Murali the KING !

[12th Man]

Murali did it and I WAS THERE ! Firecrackers everywhere and there was a contingent of boys from his old school dressed in uniform with their school flag and they went beserk !

He bowled the DOOSRA and it went on straight ( I think ). Maybe because the ball was new ?

[greg]

Congratulations to Murali,at least we made him work hard for the last one and put ourselves in a decent position in the process.Great interview with Nick Knight where he admitted it was meant to turn but went straight on.

[Andy Mellon]

Congratulations to you too 12th Man. That's gonna be a memory to tell the family and friends about for years to come.

Interesting test match going on too... Now, if only they were showing it in NZ...

[Ottayan]

I am still unsure whether to celeberate his record or condemn it all together.

[Seamer]

I had taken the opportunity to start a thread exposing the actual merits of Muralitheran's career, and the stats speak for themselves - Warne - not Muralitheran - is the King.

Muralitharan's shortcomings exposed

Look through the thread and the facts speak for themselves. If anyone can possibly add anything to that thread that favors Murali, i will be very surprised.

[Ninjaman]

Murali has a superior average, superior strike rate, more wickets, more 5 wicket innings hauls, more 10 wicket match hauls and has played on a side that has less able bowlers in support of him plus many otehr stats that are superior to those of Warne.

He also comes across as a humble guy and also has had to deal with far more pressure with regards to his actions and performances than Warne has ever had to and deals with it in a pretty pleasant way with a smile on his face.

But none of this should force anyone to change their opinion either way as to who is the best or "King", Warne or Murali.

People are free to make up their own minds.

Even when he does break the record (a record he actually has held before) someone has to try and lessen his achievements.

Why?

If its not his action they complain about, they complain about the wickets he has taken as if he has a choice where and who his matches are scheduled.

710 > 708 and this it is Murali's record.

He deserves congratulations for that and if another Sri Lankan wants to celebrate his record and crown him, then so be it.

There is no need for another tired Warne vs Murali argument.

[Seamer]

Originally Posted by Ninjaman

He deserves congratulations for that and if another Sri Lankan wants to celebrate his record and crown him, then so be it.

There is no need for another tired Warne vs Murali argument.

Well i admit i was remiss in not offering congratulations, i think it was the thread title that got me - "Murali breaks the record" or something would have been preferable. Mention "king" and of course debate will spring from that surely?

Anyway for the record. Well done Murali. You are a nice bloke, very courageous, humble in success and graceful in defeat. You have made a fine contribution to your country and the game in general, and have brought much joy to your many fans.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Seamer

Well i admit i was remiss in not offering congratulations, i think it was the thread title that got me - "Murali breaks the record" or something would have been preferable. Mention "king" and of course debate will spring from that surely?.

Cards on the table - Warne is in my mind the better spinner, for a couple of reasons (which would be off topic to talk about).

However, Murali has taken his 709 wickets in just 115.5 tests, and Warne needed 145. To put this into perspective, if Murali stays at his current strike rate, and plays as many test as Warne, he will have close to 890 Test wickets!!

This for me is phenomenal, and Murali deserves his place at the top of the tree!!

[pie_chucker]

Lets be honest, if Murali stays injury free for a few years i can see him ending up with over a 1000 test wickets and i can not see that record going for a long, long time.

[south beds mikey]

Two points for me to make here.

Firstly hearty congrats to Murali!! What a terrific bowler. In the Murali V Warne debate Ninj has summed up my feelings far better and more elequently than I ever could (As usual DAMN HIM)

Secondly and I am trepidatious as I type this and intend to tread very carefully but I am shocked that our best Oz correspondent in my opinion SEAMER, though he tempered his views slightly later, has seen fit to decry Murali on this of all days.

I am fully aware of your doubts mate and I know you have strong opinions on this topic (even though I don't agree) but he has achieved his feat under more scrutiny than any player in the history of the game and I am gladened to see your suplimentary post.

This is a day of congratulations for the man from Kandy and surely we can leave the debate for another day can't we?

Sometimes, despite our own personal feelings, we have to congratulate the winners on what they have achieved.

Just try and imagine how I felt congratulating Oz on a 5-0 whitewash in an ashes series!! NOT EASY!!