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| Wednesday, 19 May 2004 |
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It will be a big challenge without Murali - Atapattu Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from Zimbabwe BULAWAYO, Tuesday - Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu said that it would be one big challenge for his team if world record holder Muttiah Muralitharan decides to skip the tour to Australia next month. "If Murali decides he is not going to Australia it will be one heck of a challenge for us. It will be a big struggle trying to contain the strong Australian batting line up without him," said Atapattu after leading his country to a clean sweep of the five-match one-day series and two-Test series against Zimbabwe here yesterday. Sri Lanka is due to tour Australia from June 24 to July 13 to play two Tests at Darwin and Cairns. "Right along it has been (Chaminda) Vaas and Murali who have been doing the bulk of the bowling and getting the bulk of the wickets for us. But at the same time it will also give an opportunity for somebody else to come and perform and show what they are capable of," said Atapattu after his team had clinched the two-Test series with an emphatic innings and 254 runs victory over Zimbabwe. The champion off-spinner has been offended by remarks made by former Australian cricketers and the prime minister of Australia who have criticized his bowling action publicly soon after he passed West Indian Courtney Walsh's tally of 519 Test wickets to become the new world record holder with 527 wickets. It was in Australia that Muralitharan has been called twice in his career for throwing by Australian umpires and on his last tour to that country four years ago he was jeered constantly by a section of the crowd whenever he came on to bowl. Muralitharan vowed that he would never tour Australia again in the future. The recent remarks from people holding high office could certainly be the icing on the cake. In the last series between the two countries in February-March this year Muralitharan finished with 28 wickets (avg. 23.17) from three Tests. 'He got what he deserved' Zimbabwe vice captain Dion Ebrahim was pulled up by ICC match referee Mike Procter and banned for one Test when he made remarks about Muralitharan's bowling action during the Bulawayo Test. Ebrahim was given a tough time out in the middle by the Sri Lankan fielders who sledged him constantly during the Zimbabwe second innings. " If you take our team as a whole Murali is the most respected cricketer performance wise in our team. You don't go around saying things about him and trying to undermine his achievements after he has broken the world record by taking more than 520 wickets. You just admire him. That's how we look at it," said Atapattu. "We hate to see somebody saying nasty things about another player who had achieved something. When the world says this is the best bowler in the game today you don't go and say something nasty to him. We were really angry at Ebrahim's remarks. We respect cricketers from other countries and expect the same from them. We tried to control ourselves today but it wasn't the case. I thought Ebrahim got what he deserved," he said. Muralitharan once again finished as Sri Lanka's leading wicket-taker in the two-Test series against Zimbabwe, which concluded here on Monday. He took 14 wickets for 219 runs (avg. 15.64), and once again emphasized his value to the team. With his 'doosra' delivery banned by the ICC, Muralitharan fell back on his off-breaks and top spinners to pick up six wickets in the Bulawayo Test. "One thing I had in mind during the Zimbabwe second innings was for him to get five wickets. I told him 'get me five if you can and show the world that you are still capable of getting wickets'," said Atapattu. Muralitharan ended up with four for 79. "I don't think the Test would have gone on for so long had Murali been able to bowl his 'doosra' ball. We would have loved to see him bowl it especially in this innings because the wicket was a good batting track," Atapattu continued. "Murali is a guy I am pretty sure will work out something else and come back strongly, maybe stronger than he was earlier. I hope nothing will happen to him because he is such a unique personality, an icon. He is one of the best cricketers the world will ever get to see because he has given so much entertainment to the cricket loving public," he said. 'Guard ourselves against overconfidence' Atapattu said the Bulawayo Test was the hardest for him as captain to keep the team morale going. "We kept on saying this is the last game and we've got to finish the tour on a high note because we are meeting the world champions in another months time," said Atapattu. "We had to keep our levels high and performances going and somehow we managed to get a good result in our favour." The team motivated themselves in the five-match one-day series by needing to win all to retain third spot in the ICC one-day international rankings and in the first Test at Harare it was Muralitharan's world record. "I thought we played well in both Tests especially to bowl them out twice on a good batting wicket. This wicket was good for batting than the one at Harare. It was a good effort and I think we deserved to win," said Atapattu. "I thought both the teams to a certain extent even the Zimbabweans came up fighting because the wicket was good for batting. I thought to get them out twice under 80 overs in each innings was a good effort although they were a much weaker side," Atapattu continued. "We approached this series like we were playing any other team. We were trying to keep the incentive levels high right throughout the series and to have the same discipline going. The dressing room atmosphere won't be the same always like when you are 500-1," he said. "Had Zimbabwe played their full side it would have been better for us before going to Australia. I am sure it would have been tougher competition but still this is what we had to face. We are at two extremes now, playing a weak Zimbabwean team and a month later the full might of Australia. Having done so well here we've got to guard ourselves against overconfidence when we get there," said Atapattu. |
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