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MELBOURNE, May 29: Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action will continue to create controversy with cricket fans, Australia’s Shane Warne said on Wednesday.
“The fact is with Muralitharan, I think his action will always create speculation with people, Joe Public just saying does he or doesn’t he,” Warne told reporters.
“The ICC (International Cricket Council) have cleared him to play international cricket, that should be good enough for the players.
“Is he legal? Yes ... so you just get on with it.”
Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist was reprimanded by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday after suggesting Muralitharan’s bowling action was suspect.
Warne, 32, is second on the all-time bowling list with 450 Test wickets in 101 matches, trailing retired West Indies pace bowler Courtney Walsh who has 519.
Muralitharan, 30, has 412 wickets from just 73 Tests and is expected to overhaul both of them in the next few years.
BIRMINGHAM (England): England batsman Mark Butcher was in contrite mood on Wednesday after stirring up the controversy over the suspect bowling action of Sri Lanka left-arm seamer Ruchira Perera.
Butcher wrote of Perera in a local newspaper that “when he bowls short, he just runs up and throws it at you”.
Perera’s suspect action was reported to the International Cricket Council (ICC) by umpires Srinivas Venkataraghavan of India and Australia’s Daryl Harper after the drawn first test at Lord’s earlier this month.
On the eve of the second test at Edgbaston, Butcher said: “No malice was intended and I will be at pains to tell the Sri Lankans that when I see them.
“It’s probably landed me in hot water but I hope the authorities will be gentle with me.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are investigating the matter.—Reuters
