Sports Commentary - The Wizards of Spin: Shane Warne (Australia) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)

 By Dale Brown

Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)

NEW YORK, NY. Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - In this article, I will do a comparative analysis of the careers of Muttiah Muralitharan (1992 – 2010) and Shane Warne (1992 – 2007),

Australian Shane Warne played in 145 matches before retiring in early January 2007, as the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 708 wickets at a cost of 25.41 runs per wicket (RPW), at an average of 4.88 wickets per Test (WPT).

At the time of Warne’s retirement, Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan had 674 wickets to his name, only 34 away from Warne’s record.  Muralitharan broke the record on 3 December 2007, during the series against England and retired in 2010 after extending the record to 800 wickets.

Muralitharan played in 133 Tests and captured 800 wickets at a cost of 22.72 runs per wicket (RPW) from 133 Tests, at an average of 6.01 wickets per Test (WPT).

Please note that Muralitharan’s career figures include one Test for the ICC (International Cricket Council) World XI against Australia, when he took 5 wickets.

Playing for Sri Lanka, Muttiah Muralitharan numbers are 132 Tests with 795 wickets at 22.67 RPW, and he took his wickets at a rate of 6.02 WPT.

Although cumulative statistics are a reflection of available opportunities, the players’ longevity, stamina and skill, it does not mean that a player should be rated above another simply based on who has more wickets, etc. Other measurements should be taken into consideration when performances are being assessed. For example, what is the role of the bowler in the bowling attack?  Is he a strike bowler? Is he a stock bowler and what percentage of the bowling does he do for the team? 

Shane Warne (Australia)


Shane Warne, with his classical action and dare devil, swashbuckling image, is considered to be a genius and an entertainer of the highest order.

It is said that Warne mastered and invented variations of the classic leg spinner, the top spinner, the googly, the flipper and the slider. He spun the ball as much as anyone and was a very accurate bowler.

His reputation was cast in gold when he bowled England’s Mike Gatting with the “Ball of the Century” in 1993.

Despite extracting prodigious turn from the most docile pitches, despite mastering the supposedly impossible to bowl a legal “doosra” and despite taking his wickets at a phenomenal rate of 6.01 WPT, Muralitharan is rarely considered to be the equal of Warne by most experts.

Controversy

During the Sri Lankan tour to Australia in 1995/96, Muralitharan was no-balled for “throwing” 7 times during a 3 over spell at Melbourne by Australian umpire Darrell Hair.

Two other Australian umpires Ross Emerson and Tony McQuillan have also called Muralitharan for “throwing.”  All incidents took place in Australia.

These experiences clearly affected Muralitharan and they could be considered to be the main reason for his sub-par performances on Australian soil.

Muralitharan was cleared of all charges by the ICC after undergoing a few biomechanical analyses and was deemed to be creating an optical illusion of throwing due to his naturally bent arm.

Overall Performances: Away Tests

We will examine their performances at home and abroad where the ability to adapt to different conditions and pitches which presumably would not have been prepared to suit their particular type of bowling, is highlighted.

Warne played in 76 matches outside of Australia and took 389 wickets @ 5.11 WPT.  

Warne’s 389 wickets represent an impressive 54.94% of his career total.

Muralitharan played in 60 away matches for 307 wickets @ 5.11 WPT.

Muralitharan’s 307 wickets represents only 38.37% of his career total.

Detailed Performances against each Country:

Away Tests.

Bangladesh

Muttiah Muralitharan - 29 wickets in 4 Tests @ 7.25 WPT.

Shane Warne - 11 wickets in 2 Tests @ 5.50 WPT.

England

Shane Warne - 129 wickets in 22 matches @ 5.86 WPT.

Muralitharan - 48 wickets in 6 matches @ 8.00 WPT.

India

Muralitharan- 40 wickets in 11 matches @ 3.63 WPT.

Warne - 34 wickets in 9 matches @ 3.77 WPT.

New Zealand

Warne -49 wickets in 9 matches @ 5.44 WPT.

Muralitharan - 30 wickets in 6 matches @ 5.00 WPT.

Pakistan

Muralitharan - 50 wickets in 9 matches @ 5.55 WPT.

Warne – 45 wickets in 6 matches @ 7.50 WPT.

South Africa

Warne- 61 wickets in 12 matches @ 5.08 WPT.

Muralitharan - 35 wickets in 6 matches @ 5.83 WPT.

West Indies

Muralitharan - 37 wickets in 6 matches @ 6.16 WPT.

Warne - 17 wickets in 7 matches @ 2.42 WPT.

Zimbabwe

Muralitharan - 26 wickets in 7 matches @ 3.71 WPT.

Warne - 6 wickets in 1 match @ 6.00 WPT.

Australia

Muttiah Muralitharan - 12 wickets in 5 matches @2.40 WPT

**Includes one match for the ICC World XI (5 wickets).

Sri Lanka

Shane Warne - 37 wickets in 8 matches @ 4.62 WPT.

Overall Performances: Home Tests against each Country

Muttiah Muralitharan played in 73 Tests at home and took 493 wickets @ 6.75 WPT.

Muralitharan’s 493 wickets represent 61.62% of his career total.

Shane Warne played in 69 Test matches at home and took 319 wickets @ 4.62 WPT.

Warne’s 319 wickets represent 45.05% of his career total.

 

 v England

Warne took 66 wickets in 14 matches (28 innings) @2.35 WPI.

Muralitharan took 64 wickets in 10 matches (20 innings) @ 3.20 WPI.

v India

Muralitharan - 65 wickets in 11 matches @ 5.90 WPT.

Warne - 9 wickets in 5 matches @ 1.80 WPT.

v New Zealand

Warne - 54 wickets in 11 matches @ 4.90 WPT.

Muralitharan - 52 wickets in 8 matches @ 6.50 WPT.

v Pakistan

Warne - 45 wickets in 9 matches @ 5.00 WPT

Muralitharan - 30 wickets in 7 matches @ 4.28 WPT

v South Africa

Muralitharan- 69 wickets in 9 matches @ 7.66 WPT.

Warne - 69 wickets in 12 matches @ 5.75 WPT.

v West Indies

Warne- 48 wickets in 12 matches @ 4.00 WPT.

Muralitharan - 45 wickets in 6 matches @ 7.50 WPT.

v Zimbabwe

Muralitharan - 61 wickets in 7 matches @ 8.71 WPT.

Warne did not play against Zimbabwe in Australia

v Australia

Muralitharan - 47 wickets in 8 matches @ 5.85 WPT.

v Sri Lanka

Warne - 22 wickets in 5 matches @ 4.40 WPT.

v ICC World XI

Warne - 6 wickets in one match @ 6.00 WPT.

Summary

Shane Warne was a member of an Australian team which was one of the most powerful, balanced and successful teams in the history of Test cricket.

Warne played 145 Tests for Australia. They won 92, drew 27 and lost 26 matches. He was a member of a powerful bowling unit and was used in a variety of roles as dictated by playing conditions.

Overall, those Australian teams accounted for 2,082 wickets @14.35 wickets per Test with Warne averaging 4.88 WPT or 34.00% of the wickets.

Warne bowled 281.72 deliveries per match or 28.09% of Australia’s 1,002.66 deliveries.

Australia won 49 matches at home and took 934 wickets @ 19.67 WPT, Warne’s contribution was 250 wickets @ 5.10 WPT or 26.76% of the wickets.

Australia won 43 matches away from home and took 831 wickets @19.90 WPT, of which Warne contributed 260 wickets @ 6.04 WPT or 31.28% of the wickets.

His career totals are well balanced and in fact, he was more successful when playing away from home. It is significant that Warne matches Muralitharan’s wickets per Test (WPT) value of 5.11 when playing abroad.

Muralitharan played 132 matches for Sri Lanka. They won 54, drew 37 and lost 41 matches.  He was clearly the leader of an above average Sri Lankan bowling unit.

NB, He played 1 Test for the ICC World XI and took 5 additional wickets to end his career with 800 wickets.

Overall, the Sri Lankan bowlers took 1,895 wickets @14.35 WPT, with Muralitharan’s 795 wickets @ 6.02 WPT contributing to 41.95 % of the wickets.   Muralitharan bowled 331.17 deliveries per match or 33.29 % of Sri Lanka’s 994.56 deliveries.

Sri Lanka won 37 of their 54 victories at home by taking 736 wickets @ 19.89 WPT, of which Muralitharan took 305 @ 8.24 WPT or 41.44% of the wickets.

Sri Lanka won the other 17 matches away from home by taking the maximum of 340 wickets @20.00 WPT.

Muralitharan took 133 wickets or 39.11% in the away victories @ 7.82 WPT.

The major points against Muralitharan’s greatness versus Warne’s are (a) his controversial bowling action, (b) and the fact that 493 or 62.01% of his career wickets were taken in spin bowling friendly Sri Lankan conditions.

What do you think?

--00—

Editor’s note: Dale Brown is a sports historian and host of SECOND BASE, the total sports program airing Tuesday, at 7 – 8 pm, on the Wee Radio Network at; www.weeradioonline.com

--00—

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sports Commentary - JAMAICA’S FEMALE SPRINTING: 100/200 MEDAL PROSPECTS FOR THE 2020 OLYMPICS (TOYKO 2021)

TEAM JAMAICA BICKLE HANDS OUT VIRTUAL 5K RUN/WALK AWARDS

Sports Commentary - Derek Thompson Soccer player, Elite Track and Field Coach