Wisden.com columnist Kumar Sangakkara continues his series on the greatest players of his era. This time, the man with more Test wickets than anyone else, Muttiah Muralitharan. First published in Wisden Cricket Monthly.
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Murali, over the years, was a subject of much debate. At the start of his career, in the mid Nineties, they talked of Murali for the wrong reasons; later on, the debate ensued about whether he or Shane Warne was the best spinner of all time. At the end of his career he took his 800th Test wicket, to finish as the highest wicket-taker of all time. I don’t think that record is ever going to be broken.
I first met Murali when I was 13 – his cricket coach at St Anthony’s College was my batting coach at a very young age. One day I went to the college and my coach said, “I have someone to bowl at you”. And they got Murali. I remember at that time he was able to turn the ball square. As a young kid I didn’t know how lucky I was to play a bowler who was going to become one of the greatest of all time. He bowled a few balls, and I faced some more throw-downs, but looking back – if I’d have known what he was going to become, I’d have been completely star struck.
His friendship with Andrew Flintoff was amazing. They had an unwritten agreement where Freddie would not bowl bouncers to him and Murali would not bowl a doosra to him. There was this instance where Freddie came to bat in Sri Lanka and Murali said to Freddie, “I’m pushing mid-on back. This one’s an off-break, just punch it to long-on and run,” and he did that so Freddie could get off the mark. Of course, a few balls later Murali managed to get him out. I remember batting to save a Test match at Lord’s and I think either Nasser Hussain or Michael Vaughan was getting very angry at Freddie, because he refused to bowl Murali a bouncer. It was wonderful to see what Murali brings out in other people.
Sometimes players are admired for who they are and what they do on the field, but I think Murali’s legacy will be most felt off the field. His work for the Foundation of Goodness, his work for the reconciliation in the north-east of Sri Lanka, the amount of work he has done in Sri Lanka to bridge the gap between rural and urban communities; that is a legacy that will not be seen by a lot, but I think the long-term effects will be felt by so many people who may never meet him. His cricket will have inspired millions to take up the game, but the largeness of his heart can be seen in the work he has done without the camera, without the crowd; in his private capacity.
