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| Tuesday, 28 December 2004 |
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Peter Roebuck sets the record straight by Quintus de Zylva Peter Roebuck has selected his TEAM OF 2004. Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralitharan are the spinners in this team. Murali was sidelined for a great part of this year when a slap repair to his bowling shoulder needed to be fixed by Dr. David Young in Melbourne. He played in just six test matches before the injury and he took 47 wickets at an average of 22.02. Shane Warne played in 11 test matches and took 64 wickets at an average of 23.69 There are no other spinners worthy of mention. Peter Roebuck goes on to say that "They are as extraordinary a pair as the game has known". It seems strange that the chucking controversy has centred upon bowlers who "between them have never hurt a fly"! Jason Gillespie, Steve Harmison and Glenn McGrath make up the pace attack of this Team of 2004. The wicket-keeper is Adam Gilchrist and the all-rounders are Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff. Virender Sehwag and Justin Langer would open the batting whilst Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara come in at first and second drops. Peter Roebuck goes on to say that NELSON MANDELA would be the only true statesman worthy of making a decision , depending on the pitch, as to whether Glenn McGrath or Murali would carry the drinks. He makes no mention of lesser men who stirred the pot sufficiently to prevent Murali from bowling in Darwin and Cairns or flattened Fallujah for no reason worthy of mention. How sensible and honourable is Peter Roebuck's selection for the Year 2004 compared to the tinted and jaundiced view of cricket's best performers as judged by Richie. And Benaud as a television commentator has exactly the same responsibility as Peter Roebuck the doyen of the written word on cricket - to be honest and true to their calling. Peter Roebuck as a guest writer in the Murali Souvenir published in Melbourne to honour Sri Lanka's best known flag bearer, said that Murali's career has been a "tale of astonishing achievement and unending controversy". He went on to say that "no one has watched him with a cold heart". The Sri Lanka Cricket Foundation summed it up with the words "CRICKET AND MURALI - WHAT EXCITEMENT". And Frank Tyson writing in the same souvenir said "the opportunity is there for him to re-write Test bowling records". Nigel Kerner said of Murali " he will settle his scores on the open green baize of endeavour" - and Nigel said "cowards hide from the sun". And what of the future of Sri Lanka and it's rich cricketing talent? Peter Roebuck goes on to say that "SRI LANKA NEEDS TO LISTEN MORE TO OUT-STANDING MEN SUCH AS RANJAN MADUGALLE, ROSHAN MAHANAMA AND SANATH JAYASURIYA AND LESS TO CONTEMPORARY OPPORTUNISTS". Age and experience after all are great teachers in any discipline. Septuagenarians and Octogenarians should never be thrown out with the bath water. They should be nursed and respected if cricket and Sri Lanka is to be competitive in the years that lie ahead. Murali at thirty two has, in his own words, at least four years of test cricket ahead of him. Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Australia - Major General Janaka Perera- recently said that perhaps a thousand wickets was not inconceivable. New Zealand here we come - Shane Warne might need to step aside and make room for this man whom Peter Roebuck has said " was blessed with features that allowed him to perform feats with a cricket ball previously considered impossible". |
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