"It may be worth going to YouTube and typing in "Murali and leg-spin".
There you will find Muralidaran bowling two balls of perfect leg-spin to South African Ashwell Prince last year with a straight arm.
No kink, no bend, nothing illegal.
Commentator Dean Jones even hailed Muralidaran for bowling "a Shane Warne, beautifully bowled".
"Has he taken lessons from Shane Warne?" Jones wondered.
Muralidaran has said he has a deformity in his bowling arm which does not allow him to bowl in a conventional manner. If he can bowl a leg-spinner perfectly, surely he can do the same with his off spin, top-spin and doosra?
I await the next round of blogs." writes Jon Pierik for the Herald Sun.
The clip in question was actually posted by a friend of mine in 2006. It's amusing how the 'pundits' have just begun noticing it, timing is the crucial word here.
Some (mainly in the southern hemisphere) have asked "If his action is legal why does the ICC not publish the findings?" It would be a relevant question if the ICC actually cared? The game's governing body is not responsible for it's fan's stupidity. The Hindu a prominent Indian newspaper published the full page bowling report years ago.
Imagine if the ICC passed judgement on bowling actions based on a grainy 10 minute video at 25 FPS?
Thus far nearly everything about Murali has been scrutinized even his integrity; Calling him a cheat is questioning the man's integrity and character. Now the 'pundits' question his congenital deformity of the elbow and as a result they question his deformity, sheer class!
Let me start off by explaining the optical illusion that led to the doubt in his action. Take a look at the following footage. Pay close attention to Murali bowling at normal speed with Mark Nicholas and then watch the super slow motion(2000FPS) footage that follows. At normal speed(25FPS) there appears to be a profound jerk in his action and the replay of the same delivery shows no profound jerk. This is sufficient proof that when it comes to Murali's action, one should trust science and not their eyes.
If common sense prevailed one would realise that even on a bent stick there is one angle that will make it look completely straight.
When I look at the slow motion replay of Murali bowling leg spin, I still see his arm bent.
So what next Murali critics? What next?
Share your thoughts in a civil manner by clicking the 'Comments' link below. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic even mildly racist, defamatory and abusive comments will be deleted.
Recommended Viewing:
[Video] Murali | Suffering in the name of spirit
By Hilal
14 Comments:
Well said sir!
Great stuff Hilal...
jeez when will they give up man ..damn awesome article bro..man ur blog is awesome !!
Being an Aussie, I must say I have never had someone explain the situation as good as this. You've convinced me with your videos and your insightful comments but it's going to be hard to change my opinion about who is the better spinner. Shane would've conjured a crucial break through in that 3 mobile test series Murali couldn't.
NO BALL! OK i'm joking. Please dont delete this comment. You guys must realise that the more you get wound up, the more rubbish 3rd grade columnist have to write about. You blokes keep these country folk columnist in business.
Fantastic work. A great boon to cricket is this blog.
Great posts! I couldn't agree with you more. It's time Australia put this to rest...especially two cent journalist like Jon...
Damn good reply Hilal bro! I can't believe they used that video to prove a point against Murali in which they actually did a very bad job. It's been a while since I could check my old youtube videos, their comments and stuff. I see that you've replied to a lot of those comments. So thanks for that as well!
Finally my old work is getting some recognition! Actually I should thank Illusions who gave me the original footage in the first place. :D
Take care man, YC
I cannot believe The herald sun would let that clown publish such rubbish, even the photo in your example clearly shows that his arm is bent when he bowls leg spin that blind dingbat reporter for the sun needs new glasses.
MURALI IS A CHEAT!. because i can immitate his action and the way he releases the ball and whenever i do it my arm is always bent. but when i bowl fast, leg-spin or orthodx off-spin(not unorthodox murali off-spin using the wrist)my arm is perfectly straight and i don't have a deformity in my elbow. PROOF THAT MURALI IS A CHEAT, HIS RECORD SHOULD BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HIM.
Ha ha!! You are the perfect example why people need to stop listening to idiots who call him a chucker.
I am a Sri Lankan living in Australia and I find it hard to believe how unaware the people are about the rules of cricket. Channel 9 aires really biased tv casts regarding murali and recently 4 celebrities who know nothing about cricket were saying he chucks. Can someone please forward the murali links to channel 9 australia?
What exactly is the argument here? Is it that Murali does not throw or that he does not throw under the new (relatively) ICC laws allowing up to 15 degrees extension?
If the rules had NOT been changed there is no doubt Murali would be deemed to bowling illegally. Also on the video there is still definitely some flexion shown in the delivery. Those above that say at slow motion there is none must be kidding themselves.
Again, under the current laws Murali bowling action is legal. Under the old laws his doosra would be illegal. I will add that under the old laws the likes of Lee and Akhtar would have illegal actions for their effort balls.
Lastly, is it merely a coincidence that the two finger spinning bowlers in the world that get the most turn and can also manufacture leg spin have suspect actions (Murali and Harbhajan)?
Greg>
The Australian journalist apparently sees Murali bowling with a straight arm on the video above, meaning - Murali does not have a congenital deformity of the elbow. If anyone has a doubt I suggest you watch this:
http://www.islandcricket.lk/videos/murali-bowling-arm-brace
Under the old laws not only would Murali's Doosra be illegal, bowling actions like Pollock's and Mcgrath's would also be illegal. Here is the proof to that:
The current law states that there should be no straightening or partial straightening of the bowling arm during delivery, and in-depth research has revealed that even bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock, usually considered examplars of the classical action, occasionally go over the prescribed tolerance limit, bending their arms by as much as 12 degrees.
http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/141558.html
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