Born: 17 April 1972, Kandy
Major Teams: Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club, Lancashire,
Sri Lanka.
Known As: Muttiah Muralitharan
Pronounced:
Muttiah Muralitharan
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break
Test Debut:
Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (RPS), 2nd Test, 1992/93
Latest Test:
Sri Lanka v South Africa at Centurion, 2nd Test, 2002/02
ODI Debut:
Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (RPS), 2nd ODI, 1993/94
Latest ODI:
Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Sharjah, Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup, 2002/03
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1999
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TESTS
(including 15/11/2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 78 99 38 746 67 12.22 67.32 0 1 37 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 4357.4 1127 10281 437 23.52 9-51 36 11 59.8 2.35
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 07/04/2003)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 216 99 41 343 18 5.91 68.32 0 0 90 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 1946.4 133 7418 325 22.82 7-30 9 6 35.9 3.81
FIRST-CLASS
(1989/90 - 2002/03; last updated 07/04/2003)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 151 181 56 1401 67 11.20 0 1 80 0
O R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 7130.4 16643 845 19.69 9-51 73 23 50.6 2.33
LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(1991/92 - 2002/03; last updated 07/04/2003)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 270 121 49 461 18 6.40 0 0 106 0
O R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 2422+ 8927 404 22.09 7-30 11 7 36.5 3.67
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
Muttiah Muralitharan, son of a successful hill-country confectioner, schooled
at St Anthony's College, a private school run by Benedictine monks, 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. His
prolific wicket-taking exploits soon attracted interest and in 1991 he was
selected for the Sri Lanka A tour of England before making his Test debut
against Australia in 1991-92. His career was later threatened by allegations of
chucking when he was called twice for throwing the 1995/6 tour of Australia. The
International Cricket Council (ICC) later cleared him after detailed scientific
research showed his action to be legal, despite the optical illusion of throwing
created by a permanently locked elbow and an abnormally flexible wrist. He grew
in confidence after the controversy, unveiling greater variations, including a
dangerous 'floater,' and becoming a more complete bowler. He was the quickest to
400 Test wickets - in matches and years - and now lies in fifth position in the
all-time list with 430 wickets at 23.32.
(30.11.2002)