Top Spinner
February 6th 2008 12:48
[This was written when Murali became the highest wicket taker in Test matches a few months back]
Today Kandy erupted. No, there was no bomb blast. The LTTE did not invade the town and nor did the Sri Lankan army engage in any impromptu military exercise. It was that one man army, that tireless gentleman with the wonder wrists and clockwork action - Muralitharan - who caused the tumult. Kandy is his hometown and its people were showing their love, admiration and respect for one of their own. Lest anybody doubt Murali's relationship with Kandy, Murali himself beams down from a huge hoarding, holding in his hand that magical number - 709. Muralitharan, he of the angelic smile and artless ways (in everything except bowling), today eclipsed the legendary Shane Warne's record. He presently has 710 wickets at an astounding average of 21.67. And one feels that a 1000 wickets is par for the course for this spinning dervish.
The journey was not without its troubles - as the commentators were quick to point out. Fellow Lankans had to wait for a long time for this moment of glory. It was expected to take place in Australia - which would have served to quieten down those imbecile doubters at least for some time. But that was not to happen. The Kangaroos managed to defy Murali in all ways. They made sure that the pitches were not conducive to spin bowling to start with. But they also followed it up with innovative use of the feet and sure use of the bat, making sure that Murali did not dominate. Much less than dominate, Murali could not even announce his presence there. 4 wickets for about 400 runs did not make good reading for one of the best spinners that the game has seen. A lesser man would have been affected by this. But as they say the going is the hardest when you are very near the top. Or as somebody else said the night is the darkest just before the break of dawn.
But when dawn broke today, there was no doubting the source of light. It was only Murali's pearly whites, his smile - one of jubilation visibly tinged with relief. For a moment that smile - when focussed on camera - eclipsed everything at Kandy. But these things do not last and he was soon submerged under a converging Sri Lankan team. Sangakkara was the first to get to him and appropriately lifted him off the ground in celebratory glee. With his captain, Mahela Jayawardene tousling his curly hair and senior compatriot Jayasuriya by his side, Murali experienced triumph - however momentary. Things did come back to normal pretty soon - on the field. But in the stands they did not need further excuses to start the party! Crackers bursting and bands booming, people were shaking the bubblies that they had kept in check for many weeks now. And spare a thought too for Collingwood who left with eyes closed and head lifted to the heavens as if to ask how could he have been expected to negotiate that delivery. Maybe it could also have been 'why should I have to be his record breaking victim, why not somebody else'. But all is fair in love and war and cricket. Why else would Murali become the top spinner in the world after having bowled an exemplary 'top spinner' to Collingwood?
Murali is now lonely at the top. He has always enjoyed his game and his place in the Sri Lankan team - as the leader of the attack. He has always been unassuming. And for such people the journey to the top is always eventful, sometimes even scary. But as is typical of such salt-of-the-earth types, they are strong, much stronger than they look and they manage to surmount these obstacles that life throws in their path. Any article about Murali would unfortunately not be complete, if it does touch upon his bowling action and of the ruckus it raises - especially in Australia. For every person that agrees with the legality of Murali's action, there are 10 others plainly dismissing him, even refusing to give credit to the immense art with which he hurls the ball. Far from Australia there are people like Bishen Singh Bedi spewing venom and vitriol against Murali. So much so that even Murali started showing anger at all this.
Clearly, Murali's action cannot be copied and a lot of the advantage that he gets is through his inimitable action. However it is not at all fair to dismiss an action which is out of the ordinary as illegal. Murali can spin it on any pitch - with metronomical control to go with his outstanding ball-craft. His lope to the wicket, because it can only be described as such, sets him up for that final magical, arduous release as he stares wide eyed and waiting for the batsman to lose what is already a losing battle. It is not a canter, it is certainly not a gallop or even the statuesque walk of a Warne. Rather it is wolf-like. He stalks the batsman, sets them up with floaters dipping at different heights, tweaking the ball to a different angle every other ball and then finally when the batsman is frothing at the bit, he rips one past the batsman. That he can beat either the inside or the outside edge with elan is a credit to his mastery over bowling. One almost feels that a new genre of bowling needs to be created to describe his craft. A lame term like 'doosra' or 'the other one' just does not suffice. Maybe something like 'Right arm multi-spin' would do justice to his craft. But knowing Murali, he would be happy with as commonplace a phrase as 'Right arm Spin'. And in a way it would describe what he does without attaching strings to it or shackling it in any way.
People also believe that his action has given him such a big advantage that he did not need to work as hard to get to the summit as somebody like Warne. That is patently wrong. Great batsmen do read the hands - even those quick silver wrists and hands of Murali. It is after all a language - the signs that his hands display can always be interpreted by the modern batsmen, especially when they have the advatage of super slo-mo replays and all sorts of angles to watch the bowler from. But Murali also learns, he innovates and that is why he has managed to reach the top with such little fuss. When he started his career he liked to bowl over the wicket with a sharp angle to his run-up. And he did not like to get too close to the wicket as well. But when the intelligent among the batsmen started reading his angle as well as his wrists, he switched to another strategy. He would start bowling off spinners from around the wicket to right handers. From that angle, the batsman would have even less time to read his wrists. Murali's leading shoulder would be in the way till the last point. And with the ripping spin that he manages to get on every surface, it becomes a nightmare for a batsman to decide which ones to play and which ones to leave. It is the extent of turn which forces a batsman to not leave the balls and instead play them. With this round the wicket angle, Murali can get the ball to float out to the offside and then either make it retain its path or get it to duck sharply back. In either case, if the right handed batsman wants to play it he would have to commit himself to the stroke with front foot outside the line of the stumps with feet pointing towards mid off or cover. That being the case, it would be difficult for the batsman to adjust to the ball retaining its angle and going on without spinning. In all probability they would end up getting beaten or consumed by an edge. And when they attempt to cover for the away spinning delivery, he bamboozles them with the sharply spinning delivery into the batsman. This small example of how Murali has managed to innovate and grow his mastery to new levels should give us a glimpse into his canny and industrious nature. It should also give us a glimpse of something else. For a bowler like Warne, a classical leg spinner, somebody like Terry Jenner could have guided him with his experiences and even corrected flaws as and when they appeared. But for somebody like Murali who has no parallel and in all probability will find it difficult to meet and talk with somebody who has a similar action, there cannot be too many teachers or coaches. Relentless introspection and a deep understanding of ones game is what could have resulted in so much wizardry. It again shows us how being at the top can be great fun, while getting to it is surely not a walk in the park.
Murali and Warne are two different people - on or off the field. For brevity's sake, we will not focus on off the field activities! While one bowls off spin, the other bowled leg spin. Warne energized the art of leg spin. He is single handedly responsible for the sheen to be put on leg spin as a romantic art, as a difficult but all-counquering art when done right. And he stood out among the crowd. Even on the occassion when Warne and Mcgrath were retiring jointly, one never missed the fact that the spotlights were fixed firmly on Warne. Murali, as always, blends in. Even while looming as a modern giant of the game, he has a way of vanishing in a crowd. But true greatness cannot be easily camouflaged. It will always show - sooner or later. In Murali's case, it has taken him only a span of 116 Tests to rake in 710 wickets. There are, of course, schools of thought on this subject. It is argued that Warne gets to take fewer wickets because there are always 2 to 3 champion fast medium bowlers in Australia who devour many of the batsmen thus leaving behind only meagre pickings for Warne. This is, they argue, in contrast to Murali who often gets to bowl at the opening batsmen of the other team and bowl long uninterrupted spells throughout Test matches - thus earning him far more opportunities to pick wickets than the leg spin meastro. But I wonder how it is that these spinners (for the term can also be used to describe people who spin yarns such as this) miss the fact that it is ultimately harder to bowl against settled batsmen. Batsmen who have seen off the new ball with ease, batsmen who are confidently striking the ball and aim to dominate the spinner. It is against such conditions that Mruali has prospered.
It could be argued, of course, that this sets Murali apart and that he is greater than Warne on this accord. But that would not behove Murali. It would be at odds with his character. Let me say this before Australian newspapers coin it as an interesting headline - Murali did not 'elbow' past Warne. He put one over him - fair and square. For all the nay-sayers who think Murali is a slight on the game, its legacy and everything that it stands for, I think there could be one way of setting things right. Lets ask the ICC to release their findings on the elbow flexion of bowlers - even the past greats. I think that could shake up a lot of nests - in a hurry. That the ICC does not release this list (very rightly) and continues to stand by Muralitharan - in however passive a manner - is an indication that Murali's action is as legal as those of the other genuine greats of the game.
We are witnessing a magical melody playing out. Its strains do not match with any of the known varieties, it defies classification. The instrument producing the melody too defies belief. One feels that the instrument is rather too commonplace, too simple to emit such stirring notes. More importantly we still do not know when this melody would end - we just go with its ebbs and flows. Is this the time to ask questions about the melody, about its nature, its origin and its 'belonging'? I think not. This is the time to experience it. Before long, the note would have played out and there would be ample time to dissect it with degrees and other forms of cold numbers. For now I bask in the glow of this melody and I hope you enjoy it too. And when it all ends I am still hoping that the notes of this melody linger in more than just our memories - just like other such masterpieces of this world.
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