Sport

The 'great' Murali

Throw, throw, throw the ball, gently down the seam

Murali, Murali, Murali, Murali, chucks it like a dream

Bowl, bowl, bowl the ball, gently through the air

Murali, Murali, Murali, Murali, here comes Darrell Hair ... No Ball!

- As sung by England's Barmy Army to the tune of 'Row, Row, Row The Boat' during that team's recent tour of Sri Lanka.

You're a $?#)&@cheat, a $?#)&@chucker!

- Allegedly Nasser Hussain's welcoming comments to incoming batsman Muttiah Muralitharan during said tour.

NOW, MAYBE it's just me and I don't want to start 2004 off on a low note - heck, my pay slip can do that for me all on its own.

However, I feel at the start of this great new year that I am sitting on an island in Tom Hanks-type fashion. Am I really the only person in the world that thinks Muttiah Muralitharan, the prodigious offspinner from Sri Lanka, chucks the ball?

Let's take a likkle gander at the figures, shall we?

Okay, the world's leading Test wicket-taker, our own venerable Courtney Walsh claimed a massive 519 wickets in 132 Tests. Second on the list, Aussie leggie Shane Warne has 491 from 107 Tests; then comes Murali.

This man, who has already been cleared once of chucking because of an arm deformity, has 485 Test scalps from only 85 Tests - kinda unbelievable!

However, if that doesn't shock you, check out calendar year 2003's leading wicket-takers.

South African pacer Makhaya Ntini leads the pack with a well-deserved 59 wickets from 12 Tests at an average of 26.54. Hot on his heels was Warne's replacement, Stuart MacGill, with 57 from 11 at 29.61.

Guess who's third? Yep, Murali with 48 from seven Tests at 17.68. If it weren't so ridiculous it would be funny. He gorged himself on the English batsmen during that just completed tour with his regular offspinner plus a new weapon - a wrong 'un which appears to be bowled with the same "action".

I admit, I have never seen Murali bowl live, but I've seen him plenty on the TV and I cringe each time he delivers the ball.

Australian umpire Hair is the only man in a white hat to have called him for chucking and was villified in the process.

It's cricket's dirty little secret - a bit like a molester in the family - no one wants to say anything but they all know it.

By the end of this year, Muralitharan will shatter Walsh's record and lift the bar to a near unattainable height when his career is done.

I will always place an asterix by that record, though.

Later ...