The Island, Tuesday 10th January, 2006 Proteas to consult Muralitharan over Botha action South African coach Mickey Botha was reported by match The International Cricket Council series. Arthur said he had never ques- “It was never ever brought to the Arthur says he hopes to call upon referee Chris Broad following the has 14 days to complete a report on “We know Murali quite well and tioned the legality of Botha’s action. attention of the match referee, it Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan to third Test against Australia in Botha. he’ll do it with pleasure,” he said. “I haven’t ever really queried it was never brought to our attention, help Proteas off-spinner Johan Sydney on Friday. Arthur said he was hopeful of “So if we can get Murali to get and the thing is that he played a the umpires were happy with him. Botha, who has been placed on Broad has previously reported speaking with Muralitharan, who down and give Johan some tips and whole one-day series for us in India, So, its funny that in Australia it gen- report for a suspected illegal bowl- Muralitharan and Indian spinner arrives in Australia this week with help him, I see it as a win-win situa- he played all five games, and never erally rears its head here a little bit.” ing action. Harbhajan Singh. Sri Lanka for the triangular one-day tion.” ever was it an issue,” he said. – ABC ‘Sri Lankan behind The Murali factor that Rugby World Cup threat’ The International Rugby Board (IRB) says a top Sri Lankan rugby official appears to have driven a bid to challenge New Zealand’s hosting didn’t go Lanka’s way rights to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. A British law firm claiming to act for the Asian Rex Clementine reporting Rugby Football Union (ARFU) has written to the from Christchurch IRB, claiming irregularities in the vote for the rights and asking it to annul the vote or face legal Muttiah Muralitharan has been Sri action. Lanka’s premier match winner in both The IRB has refused, saying the vote was Test and One Day Internationals, claiming above board. heaps of wickets. But the off-spinner A spokesperson, Greg Thomas says ARFU couldn’t pose the same threat to the oppo- denies involvement and says the law firm was sition batsmen in the just concluded One- instructed by someone without the proper author- Dayers against New Zealand as he finished ity. with only three wickets in four games. Mr Thomas says while there is speculation Not that Murali was totally ineffective. Japan was behind the move that’s not the case. New Zealand’s policy against the Sri He says the British legal firm has been told to Lankan was complete defence and their theory was to see off his ten overs without “A win was a much needed one. We cease its activities. giving away a wicket and if they had only were close on three occasions and we New Zealand’s Rugby Union chief executive, scored 30 runs off him that did not bother failed to finish things off. At the end it’s Chris Moller, insists the NZ rights were never in them too much. good to finish off things on a positive note doubt. Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu before we go over to Australia,” he said. New Zealand won the right to host the tourna- admitted that the batsmen all around the The luck that had deserted the Sri ment ahead of favourites Japan and South Africa. world have begun to get the measure of the Lankan captain at the toss also returned (Radio NZ) bowler with his ‘wrong one’ not causing in Napier and Atapattu elected to bat first. the same trouble it did, maybe, three years The new Super Sub rule also makes it ago. vital for the captain to win the toss. The “Over the years he has been a success- captains who don’t boast of quality all- David Shepherd made ful bowler and has been bowling many rounders tend to determine their Super many overs for us. If you see us bat at the Sub when they make up the mind whether nets to Murali, we play him with a lot of to bat or bowl first on a particular wicket MCC Life Member confidence and you wouldn’t see people and if the toss doesn’t go their way the missing too many doosras.” gamble proves to be costly. AUSTRALIA: Spectators celebrate as Australian fieldsman Stuart Clark catches One of cricket’s most respected figures, David That statement from the Sri Lankan “From the toss onwards, many things South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs during their Twenty/20 match at the Shepherd, who retired as an umpire last season, has captain is sure to relieve a lot of batsmen didn’t go well for us in New Zealand. The Gabba in Brisbane 9 January 2006. Australia beat South Africa by 95 runs in the been awarded Honorary Life Membership of MCC - too, but not quite. “It happens in interna- toss has become quite vital nowadays first international Twenty/20 match to be played in Australia. (AFP) the guardian of the Laws of the game. tional cricket till Murali finds something because the moment you win the toss you MCC’s move recognises David Shepherd’s else. And the bad news is that he’s working are playing with 12 players. In Napier New immense contribution to cricket, first as a player (with on one right now,” Atapattu said with a Zealand were one batsman short while we Martyn stars as Aussies thrash Gloucestershire) and more recently, as an umpire who smile without revealing further details of had the opportunity of bowling Malinga stood in 92 Test matches and 172 one-day interna- what Muralitharan is exactly working on. Bandara who was our Super Sub.” tionals - including three successive World Cup Finals, Proteas in 20-20 in 1996, 1999 (at Lord’s) and 2003. Classy Vaasy Had Sri Lanka played a little BRISBANE, Australia, Jan 9 (AFP) - rest of the dramatic final over, including David Shepherd said; When Muralitharan failed to cause bit better Test discard Damien Martyn scored a a pair of sixes. “I am honoured and delighted to have been given trouble, Chaminda Vaas took upon the A dropped catch, a no ball or a rash man-of-the-match innings of 96 to lead The Proteas, haunted by several lifetime membership of MCC. It has capped a truly role of the premier strike bowler, as he shot had hurt Sri Lanka in Christchurch Australia to a crushing 95-run win over dropped catches suring the 2-0 Test memorable year for me. I have many cherished mem- came up with a match winning perform- and Wellington where the game was South Africa in their Twenty20 cricket series loss, again had themselves to ories from my career as both a player and umpire, and ance in the final game in Napier with four snatched from them after a slight mistake international at the Gabba here Monday. blame after giving extra lives to standing in a World Cup Final at Lord’s - the ‘home of wickets. In Wellington too Vaas was sensa- and Atapattu agreed that had his players Martyn delighted a record Gabba crowd Australia’s two leading hands. cricket’ - is right up there amongst them. Lord’s is a tional as he claimed five wickets but still put in a little bit more effort they could of near 39,000 before falling just short of Boeta Dipenaar actually caught wonderful ground and I look forward to returning there, ended up on the losing side. have well won the series. the first-ever 20-over international centu- Symonds, then 24, in the deep but lost as an MCC Life Member, for many seasons to come.” “He got about 12 wickets in these four “We’ve been close on two occasions. It’s ry when he holed out for 96 off 56 balls in control of the ball on the ground. Other Honorary Life Members of MCC include Sir matches and it’s a real bonus for us that bad luck that we couldn’t finish things off the last over of Australia’s 209 for three. Captain Graeme Smith spilt Martyn at Garfield Sobers, Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Botham, Henry we have a player like him leading the positively. Had we played five percent bet- The world champions plundered 17 mid-on. Olonga and Dickie Bird. attack. A lot of teams have begun to grant ter on the last two occasions we could have boundaries and nine sixes in a total Martyn returned the favour in the third Fantastic Career him due respect, which is fantastic for been happier than this,” he said. which was just below their Twenty20 over of South Africa’s innings when he David Shepherd began his 40 year cricketing him. He has been underrated a lot and I Soon after the Napier game the Sri record of 214 for five. spilt a similar dolly off the left-handed career in 1965, as a middle-order batsman with am really pleased that he’s in good form Lankan team took a chartered flight and Then using the extra bounce on a opener when the Proteas were in dire Gloucestershire, and became a first-class umpire in going into Australia and the players over flew to Auckland where they were sup- Brisbane pitch, Australia’s pace bowlers straits at 7 for two.