A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 Muralitharan at the CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards in February 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Muttiah Muralitharan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 April 1972 Kandy, Sri Lanka[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Murali | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 54) | 28 August 1992 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 18 July 2010 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 70) | 12 August 1993 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 2 April 2011 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 13) | 22 December 2006 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 31 October 2010 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991/92–2009/10 | Tamil Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007 | Lancashire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Chennai Super Kings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Gloucestershire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011/12 | Wellington Firebirds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011/12 | Chittagong Kings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012/13–2013/14 | Melbourne Renegades | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Jamaica Tallawahs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 8 January 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan[4] (born 17 April 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, businessman and former professional cricketer. Averaging over six wickets per Test match, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He is the only bowler to take 800 Test wickets and more than 530 One Day International (ODI) wickets. As of 2024[update], he has taken more wickets in international cricket than any other bowler.[5] Muralitharan was a part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
Muralitharan's international career was beset by controversy over his bowling action. Due to an unusual hyperextension of his congenitally bent arm during delivery, his bowling action was called into question on a number of occasions by umpires and sections of the cricket community.[6] After biomechanical analysis under simulated playing conditions, Muralitharan's action was cleared by the International Cricket Council, first in 1996 and again in 1999.[7]
Muralitharan held the number one spot in the International Cricket Council's player rankings for Test bowlers for a record period of 1,711 days spanning 214 Test matches.[8] He became the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he overtook the previous record-holder Shane Warne on 3 December 2007.[9][10] Muralitharan had previously held the record when he surpassed Courtney Walsh's 519 wickets in 2004, but he suffered a shoulder injury later that year and was overtaken by Warne.[11] Muralitharan took the wicket of Gautam Gambhir on 5 February 2009 in Colombo to surpass Wasim Akram's ODI record of 502 wickets.[12] He retired from Test cricket in 2010, registering his 800th and final wicket on 22 July 2010 from his final ball in his last Test match.[13]
Muralitharan was rated the greatest Test match bowler by Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack in 2002, and in 2017 was the first Sri Lankan cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[14] He won the Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year award in 2017.[15]
Early years and personal life
Muralitharan was born 17 April 1972 to a Hill Country Tamil Hindu family in Kandy, Sri Lanka, the eldest of the four sons to Sinnasamy Muttiah and Lakshmi. Muralitharan's father, Sinnasamy Muttiah, runs a successful biscuit-making business.[16] Muralitharan's paternal grandfather, Periyasamy Sinasamy, came from South India to work in the tea plantations of central Sri Lanka in 1920.[17] Sinasamy later returned to the country of his birth with his daughters and settled in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. However, his sons, including Muralitharan's father Muttiah, remained in Sri Lanka.[18]
When he was nine years old, Muralitharan was sent to St. Anthony's College, Kandy, a private school run by Benedictine monks. He began his cricketing career as a medium pace bowler but on the advice of his school coach, Sunil Fernando, he took up off-spin when he was fourteen years old. He soon impressed and went on to play for four years in the school First XI. In those days he played as an all-rounder and batted in the middle order. In his final two seasons at St Anthony's College he took over one hundred wickets and in 1990–91 was named as the 'Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year'.[19]
After leaving school he joined Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and was selected for the Sri Lanka A tour of England in 1991. He played in five games but failed to capture a single wicket. On his return to Sri Lanka he impressed against Allan Border's Australian team in a practice game and then went on to make his Test debut at R. Premadasa Stadium in the Second Test match of the series.[20]
When his grandfather died at the age of 104 in July 2004, Muralitharan returned home from Asia Cup to attend his funeral. Periyasamy Sinasamy's first wish to see Muralitharan claiming the world record for the most Test wickets was realised (passing the record set by Courtney Walsh), but not his desire to live to see his grandson married. Muralitharan's grandmother had died one month earlier at the age of 97. Muralitharan's manager, Kushil Gunasekera, stated that "Murali's family is closely knit and united. They respect traditional values. The late grandfather enjoyed a great relationship with Murali."[21]
Muralitharan married Madhimalar Ramamurthy,[22] a Chennai native, on 21 March 2005.[23][24] Madhimalar is the daughter of the late Dr S. Ramamurthy of Malar Hospitals, and his wife Dr Nithya Ramamurthy.[25] Their first child, Naren, was born in January 2006.[26]
Muttiah Muralitharan holds Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)[27] and he does not need a visa for travelling to India. According to his manager, Kushil Gunasekera, Muralitharan qualifies for this status because his family originates from India.[28] Muttiah announced on 3 April 2011 that he was retiring from all sport.
Spelling and meaning of name
Even though his name was widely romanised as Muralitharan from the start of his career, he prefers the spelling Muralidaran. The different spellings have arisen because the Tamil letter த can be pronounced as both 't' and 'd' depending on its place in a word. It is often transliterated as 'th' to distinguish it from another letter, ட, which is a retroflex 't' or 'd'. In 2007, when Cricket Australia decided to unveil the new Warne-Muralidaran Trophy, to be contested between Australia and Sri Lanka, Muralitharan was requested to clarify how his name should be spelt. Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young confirmed that "the spelling he's given is Muralidaran".[29]
The first-day cover involving Muralitharan bears an official seal captioned as "The highest wicket taker in Test cricket, MUTHIAH MURALIDARAN, First Day of Issue 03.12.2007, Camp Post Office, Asgiriya International Cricket Stadium, Kandy".[30]
Domestic cricket
In Sri Lanka
In domestic cricket, Muralitharan played for two first-class Sri Lankan sides, Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in the Premier Trophy and Central Province in the Provincial Championship. His record is exceptional – 234 wickets at 14.51 runs in 46 matches.[31]
In England
He also played county cricket in England, mainly for Lancashire (1999, 2001, 2005 and 2007), appearing in twenty-eight first-class games for the club. He played five first class games for Kent during the 2003 season. His bowling record in English domestic cricket is also exceptional – 236 wickets at 15.62 runs in 33 matches.[31] Despite his efforts, he was never on a title-winning first-class domestic team in either the Premier Trophy or the County Championship. He was unusual amongst his contemporaries in that he played in more Test matches than other first-class games (116 Tests and 99 other first-class matches as of 30 November 2007). Muralitharan was signed by Gloucestershire in 2011 to play in T20 matches. He renewed his T20 contract with Gloucestershire in 2012, but did not stay on for the 2013 season.
In India
Muralitharan was contracted to represent Bengal in the 2008–09 Ranji Trophy tournament. He was expected to play about four matches in the tournament's second division – the Plate League.
In February 2008, Muralitharan was slated to play Twenty20 cricket for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was bought for $600,000 by India Cements, the Chennai franchisee of the IPL, through a bidding process.[32] The Chennai Super Kings were the runners-up in the inaugural edition of the IPL, losing to the Rajasthan Royals in the final. Muralitharan captured 11 wickets in 15 games, at an economy rate of 6.96 an over. In 2010, in the third season of IPL, Muralitharan was part of the Chennai Super Kings side that won the IPL championship.[33] Muralitharan also remained the side's leading wicket-taker after all the three tournaments.[34]
At the 2011 IPL Player Auction Muralitharan was bought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala for US$1.1 million.[35]
In the 2012 season Muralitharan moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he took 14 wickets in 9 games and had an average economy rate of 6.38. He played for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2012 to 2014. He decided to retire from the IPL in 2014.
In 2015, Muralitharan was appointed as the bowling coach and mentor of the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In Australia
Muttiah Muralitharan signed for the Melbourne Renegades to play Twenty20 cricket in the Big Bash League in 2012. He stated, "I wanted to play one season in Australia and the opportunity from the Melbourne Renegades was there so I took it with both hands."[36][37]
International career
Bowling style and career progress
Muralitharan is the first wrist-spinning off-spinner in the history of the game.[38] He bowls marathon spells, yet he is usually on the attack. His unique bowling action begins with a short run-up, and culminates with an open-chested extremely wristy release from a partly supinated forearm which had him mistaken for a leg-spinner early in his career by Allan Border.[39] Aside from his stock delivery, the off-break, of which he claimed to have two variations (during a recorded television 'doosra' show off with Mark Nicholas from Channel 4 in 2004), his main deliveries are a fast topspinner which lands on the seam and usually goes straight on, and the doosra, a surprise delivery which turns from leg to off (the opposite direction of his stock delivery) with no easily discernible change of action.[40][41] Additionally, he would occasionally use one of his several unnamed novelties. His super-flexible wrist makes him especially potent and guarantees him turn on any surface.[7]
From his debut in 1992, Muralitharan took 800 Test wickets and over 500 One Day International wickets, becoming the first player to take 1,000 wickets combined in the two main forms of international cricket.
Test cricket
Emerging years
On 28 August 1992 at the age of 20, Muralitharan made his debut against Australia at the Khettarama Stadium and claimed 3 for 141. Craig McDermott was his first Test wicket.
In August 1993 at Moratuwa, Muralitharan captured 5 for 104 in South Africa's first innings, his first five-wicket haul in Tests. His wickets included Kepler Wessels, Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes.
Prior to the eventful Boxing Day Test of 1995, Muralitharan had captured 80 wickets in 22 Tests at an unflattering average of 32.74. Even at that point in his career he was the leading wicket taker for Sri Lanka having gone past Rumesh Ratnayake's aggregate of 73 wickets.
Boxing Day Test 1995
During the second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day 1995, Australian umpire Darrell Hair called Muralitharan for throwing in front of a crowd of 55,239. The off-spinner was no-balled seven times in three overs by Hair, who believed the then 23-year-old was bending his arm and straightening it in the process of delivery; an illegal action in cricket.
Muralitharan had bowled two overs before lunch from umpire Steve Dunne's or the Members' End of the ground with umpire Hair at square leg and these passed without incident. At 2:34 pm he took up the attack from umpire Hair's or the southern end. Muralitharan's third over was a maiden with all deliveries again passed as legitimate but in his fourth Hair no-balled him twice for throwing on the fourth and sixth balls. The umpire continued to call him three times in his fifth over on the second, fourth and sixth balls. While the bowler stood with his hands on his hips perplexed, the five calls provoked an immediate response by the Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga who left the field at 3:03 pm to take advice from his team management. He returned at 3:08 pm and continued with Muralitharan who was called two more times in his sixth over on the second and sixth balls. At 3:17 pm Ranatunga removed the bowler from the attack, although he reintroduced him at 3:30 pm at umpire Dunne's end. Although Hair reports in his book, "Decision Maker", that at the end of the tea break he stated that he would call Muralitharan no matter which end he bowled he did not do so. Muralitharan completed another twelve overs without further no-balls and, after bowling Mark Waugh, finished the day with figures of 18–3–58–1.[42]
After being no-balled Muralitharan bowled a further 32 overs from umpire Steve Dunne's end without protest from either Dunne or Hair, at square leg. The Sri Lankan camp was outraged after the incident, but the ICC defended Hair, outlining a list of steps they had taken in the past to determine, without result, the legitimacy of Muralitharan's action.[43] By calling Muralitharan from the bowlers' end Hair overrode what is normally regarded as the authority of the square leg umpire in adjudicating on throwing. Dunne would have had to break convention to support his partner.
At the end of the match the Sri Lankans requested from the ICC permission to confer with Hair to find out exactly how to remedy the problem with their bowler. Despite the game's controlling body agreeing to it, the Australian Cricket Board vetoed it on the grounds that it might lead to umpires being quizzed by teams after every game and meant that the throwing controversy would continue into the World Series Cup during the coming week. The Sri Lankans were disappointed they did not get an explanation and decided they would continue playing their bowler in matches not umpired by Hair and wanted to know whether other umpires would support or reject Hair's judgement.[44]
Muralitharan's action was cleared by the ICC after biomechanical analysis at the University of Western Australia and at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in 1996. They concluded that his action created the 'optical illusion of throwing'.[7]
Mid career
On 16 March 1997, Muralitharan became the first Sri Lankan to reach 100 test wickets, when he dismissed Stephen Fleming in the second innings of the Hamilton Test.
In January 1998, Muralitharan took his first ten-wicket haul against Zimbabwe in the first test at Kandy. Sri Lanka won by eight wickets and Muralitharan had figures of 12 for 117.
In August that same year Muralitharan produces his career-best test match figures of 16 for 220, in the one-off test against England. In England's second innings Muralitharan bowled a marathon 54.2 overs to pick up 9 for 65 runs,[45] the other wicket being a run out. Ben Hollioake becomes his 200th test wicket. Sri Lanka won by ten wickets, their first Test victory in England. After breaking the world record for the most test wickets in 2007, Muralitharan commented that his 1998 performance at the Oval against England, was his career highlight. He stated "Everyone thought I was a good bowler then and I didn't look back from there."[46]
Playing his 58th test, Muralitharan claimed his 300th test wicket when he dismissed Shaun Pollock in the First Test in Durban, in December 2000. Only Dennis Lillee reached the milestone faster, in his 56th test.
On 4 January 2002 in Kandy Muralitharan might have finished with the best-ever figures for a single innings, but after he had claimed nine wickets against Zimbabwe Russel Arnold dropped a catch at short leg.[38] He missed out on the tenth when Chaminda Vaas dismissed Henry Olonga caught behind amid stifled appeals. Muralitharan follows up his 9 for 51 in the first innings with 4 for 64 in the second, equalling Richard Hadlee's record of 10 ten-wicket match hauls, but needing 15 fewer Tests to do so.
On 15 January 2002 playing in his 72nd test, Muralitharan became the fastest and youngest to reach the 400-wicket landmark when he bowled Olonga in the third Test in Galle.[47][48]
On 16 March 2004 Muralitharan became the fastest and the youngest bowler to reach 500 wickets during the second test between Sri Lanka and Australia played in Kandy. In his 87th test, he bowled Kasprowicz to claim his 500th victim just four days after Warne reached the landmark on the fifth day of the First Test between the two teams at Galle. Warne took 108 tests to reach 500. Muralitharan took 4–48 on the first day of the second Test as Australia were skittled for 120 in the first innings.[49]
Passing Walsh and Warne
In May 2004, Muralitharan overtook West Indian Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test match wickets to become the highest wicket-taker. Zimbabwe's Mluleki Nkala becomes Muralitharan's 520th scalp in Tests. Muralitharan held the record until Shane Warne claimed it in October 2004. Warne surpassed Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan's mark of 532 wickets by dismissing India's Irfan Pathan. Warne said he enjoyed his duel with Muralitharan, who was sidelined following shoulder surgery at the time.[50]
After an outstanding year Muralitharan was adjudged as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2006. In six Tests, he took 60 wickets. He took ten in each of four successive matches, the second time he performed such a feat. The opponents for his 60-wicket haul were England away, South Africa at home and New Zealand away: serious opposition. In all, Muralitharan took 90 wickets in 11 Tests in the calendar year. [51] For his performances in 2006, he was named in the World Test XI by ICC[52][circular reference] and ESPNcricinfo.[53]
In July 2007, Muttiah Muralitharan became the second bowler after Australia's Shane Warne to capture 700 Test wickets. The off-spinner reached the landmark when he had Bangladesh's last man Syed Rasel caught in the deep by Farveez Maharoof on the fourth day of the third and final Test at the Asgiriya stadium in Kandy. The dismissal signalled Sri Lanka's victory by an innings and 193 runs to give the host a 3–0 sweep of the series. Muralitharan finished with six wickets in each innings to claim 10 wickets or more in a Test for the 20th time.[54] However, he was unable to pass Warne's record of 708 wickets when Sri Lanka toured Australia in November 2007, capturing just four wickets in two Test matches.
Muralitharan reclaimed the record for most Test wickets during the first Test against England at Kandy on 3 December 2007. The spinner bowled England's Paul Collingwood to claim his 709th Test victim and overtaking Shane Warne in the process.[9] Muralitharan reached the mark in his 116th Test – 29 fewer than Warne – and had conceded only 21.77 runs per wicket compared to the Australian's 25.41. This was Muralitharan's 61st 5-wicket haul.[11][55] Warne believed that Muralitharan would take "1,000 wickets" before he retired.[56] Former record holder Courtney Walsh also opined that this would be possible if Muralitharan retained his hunger for wickets.[57] Muralitharan himself believed there was a possibility that he would reach this milestone.[58] For his performances in 2007, he was named in the World Test XI by ICC[52][circular reference] and ESPNcricinfo.[59]
Beyond the world record
In July 2008, Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis stopped India's strong batting as Sri Lanka won the first Test by a record innings and 239 runs in Colombo. Muralitharan finished the match with 11 wickets for 110, as India were shot out for 138 in their second innings after conceding a lead of 377 on the fourth day. He was well supported by debutant Ajantha Mendis, an unorthodox spinner with plenty of variation, who took eight wickets in his debut match.
Muralitharan believed the emergence of Mendis would help prolong his own career. Muralitharan, 36, and 23-year-old Mendis formed a formidable partnership in the first Test thrashing of India, taking 19 of the 20 wickets between them. "If he keeps performing this way, he will definitely take a lot of wickets in international cricket. Now that he has come, I think I can play Test cricket a few more years. Bowling 50 overs in a Test innings is very hard. Now if I bowl only 30–35 and he bowls more than me, the job will get easier for me."[60]
For his performances in 2008, he was named in the World Test XI by ICC[52][circular reference].
Performance analysis
| Table: Test bowling performance | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Summary of Muralitharan's Test bowling performance against all opponents. | |||||||||||
| Versus | M | O | M | R | W | 5w | 10w | Best | Avg | S/R | E/R |
| Australia | 13* | 685.3 | 100 | 2128 | 59 | 5 | 1 | 6 for 59 | 36.07 | 69.7 | 3.1 |
| Bangladesh | 11 | 452.0 | 114 | 1190 | 89 | 11 | 4 | 6 for 18 | 13.37 | 30.4 | 2.6 |
| England | 16 | 1102.1 | 348 | 2247 | 112 | 8 | 4 | 9 for 65 | 20.06 | 59.0 | 2.0 |
| India | 22 | 1125.2 | 215 | 3297 | 105 | 7 | 2 | 8 for 87 | 32.32 | 66.1 | 2.9 |
| New Zealand | 14 | 753.2 | 203 | 1776 | 82 | 5 | 1 | 6 for 87 | 21.53 | 55.1 | 2.3 |
| Pakistan | 16 | 782.5 | 184 | 2027 | 80 | 5 | 1 | 6 for 71 | 25.46 | 58.7 | 2.6 |
| South Africa | 15 | 984.4 | 221 | 2311 | 104 | 11 | 4 | 7 for 84 | 22.22 | 56.8 | 2.3 |
| West Indies | 12 | 622.3 | 143 | 1609 | 82 | 9 | 3 | 8 for 46 | 19.62 | 45.5 | 2.6 |
| Zimbabwe | 14 | 786.5 | 259 | 1467 | 87 | 6 | 2 | 9 for 51 | 16.86 | 54.2 | 1.9 |
| Overall (9) | 133 | 7339.5 | 1794 | 18180 | 800 | 67 | 22 | 9 for 51 | 22.72 | 55.0 | 2.5 |
| Source: ESPNcricinfo[61] *Including one for an ICC World XI | |||||||||||
In July 2007, Muralitharan achieved a career peak Test Bowling Rating of 920, based on the LG ICC Player Rankings. This is the highest ever rating achieved by a spin bowler in Test cricket. This also puts him in fourth place in the LG ICC Best-Ever Test bowling ratings.[62]
Muralitharan has the unique distinction of getting 10 or more wickets in a match against all other nine Test playing nations as well as capturing over 50 wickets against each of them. He also obtained 7 or more wickets in an innings against five nations, namely England, India, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe (refer to table above). Muttiah Muralitharan also took at least five five-fors against all the other nine Test sides.
He currently holds the highest wickets/match ratio (6.1) for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets and also represented Sri Lanka in 118 Tests of the 175 that they have played (67.4%).
Against teams excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Muralitharan took 624 wickets in 108 Tests. By comparison, excluding his matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Warne took 691 wickets in 142 tests. Murali's average of 24.05 is slightly superior to Warne's career average of 25.41. Muralitharan won 18 Man of the Match awards in Test cricket.[63]
During Muralitharan's playing days, the ICC Future Tours Programme denied Sri Lanka and several other teams a level playing field. As a consequence Muralitharan never toured South Africa after December 2002 and never playing a Test at the spin-friendly Sydney Cricket Ground.[64]
Another comparison of Muralitharan's bowling record against other successful international bowlers is their career record away from home. Muralitharan received criticism that he enjoyed great success on home soil, taking wickets on pitches that are more spin-friendly than other international pitches.[65] A quick analysis of his Test record of matches played outside Sri Lanka shows that from 52 matches he took 278 wickets at an average of 26.24 runs per wicket, with a strike rate of 60.1 balls per wicket.[66] Similarly, spin bowling rival Shane Warne retired with a slightly superior 'away' record of 362 wickets from 73 matches, at an average of 25.50 and a strike rate of 56.7.[67] Due to the variabilities of Test cricket such as grounds played at and opposition played against it is difficult to compare the quality of the top level players and, as such, is very difficult and subjective. However, it is clear that Muralitharan did much better playing at home to test minnows Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, averaging less than 16 runs a wicket.
Cricinfo's statistics editor S Rajesh concluded that the decade 2000–2009 was the best 10-year period for Test batsmen since the 1940s.[68] Muralitharan was clearly the leading Test wicket-taker during this period, capturing 565 wickets at 20.97 in spite of the dominance of the bat over ball. Shane Warne captured 357 wickets at an average of 25.17 during the decade.[69] Of spinners with over Test 100 wickets only John Briggs (17.75), Jim Laker (21.24), Bill O'Reilly (22.59) and Clarrie Grimmett (24.21) have sub 25.00 bowling averages.[70]
Muralitharan was on the winning side on 54 of the 133 test matches he played. In those games he captured a total of 438 wickets (8.1 wickets per match), at an outstanding average of 16.18 per wicket and a strike rate of 42.7.[71] Muralitharan took 795 wickets for his country Sri Lanka in 132 tests. The next most wickets for Sri Lanka in these 132 Tests was Chaminda Vaas' 309 – less than 40% of the spinner's pile. No one else managed 100. Collectively Sri Lankan bowlers tallied 1968 wickets across that span, of which Muralitharan accounted for 40.4%. Among the 24 other Sri Lankans who took more than 10 of those wickets, only Lasith Malinga did so at a better strike rate (52.3) than Muralitharan's 54.9 – and the latter bowled rather more overs, 6657.1 of them to be precise.[72]
