Legendary spin

When legends fade into the evening mist, it is hard not to feel the pangs of parting. Shane Warne, peccadilloes notwithstanding, was one such legend""with a record 700 wickets in Test cricket. He came in with a whimper""just one wicket for 150 runs in his first Test against India in 1991 ""and is going out with a bang 15 years later that will be hard to match. The Sydney Cricket Ground has been the site of many an Australian cricketer's farewell. But none perhaps matches Warne's announcement of his retirement after the current series with England is over. Warne would spin the ball as only he and Mutthiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka can. No one who watched the Gatting ball, the one that turned from outside the leg stump to remove the off stump, can forget that magical moment as the batsman watched stupefied. After that defining moment, Warne went from strength to strength and became one of the most feared bowlers in the world. Gone, it seemed, were the days when batsmen quaked only before the speedsters. Here was a spinner who struck chill in their hearts.

It is useful to do the usual thing""make comparisons. Muralitharan has taken 674 wickets so far in Tests and is thus bearing down on Warne""and the former's record is superior because he has taken six wickets per Test, compared to Warne's (and Anil Kumble's) five. If he does not get the same column inches as Warne does, it could be because Australia has a louder megaphone or because it has a better cricket team that goes from strength to strength. Muralitharan may also have been targeted by Aussie umpires and the Aussie media, but even if one concedes all that, the fact is that Warne is altogether more "sexy", never mind the famous Murali stare as he delivers the ball.

Muralitharan has got more of his wickets against weaker teams such as Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. But though it is true that Muralitharan has 137 wickets against those two teams combined, compared to Warne's 17, it is because he has played 20 Tests against them, compared to Warne's three. Moreover, their performances against the two big sub-continental teams have been largely similar. Warne has 90 wickets from 15 games against Pakistan and 43 from 14 games against India (the team most resistant to his wiles), whereas Muralitharan has 79 wickets from 14 games against Pakistan, and 67 wickets from 15 games against India. They are also virtually identical when playing each other ""Warne has almost as many wickets against Sri Lanka as Murali has against Australia. Warne has 193 wickets against England from 35 games, Murali has 93 from 13. Not much to choose from, it would seem.

In the end, people choose their heroes. Sub-continental fans will probably opt for Muralitharan while the rest will plump for Warne. Both are great entertainers. Both have brought something to a game that has been in danger of losing support in many countries where it is played. In short order, both will be a memory. Cricket will be the poorer for that, especially when one contemplates the prospect of quite a few distinguished batsmen also riding off into the sunset.