Murali - for Donny

[JLC]

Bedi slams Muralitharan
By Mike Coward
December 22, 2003
A CRICKET conversation with Bishan Bedi is one of the abiding joys of the glorious game.



With a heady mix of quaint Indian English and turns of phrase as colourful as the patkas and turbans that have always so readily identified him, 57-year-old Bedi is holding court and so the undivided attention of listeners wherever he travels in Australia this summer.

A genius slow bowler in his salad days (capturing 266 wickets at 28.71 in 67 Tests from 1966 to 1979), Bedi is among the most genial of men and an unabashed cricket romantic who holds dear the game's traditional values and virtues.

It was inevitable he would find his way Down Under for the visit of the Indian team this summer. After all, his two children, son Gav, 32, and daughter Gilli, 29, have lived most of their lives in Melbourne and he established countless friendships on his tours here in 1967-68 and again in 1977-78 when he captained India's first winning Test team in Australia.

The success of Sourav Ganguly's team in Adelaide brought him great pride and caused him to reflect on the revolution that has occurred within Indian cricket since his men overpowered Bobby Simpson's Australians at Melbourne the first week of 1978.

There are two things to which the Indian people can look for cheer - cricket and cinema. And, like Bollywood, cricket has become a great industry, said Bedi.

While his passion for cricket is undiminished and he is proud of India's powerful role in the modern game, it pains him that some traditional attitudes, standards and values are being seriously devalued.

As a spinner, Bedi was an intricate and subtle artist weaving his magic with variations in flight, pace, angle, loop and then some. As an observer, interviewee and occasional columnist for Indian newspapers and magazines, he is uncomplicated and unsubtle and determined to be heard on issues which he believes are damaging the game.

While there is no doubt he has the capacity to alienate with his forthright views, he has many more admirers for his preparedness to spurn political correctness and speak his mind.

Undoubtedly his bete noir is the subject of throwing and the very mention of controversial Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is enough to reduce him to a state of apoplexy.

"It makes me sad," Bedi said. "People say the game has changed for the better. It hasn't.

"The expression 'it's not cricket' truly means something. It's about uprightness, honesty and integrity. You don't hear people saying 'it's not hockey' or 'it's not football'. Cricket is special.

"The game's leading wicket-taker (among spinners) is one of the great masters in Shane Warne, and hard on his heels is a burglar, a thief, a dacoit. Just because Muralitharan has a genetic problem does not mean he should be on a cricket field. It is outrageous. By allowing Muralitharan to go unchecked, others with suspect actions are getting through. And there are plenty around. More and more kids are emulating the bent elbows."

Bedi said the game urgently needed a voice as strong and influential as was Donald Bradman's in the early 1960s when throwing and dragging was atop the agenda of administrators everywhere.

He is also disturbed by the indulgence in the one-day game and makes no attempt to hide his cynicism of the contemporary coach, whose doctrine is based on technology.

"All this stupid laptop nonsense," he exploded. "You can't rely on this all the time. God has given us a necktop and that's what you take on to the field. And while the batteries might run out eventually, hopefully they won't run out while you are strong enough to play.

"You've got to use your head and that's what (Rahul) Dravid and (VVS) Laxman did in Adelaide."

Bedi continues to use his necktop rather than a laptop at his renowned non-profit coaching trust in New Delhi. A warm and generous personality, who laughs loudly and a lot, he has a wonderful rapport with children and adolescents and has played a pivotal role in the development of more than 60 first-class and 14 international cricketers in India.

And whenever asked, he has helped with the education of visiting slow bowlers and worked with Australia's Brad Hogg and Nathan Hauritz. He was flattered when Steve Waugh canvassed the idea of him bowling to the Australians before the second Test in Adelaide.

As it is, Bedi is a great admirer of Waugh and is determined to remain in Australia to see his farewell Test appearance in Sydney next month.

"He is a man of enormous substance with so much more to offer to society when he leaves the game," Bedi said.

Recently Bedi has been encouraged by news that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering the development of what is being termed a "Spin Wing" at the national coaching academy in Bangalore.

Such an initiative would safeguard the future of spin bowling in India and beyond and provide Bedi with a priceless opportunity to work alongside his pals and fellow magicians from summers past, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

A spiritual soul who continues to enjoy great popularity within the game, he contends that "you don't play cricket, you live it".

"I'm sure I'll be talking about it on my death bed. It is life."

[JLC]

[JLC]

[JLC]

[Donny]

No mention of a new inquiry there, JLC.

Just Bishen Bedi giving an opinion and Michael Vaughan stating, ""But he's ended up as Man of the Series, so you have to say he beat us fair and square"

[JLC]

Be patient Donny and all will be revealed. I am surprised you are not at the forefront of the new cutting edge stories.

jlc

[JLC]

Throwing row on the cards
By Michael Crutcher and Robert Craddock
December 25, 2003

A MAJOR chucking row is looming with controversial Sri Lankan Muthiah Muralidaran on the verge of plucking one of the game's most coveted records from under Shane Warne's nose, perhaps on Australian soil.

Muralidaran has steamed to 485 wickets, six behind Warne, and 34 adrift of Courtney Walsh's record of 519, after taking 26 wickets in three Tests against England at an average of just 12.31 in the past month.

For years it seemed inevitable Warne would hold the title, but it now seems likely Muralidaran will pip him and surge off into the uncharted waters of 600-700 Test victims or beyond.

Even Warne has long conceded the Sri Lankan will end up the winner when their careers end, but the sprint to pass Walsh could be a thriller igniting worldwide interest, particularly as the duo's next Test assignment is scheduled to be against each other in Sri Lanka in March.

"Hopefully I get the chance to go head-to-head with Murali in Sri Lanka to see who can get to No. 1," Warne said. "I think he's been wonderful for Sri Lanka."

They will also play two Tests in Darwin and Cairns in July when the record could be broken in a precious treat for cricket-starved fans.

If their strike rates are maintained, the duo would pass Walsh in the Cairns Test.

But plenty of issues must be resolved including:

WILL Warne make an immediate return to the Test team when his drug ban ends on February 10?

WILL Muralidaran tour Australia after threatening never to play again in this country?

WILL Muralidaran's action stand up to the rigorous examination planned by the International Cricket Council?

Muralidaran is still not in the clear despite insisting cricket's leading bowling officials have cleared him of any chucking suspicions.

International Cricket Council general manager Dave Richardson has revealed new research could provide an exact definition of legal bowling.

"Muralidaran went before a bowling review group and they decided, on the evidence that was available at that stage, that they couldn't tell whether he was straightening his arm to any degree or not," Richardson told Sky Sports.

"So he was cleared for that purpose, but that's not to say that he's cleared for ever and a day." Muralidaran is talking up the wicket race, although his form is so good he could overtake Walsh during the tour of Zimbabwe in May. "I can get the record easily now, but it all depends on how well Shane Warne bowls when he comes back," Muralidaran said on Sunday. The 31-year-old would be desperate to break the record as soon as possible because he has threatened never to return to Australia because of crowd taunts about his action. Muralidaran left the country almost 12 months ago insisting he was fed up with spectators making him a target. "I thought it might have been better this time but people still say things like 'chucker'," he said. "If it's going on like that I might not be able to come and play here any more. They should keep their mouths shut."

Herald Sun

[London Dave]

Here's the story.... he's a chucker, the sri lankans figured he'd win em games, and they'd play the race card...end of cricket integrity...the umpire cannot call a no ball for a throw.....thank you Ranatunga and Dalmiya for screwing up the game, you f********** p*******.