The trophy displays images of the two spin bowlers' hands each holding a cricket ball. This trophy will be contested between Australia and Sri Lanka in all future Test series.^[30]

On December 3, 2007, just hours after Muttiah Muralitharan became Test cricket's leading wicket-taker, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced it had unveiled a portrait of the Sri Lanka off-spinner at Lord's.^[31] On the same day the Philatelic Bureau of the Department of Posts in Sri Lanka issued a circular stamp with a denomination of Rs. 5 to mark the world record set by Muttiah Muralitharan. The circular design was meant to denote the cricket ball.^[32]

Australian musician Alston Koch provoked worldwide interest when he recorded the only tribute song to Murali, the song was even mentioned on the BBC's Test Match Special.^[33] The Murali Song video was also released after he broke the world record.

On January 10, 2008, the Parliament of Sri Lanka felicitated Muttiah Muralitharan for his world record breaking feat of being the highest wicket taker in Test cricket.^[34] This is the first time that a sportsman has been honoured in the country’s Supreme Legislature. ^[35]

Initial concerns as to whether Muralitharan's action contravened the laws of the game by straightening his right arm further than is allowed while bowling broke into open controversy after Australian umpire Darrell Hair called a "no ball" for an illegal action seven times during the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne, Australia, in 1995. Australian Sir Donald Bradman, universally regarded as the greatest batsman in history, was later quoted as saying it was the "worst example of umpiring that [he had] witnessed, and against everything the game stands for. Clearly Murali does not throw the ball".^[36][37]

Muralitharan was later no-balled for throwing by Australian umpires Ross Emerson and Tony McQuillan in a One Day International against the West Indies, in Brisbane, Australia, during the same summer. Following the end of the season, Muralitharan underwent biomechanical analysis at the University of Western Australia and at the University of Hong Kong ^[38] under the supervision of biomechanical experts, who declared his action legal, citing a congenital defect in Muralitharan's arm which makes him incapable of straightening it any further, but giving the appearance of the arm straightening.^[39] They concluded that his action created the 'optical illusion of throwing'. Based on this evidence ICC gave clearance to Muralitharan to continue bowling.^[8]

Doubts about Muralitharan's action persisted however, on the 1998-99 tour to Australia he was once again called for throwing by Ross Emerson during a One Day International against England at the Adelaide Oval in Australia. The Sri Lankan team almost abandoned the match, but after instructions from the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, the game resumed. The Sri Lankan captain at the time Arjuna Ranatunga, was later fined and given a suspended ban from the game as a result.^[40] It later emerged that at the time of this match Emerson was on sick leave from his job due to a stress-related illness and he stood down for the rest of the series.^[41] Muralitharan was sent for further tests in Perth and England and was cleared again. ^[8] At no stage was Muralitharan requested to change or remodel his action, by the ICC.

Up to this point in his career (1999) Muralitharan primarily bowled two types of deliveries, namely the off break and the topspinner. He had not yet mastered the doosra.

Muralitharan continued bowling, taking his 500th Test wicket in the second Test against Australia in Kandy on March 16, 2004. At the end of the series his doosra delivery was officially called into question by match referee Chris Broad. At the University of Western Australia (Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science), three-dimensional kinematic measurements of Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling arm were taken using an optical motion capture system while he bowled his doosra. Murali’s mean elbow extension angle for the doosra delivery was 14°, which was subsequently reduced to a mean of 10.2° with a modified action. Though Elliott et al. (2004) concluded that "Mr. Muralitharan be permitted to continue bowling his doosra at least until a valid data base is collected on the various spin bowling disciplines",^[42] the overwhelming response was that Murali’s doosra contravened the established ICC elbow extension limit of 5° for spinners.^[43]

Under the original throwing Laws of Cricket, the umpires officiating were under an obligation to call "no-ball" to a delivery that they were not entirely happy was absolutely fair. This Law gave the umpires absolutely no discretion. In 2000, the Laws were changed to put an allowable figure of straightening of 5° for spinners, 7.5° for medium pacers and 10° for fast bowlers.^[44] These figures proved difficult to enforce due to umpires being unable to discern actual amounts of straightening and the differentiation between the three different allowable figures. Testing in Test Match conditions is not currently possible "when the identification of elbow and shoulder joint centres in on-field data collection, where a shirt is worn, also involves large errors. In a match the ability to differentiate anatomical movements such as 'elbow extension' by digitising segment end-points, particularly if you have segment rotations, is extremely difficult and prone to error. This is certainly the case with spin bowlers. It is therefore not surprising that laboratory testing is preferred, particularly for spin bowlers, where an appropriate pitch length and run-up can be structured. This is clearly the only way to test players, where data would be able to withstand scientific and therefore legal scrutiny."^[42]

An extensive ICC study, the results of which were released in November 2004, was conducted to investigate the "chucking issue". A laboratory kinematic analysis of 42 non-Test playing bowlers done by Ferdinands and Kersting (2004)^[45]established that the 5° limit for slow and spin bowlers was particularly impractical. The researchers recommended that a flat rate of 15° tolerable elbow extension be used to define a preliminary demarcation point between bowling and throwing.

A panel of former Test players consisting of Aravinda de Silva, Angus Fraser, Michael Holding, Tony Lewis, Tim May and the ICC's David Richardson, with the assistance of several biomechanical experts, revealed that 99% of all bowlers in the history of cricket straighten their arms when bowling.^[46]. Only one player tested (part-time bowler Ramnaresh Sarwan) reportedly did not transgress the rules.^[46] Muralitharan's off break and topspinner were deemed within the rules (2 to 5 degree straightening). Many of these reports have controversially not been published. Infact, Muralitharan stirred up controversy when he said during an interview with a Melbourne radio station that Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee flexed their arms by 12, 13 and 14-15 degrees respectively. Muralitharan was censured by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board for these comments. ^[47]

The ICC Executive was asked to ratify the panel's recommendations at the ICC's annual general meeting in February 2005. Based on the recommendations the ICC issued a new guideline (which was effective from March 1, 2005) allowing for extensions or hyperextensions of up to 15 degrees for all types of bowlers thus deeming Muralitharan's doosra to be legal.^{[48] [9]}

Explaining why the maximum level of 15 degrees of arrived at, panel member Angus Fraser stated "That is the number which biomechanics says that it (straightening) becomes visible. It is difficult for the naked eye to see less than 15 degrees in a bowler's action. We found when the bicep reached the shoulder the amount of bend was around 165 degrees. Very few bowlers can get to 180 degrees because the joint doesn't allow that. ...... but once you go further than 15 degrees you get into an area which is starting to give you an unfair advantage and you are breaking the law". ^[48]

Since 1999 there has been a number of scientific research publications discussing the Muralitharan's bowling action as well the need for defining the legality of a bowling action using biomechanical concepts. This research has directly contributed towards the official acceptance of Muralitharan's bowling action and has convinced the ICC to redefine the bowling laws in cricket.

The key publications are listed below:

• Elliot, B.C., Alderson, J., Reid, S. and Foster, D. (2004). Bowling Report of Muttiah Muralitharan.[1]
• Ferdinands, R.E.D. (2004). Three-dimentional biomechanical analysis of bowling in cricket. PhD Thesis, University of Waikato.
• Ferdinands, R.E.D. and Kersting, U.G. (2004). Elbow Angle Extension and implecation for the legality of the bowling action in Cricket. In A McIntosh (Ed.), Proceedings of Australasian Biomechanic Conference 5 (December 9-10), University of New South Wales, Sydney, pp. 26-27.
• Ferdinands, R.E.D. and Kersting, U.G. (2007). An evaluation of biomechanical measures of bowling action legality in cricket. Sports Biomechanics, Volume 6, Issue 3 September 2007, pages 315 - 333
• Goonetilleke, R.S. (1999). Legality of bowling actions in cricket. Ergonomics, 42 (10), 1386-1397.
• Lloyd, D. G., Alderson, J. and Elliot, B.C.(2000). An upper limb kinamatic for the examination of cricket bowling: A case study of Muttiah Muralitharan. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18, 975-982.
• Marshall, R. and Ferdinands R. (2003). The effect of a flexed elbow on bowling speed in circket. Sports Biomechanics, 2(1), 65-71.
• Portus, M., Mason, B., Rath, D. and Rosemond, C. (2003). Fast bowling arm actions and the illegal delivery law in men's high performance cricket matches. Science and Medicine in Cricket. R. Stretch, T. Noakes and C. Vauhan (Eds.), Com Press, Ports Elizabeth, South Africa, pp. 41-54.

In July 2004 Muralitharan was filmed in England, bowling with an arm brace on. The film was shown on Britain's Channel 4 during the Test against England on July 22, 2004.

Initially, Muralitharan bowled three balls - the off-spinner, the top-spinner and the doosra - as he would in a match. Then he bowled the same three balls with a brace that is made from steel bars, which are set into strong resin. This brace has been moulded to his right arm, is approximately 46 centimetres long and weighs just under 1 kilogram.

TV presenter Mark Nicholas who tried the brace himself, confirmed that "There is no way an arm can be bent, or flexed, when it is in this brace." All three balls reacted in the same way as when bowled without the brace. They were not bowled quite so fast because the weight of the brace restricts the speed of Murali's shoulder rotation, but the spin was still there.

With the brace on, there still appeared to be a jerk in his action. When studying the film at varying speeds, it still appeared as if he straightened his arm, even though the brace makes it impossible to do so. His unique shoulder rotation and amazing wrist action seem to create the illusion that he straightens his arm. ^[49]

The off spinner said the exercise was to convince a sceptical public rather than sway an ICC investigation into bowling actions launched after he was reported by match referee Chris Broad for his doosra delivery in March 2004, the third time action has been taken on his bowling. In an interview for August 2004 edition of Wisden Asia Cricket, Muralitharan stated "I think it will prove a point to those who had said that it was physically impossible to bowl a ball that turned the other way. I proved that it was possible to bowl the doosra without bending the arm." ^[50]

Two vocal critics of Muralitharan's action have been former Test cricketers, Australian Dean Jones and Bishan Bedi, the former Indian captain.

Michael Holding, the former West Indian fast bowler was also a critic of Murali, but withdrew his critisisms under the light of the tests carried out. Holding has been quoted^[51] as being in "110% agreement" with Bedi, who likened Murali's action to a "javelin throw"^[52] and more recently, compared to a "shot putter".^[53] Following the ICC study, as a member of the panel that conducted the study, Holding stated, "The scientific evidence is overwhelming... When bowlers who to the naked eye look to have pure actions are thoroughly analysed with the sophisticated technology now in place, they are likely to be shown as straightening their arm by 11 and in some cases 12 degrees. Under a strict interpretation of the law, these players are breaking the rules. The game needs to deal with this reality and make its judgment as to how it accommodates this fact."^[54]

During the 2006 tour of New Zealand another Murali critic, former New Zealand captain and cricket commentator Martin Crowe called for Muralitharan's doosra to be monitored more closely, asserting that his action seemed to deteriorate during a match.^[55]

Muralitharan has voiced his frustration at routinely being heckled by Australian crowds who accuse him of throwing - one common jeer directed at him was "No Ball!".^{[56][57][58][59][60]} Following the then Australian Prime Minister John Howard's statement that Murali was a "chucker" ^[61] , in 2004, Muralitharan indicated that he would skip future tours to Australia.

Tom Moody, the former Sri Lanka coach, said he was embarrassed by the derogatory reaction and negative attention directed towards Muttiah Muralitharan by Australian crowds. Moody stated that "As an Australian when I have been with the Sri Lankan team in Australia, or playing against them in the World Cup, it's the only situation we find in the whole of the cricketing world where we have this disgraceful slant on a cricketer".^[62]

During the 2008 CB series in Australia, some members of the Sri Lankan contingent including Muralitharan, were the target of an egg throwing incident in Hobart. The Sri Lankan cricket selector, Don Anurasiri, was hit by an egg, while Muralitharan and two others were verbally abused by a car-load of people as they were walking from a restaurant back to the hotel. ^[63] Due to the incident taking place at night, it is unclear whether Muralitharan was indeed the target of the culprits.^[64] Even though the Australian coach of the Sri Lankan team, Trevor Bayliss, down-played the incident as "a non-event", Cricket Australia tightened security around the team. In response to this episode Muralitharan was quoted as saying "When you come to Australia, you expect such incidents".^[65]

A lower order batsman who usually bats at No. 11, Muralitharan is known for his tendency to back away to leg and slog. His highest Test score of 67 came against India at Kandy in 2001, including three sixes and five fours.^[66] He has made valuable scores on occasion, including 30 runs against England at the Oval in 1998, including 5 fours,^[67] 38 runs (4 fours, 1 six) against England at Galle in 2003,^[68] 43 runs (5 fours, 3 sixes) against Australia at Kandy in 2004 ^[69] and 36 runs against the West Indies at Colombo in 2005. ^[70]

Muralitharan was run out in controversial circumstances by New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum at Christchurch in 2006.^[71] After his batting partner Kumar Sangakkara reached his century, Muralitharan grounded his bat and went to congratulate Sangakkara.^[72] However the ball was not yet dead as it had was being returned to the keeper from the outfield, allowing McCullum to complete the run out.^[73] New Zealand Stephen Fleming defended the run out, although the Sri Lankan team and many others did not consider the dismissal to be in the spirit of the game.^[74][75]

Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan Tamil of Indian origin. His paternal grandfather Periyasamy Sinasamy came from South India to work in the tea plantations of central Sri Lanka. Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). When his grandfather died at the age of 104, in July 2004, Murali returned home from a tour of India to attend his funeral.^[76]

Muralitharan, married Madhimalar Ramamurthy, an Indian national, on March 21, 2005.^[77] Madhimalar is the daughter of late Dr S. Ramamurthy of Malar Hospitals, and his wife Dr Nithya Ramamurthy. Their first child, Naren, was born in January 2006.^[78]

Muralitharan, along with his manager Kushil Gunasekara, established the Foundation of Goodness ^[79], a charity organisation, in the early 2000s. This organisation is committed to the wellbeing of the Seenigama region (in southern Sri Lanka) and supports local communities through a range of projects across areas including children’s needs, education and training, healthcare and psycho-social support, housing, livelihoods, sport and the environment.

In June 2004, Muralitharan also joined the United Nations World Food Program as an ambassador to fight hunger among school children.^[80]

When the tsunami devastated Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004, Murali galvanised into action to ensure that aid reached people that needed it.^[81] He himself narrowly escaped death,^[82] arriving 20 minutes late at Seenigama, where he was to give away prizes at one of the charity projects he worked on. While international agencies were bringing food in by air, there was an urgent need for transport, and Murali organised three convoys of 10 trucks each, paying for these himself, to get the food to people who needed it.^[83] He persuaded those who could to donate clothes, and supervised the delivery himself.

During the hard work of rehabilitation in the tsunami’s aftermath, cement was in short supply. Murali promptly signed an endorsement deal with Lafarge, a global cement giant, that was a straight barter, where cement would be supplied to the Foundation for Goodness in exchange for work Murali did. During the first three years since the tsunami, the foundation raised more than US$ 4 million to help survivors, and has built homes, schools, sports facilities and computer centres. ^[84]

Muttiah Muralitharan holds a number of world records, and several firsts:

• The most Test wickets (723 wickets as of 22 December 2007).^[85]
• The highest number of international wickets in Tests and ODIs combined (1178 wickets as of 22 December 2007).^[85]
• The most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Test level (62).^[86]
• The most 10-wicket hauls in a match at Test level (20). He is the only player to take 10 wickets/match against every Test playing nation.^[87]
• Fastest to 350,^[88] 400,^[89] 450,^[90] 500,^[91] 550,^[92] 600,^[93] 650^[94] and 700^[95] Test wickets, in terms of matches played.
• Only player to take 10 wickets in a Test in four consecutive matches. Murali has achieved this feat twice. ^[96]
• Only player to take 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation. ^[97]
• Muralitharan and Jim Laker (England), are the only bowlers to have taken 9 wickets in a Test innings twice.
• 7 wickets in an innings against the most countries (5).^[98]
• Most Test wickets taken bowled (157),^[99] stumped (41)^[100] and caught & bowled (31).^[101] Bowled by Muralitharan (b Muralitharan) is the most common dismissal in Test cricket (excluding run out).^[102]
• Most successful bowler/fielder (non-wicket keeper) combination - c Mahela Jayawardene b Muttiah Muralitharan (65). ^[103]
• Most Man of the Series awards in Test cricket (11).^[104]

• 1st: Craig McDermott lbw 9 vs Australia - Match #1 - Test #1195
• 50th: Navjot Sidhu caught Ruwan Kalpage 43 vs India - Match #13 - Test #1247
• 100th: Stephen Fleming bowled 59 vs New Zealand - Match #27 - 1359
• 150th: Guy Whittall caught sub (Mahela Jayawardene) 17 vs Zimbabwe - Match #36 - Test #1395
• 200th: Ben Hollioake lbw 0 vs England - Match #42 - Test #1423
• 250th: Naved Ashraf lbw 27 vs Pakistan - Match #51 - Test #1489
• 300th: Shaun Pollock caught Tillakaratne Dilshan 11 vs South Africa - Match #58 - Test #1526
• 350th: Mohammad Sharif caught and bowled 19 vs Bangladesh - Match #66 - Test #1561
• 400th: Henry Olonga bowled 0 vs Zimbabwe - Match #72 - Test #1585
• 450th: Daryl Tuffey caught Sanath Jayasuriya 1 vs New Zealand - Match #80 - Test #1644
• 500th: Michael Kasprowicz bowled 0 vs Australia - Match #87 - Test #1688
• 550th: Khaled Mashud caught Thilan Samaraweera 2 vs Bangladesh - Match #94 - Test #1764
• 600th: Khaled Mashud caught Lasith Malinga 6 vs Bangladesh - Match #101 - Test #1786
• 650th: Makhaya Ntini caught Farveez Maharoof 13 vs South Africa - Match #108 - Test #1812
• 700th: Syed Rasel caught Farveez Maharoof 4 vs Bangladesh - Match #113 - Test #1839
• 709th: Paul Collingwood bowled 45 vs England - Match #116 - Record-breaking wicket

Template:5WI 25 times Template:400 Test wickets club Template:400 ODI wickets club Template:700 Test wickets club

Preceded by Andrew Flintoff

Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World 2006

Succeeded by current

• Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
• Doosra
• List of international cricketers called for throwing
• List of cricketers called for throwing in major cricket matches in Australia
• Throwing (cricket)

• Muralidaran.com
• Muralitharan.com
• CricInfo Player Profile: Muttiah Muralitharan
• Muttiah Muralitharan International Fan Club
• Alston Koch's Murali Song Video
• Murali Tracker
• Muralitharan.cricket-records.com
• Murali's throwing controversy was resolved at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• TimeLine: Muttiah Muralitharan
• Muralitharan.org
• Murali BigStarCricket