The wizards of cricket
Abracadabra, this is the word which describes the magical bowling of two of the greatest spinners in the history of cricket. One was an off-spinner, and the other a leg-spinner and both of them had the wonderful ability to overcome their opponents. These
two have enchanted many fans around the world, they are http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157 and Shane Warne.
Fast bowling has been a very lethal part of Test match cricket, but the wizardry of bowling comes from the spinners. The fast bowlers were dominant for a long time in Test match cricket, and for many years the leading wicket takers in Test cricket were fast
bowlers. It was until the emergence of some of the finest spinners in the world, that the dominance of the fast bowlers persisted. These spinners are no less than wizards, who have the ability to cast a spell on the batsmen and simply bamboozle them.
One of the greatest spinners of the ball is the Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. He has dominated every team in his career and is the leading wicket taker in both Test and one-day international (ODI) matches. Muralitharan also has some other
phenomenal records to his name. He has the most number of five and ten wicket hauls in Test cricket. Murali is also the only bowler in Test match cricket history to take 800 wickets.
Muralitharan was under pressure by some officials at the start of his career, who challenged the legality of his action. He took a lot of wickets with his doosra, a ball that spun the other way. While other bowlers used their fingers to change the rotation
of the ball, Muralitharan had his own way of bowling the doosra. He used to bowl the doosra just like a leg-spinner would bowl a googly. Some challenged his action, which was later cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after bowlers were allowed
to bend their arms to 15 degrees.
Muralitharan credits Pakistani off-spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saqlain-Mushtaq-c88743 with introducing the idea of the doosra. Saqlain was the first bowler who introduced this amazing delivery to the world. Before Saqlain the googly was introduced into cricket by Intikhab Alam, who
was a leg-spin bowler and currently manager of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 cricket team.
Muralitharan was however challenged by the Australian great Shane Warne. Both bowlers had a tremendous competition and at one stage, and were almost equal to each other in terms of wickets. Shane Warne eventually retired from international cricket, leaving
Muralitharan to extend his lead and hold the world record.
Warne was known for his vicious leg-spin, and he also bowled flippers with great authority. Unlike other leg-spin bowlers, Warne didn’t use the googly as his weapon to deceive the batsmen. Even though he didn’t have the googly, he was devastating for the
batsmen.
Warne had been in the headlines throughout his career. He used to be in the news with his tremendous bowling, but apart from that he had scandals with women, used forbidden drugs and involved in countless other controversies. Nevertheless he was an outstanding
performer, and his record proves that. He has the record of dismissing 96 batsmen in a calendar year, which is the most by any bowler and this came in the final year of his cricket.
Warne had one of the best minds in the game, and the Australian team is missing his presence. The team has tried ten different bowlers after the legendary spinner departed from cricket, but there is no one who can fill in his boots.
Apart from these two spinners, there have been many spinners who have come to the international arena and made their mark. Spin bowlers were mostly considered in supporting roles rather than an attacking one. Shane Warne, Muralitharan and a few other spinners
have changed the role of spinners in cricket, and teams look forward to spinners taking 20 wickets in a Test match. Although fast bowlers remain a threat, the wizards have already proved their presence.
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