Crowd response buoyed Murali
- From: "Larry Desilva" <larrydesilva@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 21:34:35 +1100
Crowd response buoyed Murali
By Malcolm Conn
11jan06
THE swift and overwhelming response to the devastation of the tsunami by
Australian fans has forced Sri Lanka's controversial spinning star, Muttiah
Muralitharan, to reconsider his self-imposed exile from Australia.
Frustrated by constant crowd calls of "no-ball" and angered when Prime
Minister John Howard joined the debate, labelling Sri Lanka's most famous
cricketer a "chucker", Murali decided enough was enough.
He refused to play in the 2004 Top End series in Darwin and Cairns, allowing
Shane Warne to equal Murali's then world record as the game's leading
wicket-taker. Injuries to Murali have since allowed Warne to romp past the
affable 'offie'.
But Murali's attitude to Australia was turned on its head following the 2004
Boxing Day tsunami which killed tens of thousands of his countrymen and left
many more homeless.
He became the public face of the appeal and was overwhelmed when a sell-out
crowd of more than 80,000 people at the MCG combined with television viewers
to raise more than $15 million for the appeal last January.
Moreover, Murali was cheered as a conquering hero when he came on to bowl
for the Asian XI against the World XI, a vast difference from almost a
decade earlier at the same ground when his career reached its nadir. He was
no-balled seven times by Darrel Hair.
Murali was banned from talking to the media yesterday, claiming only captain
Marvan Atapattu and coach Tom Moody, the former Australian international,
could speak publicly on tour.
Atapattu said Murali no longer had concerns about touring.
"He's willing to give 100 per cent for me and the team," Atapattu said. "He
said he wouldn't tour Australia when we toured here for the two Test
matches.
"The tsunami game turned corners for him. I think it made him think
differently."
It is inevitable that some sections of the crowd will continue to taunt
Murali with calls of "no-ball" during the triangular one-day series, which
begins at Melbourne's Telstra Dome on Friday night with a match between
Australia and Sri Lanka.
However, Moody has called for spectators to be more considerate.
"It's not ideal and it's a shame that it happens, particularly since he's
gone through every test and scrutiny a player could possibly go through,"
Moody said, referring to the International Cricket Council's examination of
bowling actions.
.
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