Muralitharan will play in Australia again

[Maranello]

After the positive response from the MCG crowd in the Tsunami appeal match, Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has agreed to visit Australia in the future, if and when the circumstances arise.

Good news for serious cricket watchers in Australia, who will now get a chance to see the world's greatest ever off-spinner in close proximity. Also good news for cricket followers the world over, we can now see how the world's best batting line-up will cope in its own backyard with one of the world's premier bowlers.

Murali is a Tamil, a minority community in Sri Lanka whose areas in and around the Jaffna peninsula have been among the worse affected from the Tsunami; the warm welcome accorded to him and others in Australia, and the generous charity of the majority of Australian people has rightly swayed his mind.

Hopefully the senseless minority which includes the likes of John Howard, Dennis Lillee or Darrell Hair can keep their mouths shut in the future, or at the very least, try and engage brain (what little they possess of it) before speaking.

Cricinfo report here:

A year ago Muttiah Muralitharan threatened never to tour Australia again. John Howard, the prime minister, had publicly decided Muralitharan was a chucker, whenever he bowled there were no-ball yells from the stands, and it was the only country where he had been called for throwing.

[Seamer]

Marenello,
Just because everyone does,nt like you should never stop someone from touring. You should see what Warne cops when he tours England. You should see what past players like Hadlee and Botham copped when touring Austalia. All three of those players used it as a motivational toll and ripped the opposition apart. Murali has to learn that in this world, you cant expect to be liked by everyone.One of the facts of life. If he can,t take it, he better not tour Australia because unfortunately, MANY here, if not the majority(if you believe the polls) believe he is a chucker. In the tsunami appeal, that was naturally put aside, but if he comes on a normal tour, he can probably expect much the same as he got last tour. I don,t neccesarily agree with them, but that is how it will be.
It is true that this is the only country where he was CALLED. That is because the ICC changed the rules and as you well know, he has been REPORTED since.

[Maranello]

Seamer, I think we may have slightly different views on Murali and the chucking issue but there is no point in re-hashing all the arguments that have been made by people over the past many years. My views can be read on a different thread here.

However, regadless of how one feels about the chucking issue, I believe Murali was perfectly right not to tour Australia. You make some very good points about life not always being fair or perfect... and I am sure Murali and other Sri Lankans who have lost so much recently realise full well that things can be tough in this world!

However, on the "touring Australia point"... if some of the cricket followers in that country do not have the basic courtesy of how to treat a guest, and so if his critics want to ignore all scientific facts, fine...but at least even his critics should have the manners to do so politely and calmly, not by rabid name-calling. For Murali, this was a country where an extreme right-wing PM mouths off ignorantly on a topic he had no knowledge of; a country where many of the umpires have a vendetta against him, and country where some of the public cannot countenance anyone being better than any of their own players. Hence unfortunate though it was, in Murali and Sri Lanka's view, this country did not deserve to see Murali's cricket.

The criticism from some of the Australian players on this was laughable. Dennis Lillee, who was such a coward himself that he boycotted tours to India or Pakistan because he couldn't stomach being slaughtered by good batsmen, had the audacity to call Murali a coward! Ironic? yes...shameful?...maybe.... justified? No!

[Shaka]

Seamer, what Warne cops when he tours England is nothing more than friendly banter and a bit of a ribbing. Same goes for Botham or Hadlee when they tour Australia. I think you have to appreciate there is a big difference between the opposition getting some verbal stick and calling someone a cheat or a chucker. If you are a great bowler it's the worst thing in the worl to have your integrity or achievements questioned.

That is a different issue to whether Murali is a chucker or not. His action was cleared by the ICC on account of an elbow condition so I didn't really give it any more thought. I am not saying that the Aussies aren't allowed to have an opinion of their own, however I think it's perfectly understandable if Murali doesn't want to put up with it.

[Maranello]

Well said Shaka. The main point as you say is to have your integrity questioned, in no way comparable to being told you are fat, or like pies, etc. When someone accuses Murali of cheating, they not only impugn his character, they also say that all his great achievements in the sport are worthless. Perfectly natural and reasonable for Murali to ignore and avoid such characters in return. I guess one also needs to understand Murali's status in Sri Lanka, and his importance to that poor war-ravaged country; for the Sri Lankans I know, calling him a cheat is akin to slandering the character of their whole nation, so they naturally get a bit heated about it!

[Seamer]

Maranello and Shaka

Guys, i never said i personally agreed with those views on Murali so please don,t misunderstand me. I just wanted to let you know what he may be facing if he comes here. Howard, like any succesful politician in a democracy, echoes the majority. There is a feeling that he ICC has changed the laws going back a long time to allow his currently illegal action to be legal and there is a threat to the purity of the game and that has annoyed a few people, not only in Australia. I understand Murali,s importance in Sri Lanka considering he is a Tamil in a country suffering civil war. And Shaka, you are right in saying that what Warne faces in England is vastly different to what Murali faces. Reading back on my earlier posting, and thinking about it, i see the error of my views regarding his toughness and now retract them. I won,t discuss this issue any more on this forum as i enjoy discussing cricket with you guys and would not want to spoil that over this issue

[Shaka]

No worries Seamer, I enjoy discussing cricket with you too. As I said earlier, I don't have a problem with anyone questioning Murali's action, it is very unorthodox. I leave that to the guys at the ICC to sort out, it's their job! However, like I said, Murali is perfectly entitled to not want to tour a country where his integrity and achievements are questioned so publicly. Personally I am glad that he has agreed to tour Australia again and I would hope he gets a decent reception.

I know Salim Malik also took abuse from the Aussie crowd after the match-fixing allegations but they gave him a standing ovation when he went out there and scored a fighting 70. They like guys who will come out and face the music!

[Maranello]

Seamer that's great, and I definitely value your views and enjoy your posts. There was only one point I disagreed with earlier, which was around Murali's original decision not to visit Aus; am in total agreement with you guys that it's good that he is going to tour in future, and hope that when it happens, it will be a success for the spectators and players alike.

[Rahul_Dravid_is_No.1]

It is good to see he is going to tour australlia again

[Rahul_Dravid_is_No.1]

But ethere is lots of controvesy surrounding Warne aswell isn't there with the drugs and bookmakers or something etc etc. yet the Sri lankans never treated warne with such abuse or openly questioning his integrity etc. (atleast they didnt to my knowledge).