Test Records:Fastest to 800 wickets in test career

Fastest to 800 wickets in test career

	Player Name	Team	Mat	Wickets	Best	5w	10w	Period
1	Muttiah Muralitharan	SL	133	800	9-51	66	22	1992-2010

Test Records:Fastest to 800 wickets in test career

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Pakistan overcome recent Test Cricket history against Australia

It was a typically chaotic Pakistan performance on the fourth day of the second and final test match against Australia. The hosts of the neutral series, Pakistan lost four wickets as they inched towards a historic win at Headingly Leeds.

The win by Pakistan ended arguably the bleakest period in test matches against a single opponent. A losing streak that lasted fifteen years, that included 13 test matches all against the Aussies.

Breaking a jinx as big and as harrowing as this was no mean task and it was certainly evident that the cobwebs had returned to haunt the Pakistanis.  They lost four wickets after resuming their overnight position of immense strength of 140 for 3.

The batsman who played such a pivotal role in Pakistan’s comeback on day three Azhar Ali, reached his half-century with a drive off Bollinger. But unfortunately his celebrations were cut short next ball, as he was snapped up behind the stumps by Tim Paine with the score on 146, 34 runs away from the target.

The cat was set amongst the pigeons as Umar Akmal who had looked a bundle of nerves from the outset on day four, nicked a delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus straight into the hands of Tim Paine.

As Akmal prodded around for 8 runs, it became a little better with a crunching flick by Shoaib Malik as the target went under 20.

However, the Aussies were not giving up at all, as Shoaib Malik perished to a scintillating catch by Marcus North in the cover region off Ben Hilfenhaus.

At that stage Pakistan was 19 runs away, with four wickets in the kitty, Kamran Akmal than struck a brace of boundaries to bring the required runs to fewer than 10.

With 5 needed to win Kamran smashed a drive into the hands of Mike Hussey who claimed a catch, yet Kamran stood his ground indicating that the ball had touched the ground.

The adjudication went to the third umpire who ruled the wicket-keeper not out.

Left-armer Mohammad Aamer than steered the ball through the slip region to leave Pakistan within one run of breaking the 13 test match losing streak.

However, Pakistan being Pakistan lost Kamran Akmal to a stunner by Mike Hussey off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson.

The match ended when Umar Gul smashed the next ball through the cover region to spark off wild celebrations in the Pakistan camp, as the players hugged each other and ran onto the field to embrace the two not out batsmen Gul and Aamer.

Mohammad Aamer was declared man of the match from Pakistan for his brilliant bowling display in the match, while Shane Watson won the Australian man of the match for his six wicket haul in the first innings of the match.

An elated Salman Butt who was leading Pakistan for the first time in a test match dedicated the historic triumph to the people of the country who have been deprived of watching test cricket, for that matter international cricket due to the ongoing security concerns in the terror ridden state.

The win brought smiles on the faces of millions of cricket fans across the country who had endured one defeat after another from the Australians who had a complete stranglehold on them.

It also augurs well for the Pakistan team as they look forward to the challenge of confronting the English team in a four match test series, that will be followed by five ODI’s and two T20 matches.

Sourch: blogs.bettor.com

Pakistan overcome recent Test Cricket history against Australia

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Sri Lanka v India Test Series 2010 Results

1st Test: Sri Lanka v India at Galle - Jul 18-22, 2010
Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets
Sri Lanka 520/8d and 96/0; India 276 and 338 (f/o)

2nd Test: Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (SSC) - Jul 26-30, 2010
Match drawn
Sri Lanka 642/4d and 129/3d; India 707

3rd Test: Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (PSS) - Aug 3-7, 2010
India won by 5 wickets
Sri Lanka 425 and 267; India 436 and 258/5

Sri Lanka v India Test Series 2010 Results

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Murali ends his career with the ultimate victory

WHILE Australia's cricket focus might be on how Ricky Ponting tries to prove the critics wrong after batting first at Headingley, world cricket's celebration this week must surely be about how Muthiah Muralidaran's Test career finale ended in such glorious triumph for both him and Sri Lanka in Galle.

Thursday's events had two interesting sides to them: not only did the magician achieve the incredible 800-wicket feat with the last victim available to him for the match, but India was yet again proven to be a flawed power. Here was the former minnow bringing the colossus to its knees.

Sri Lankan cricket has achieved remarkable things over the years. Initially regarded as a disparate collection of wristy batsmen and handy spin bowlers, Sri Lanka has matured into one of the most competitive teams in the world in all forms of the game. Men of the calibre of Aravinda De Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardana have led the way and others have followed. A World Cup was won, and respect has been earned.

There have been many obstacles along the way, including civil war and the Tsunami. Two years ago members of the touring team were shot while heading to a game in Pakistan. Yet still Sri Lankan resolve has never been broken.

Muralidaran has, of course, been the beacon throughout: for 18 years he has beguiled and bewildered batsmen the world over, rising from his humble beginnings in Kandy to rival Shane Warne as the greatest spinner we've ever seen. His big-turning off-spinner and unique doosra made him as watchable as Warne, and, to batsmen, no doubt as confusing.

And he has had plenty to overcome, not the least of which has been Western hostility to the rule changes that were implemented as a result of his and others' actions. He subjected himself to an endless round of tests that surely would have broken a lesser man, but still the cynics were unhappy. Throughout it all he maintained his dignity, never at any stage becoming bitter towards those who tried to bring him down. He soldiered on and continued to collect wickets in unbelievable quantities, acknowledging his successes with a shy grin rather than the raucous celebrations so often seen from others.

During the past year or two his total dominance over batsmen began to wane; injuries became more frequent, and he was having to work a lot harder for his wickets as batsmen became more adept at playing him. All of which would have faded into insignificance in his hour of greatest joy on Thursday, as the Indian tail succumbed and his opening batsmen knocked off the required runs for victory.

Yet again India has been shown to be incapable of getting its act together on a consistent basis. Perceptions of on-field dominance are proving to be well off the mark - sometimes financial clout and depth of playing resources count for nothing if they aren't properly harnessed.

Indian reputations have been inflated by the wrong criteria and one suspects some players have become soft. The most memorable image from the recent World Twenty20 competition in the West Indies was of the Indian players in their dugout as they collapsed to 5-24 against Australia's pace. The likes of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina sat humiliated and beaten just weeks after apparently ruling the world in the Indian Premier League.

Great men and competitors like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh will ensure that Indian cricket never plummets to the depths, and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a terrific leader.

But maybe it's time for the younger brigade to take a leaf out of Muralidaran's and Sri Lanka's book and realise that hard work and the humble approach are often a recipe for success.

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Murali ends his career with the ultimate victory

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Australia keep on winning but have lost that magic touch

Ponting's team are upbeat ahead of Pakistan Test but, with one eye on the Ashes, England can also afford a smile

By Stephen Brenkley

When the old bluffer himself speaks it is time to listen. Shane Warne, who spent an entire career tormenting England by suggesting what he would do to them on behalf of Australia and then doing it, has been talking up their chances in this winter's Ashes series.

If some of his compatriots are tempted to regard this as heresy another interpretation is that Warne was actually underplaying England's ability to retain the most prized trophy in the sport. With Warne it is always difficult to be sure, with or without ball in hand.

"England are coming good and they are doing really well at the moment," said Warne. "Australia are going pretty decent too so I think the Ashes series is going to be a really close contest. But this winter is probably England's best chance to win in Australia in the last 20 years. Certainly in my time it was often the case that when they came over they'd have to play their absolute best and we'd have to play poorly for it to be a close contest. This one coming is their chance to give it a real shake."

Australia keep on winning but have lost that magic touch

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Pakistan on top after two sessions

Australia struggled to tea on one of its darkest days in Test cricket in living memory, on day one of the second match against Pakistan at Headingley.


Firstly, the Aussies were humiliated with the bat by being rolled for 88 in Leeds - the national side's worst Test total in a generation.


Then new Pakistan captain Salman Butt (38 not out) climbed into the shell-shocked Australian attack as his side marched to 0 for 64 at tea with opener Imran Farhat (20) also unbeaten.


The day was threatening to become even more disastrous than the opening day of the 1997 Ashes series at Edgbaston when Australia was dismissed for 118 with England reaching 3 for 200 by stumps.


The brilliant Pakistan swing bowling trio of Mohammad Aamer (3 for 20), Mohammad Asif (2 for 33) and Umar Gul (2 for 16) earlier used the overcast conditions to perfection, producing wicked late swing to skittle Australia in 33.1 overs.


The last time Australia posted a lower score was back in 1984, the tally of 76 coming against a rampant West Indian attack consisting of Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding on a lightning-fast WACA pitch.


It was Australia's fifth batting collapse in six Tests on English soil and the performance provided further evidence of the side's inability to cope with the swinging ball in this country.


Australia's performance also mirrored England's capitulation on the opening day of the fourth Ashes Test at this very ground last year.


Australia had come into the match with a 1-0 series lead in the two-match series and in pursuit of a record 14th straight Test win over Pakistan.


Since his fateful decision to send England in at Edgbaston in 2005, Ponting has batted first in the past 27 times that he has won the toss.


But from the outset on Wednesday, this looked like a decision he could come to regret in Leeds.


Pakistan's bowlers brilliantly exploited the swing-friendly conditions as Australia lost all 10 wickets for 68 runs following an opening stand of 20.


Left-arm paceman Aamer got the ball rolling by pinning opener Simon Katich (13) in front before Asif dismissed Shane Watson (5) eight balls later.


Gul stepped up the carnage by knocking back Michael Clarke's (3) middle stump and Asif showed that Ponting's (6) brilliant record at the ground meant little on Wednesday.


Even the normally reliable Mike Hussey (5) could not stem the flow of wickets with Gul adjudged to have trapped him in front, even if the ball might have slipped down the leg side.


Marcus North (16) looked like he was guiding Australia to lunch but medium-pacer Umar Amin had him caught behind just before the interval.


Aamer was inspired after the break, knocking over the stumps of Steve Smith (10) and Mitchell Johnson (0) with his first two balls after lunch.


He producing an excellent inswinger to Smith and followed that up with an even better delivery to Johnson that swung late and tilted back his off-stump.


Ben Hilfenhaus (3) somehow negotiated the hat-trick delivery, the tailender not good enough to get an edge on the ball as it screamed past his bat.


Hilfenhaus pushed Australia beyond its lowest Test total against Pakistan of 80 in Karachi in 1956 with a straight drive off Aamer.


But in a sign of the batting side's dirty day, he was run out going for a third soon afterwards.


Tim Paine (17) was the last man to go, trying to improvise a shot with number 11 Doug Bollinger (2 not out) at the other end.

Pakistan on top after two sessions

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Bangladesh v Netherlands Match Results 2010

Only ODI: Bangladesh v Netherlands at Glasgow - Jul 20, 2010

Netherlands won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)

Bangladesh 199/7 (30/30 ov); Netherlands 200/4 (28.5/30 ov)

Bangladesh v Netherlands Match Results 2010

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Cricket News

Pakistan overcome recent Test Cricket history against Australia

It was a typically chaotic Pakistan performance on the fourth day of the second and final test match against Australia. The hosts of the neutral series, Pakistan lost four wickets as they inched towards a historic win at Headingly Leeds.

The win by Pakistan ended arguably the bleakest period in test matches against a single opponent. A losing streak that lasted fifteen years, that .......Read More

Murali ends his career with the ultimate victory

WHILE Australia's cricket focus might be on how Ricky Ponting tries to prove the critics wrong after batting first at Headingley, world cricket's celebration this week must surely be about how Muthiah Muralidaran's Test career finale ended in such glorious triumph for both him and Sri Lanka in Galle.

Thursday's events had two interesting sides to them: not only did the magician achieve the incredible 800-wicket feat with

.......Read More

Shahid Afridi to retire from Tests

Shahid Afridi made the decision that seemed inevitable from the day he took over as Test captain, by announcing his Test retirement immediately after leading his side to a 150-run loss against Australia at Lord's.

Afridi has been a reluctant Test player over the years and this Test was his first in four years. A poor personal performance, capped by a four-ball 2 on the last day - out slogging to deep midwicket - didn't help matters and the second Test against Australia at

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 Afridi could lose ODI and T20 captaincy

Shahid Afridi`s abrupt retirement from Test cricket, leaving the team in lurch during the ongoing England tour, has compelled Pakistani selectors and the team management to rethink their decision to continue with the flamboyant all rounder as captain of the one-day and T20 teams.

Afridi announced his retirement soon after Pakistan lost the first Test match against Australia at Lord`s by 150 runs, saying

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Cricket News

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Warne said-Murali's record will stand forever

Australian spin wizard Shane Warne feels that his greatest rival Muttiah  Muralitharan's world record of almost 800 Test wickets will never be beaten.

Warne admitted that he had a few problems over the legality of Muralitharan's controversial action, but said that the Sri Lankan was one of the game's great competitors.

Warne retired with 708 Test wickets and Murali, with 792 and one more match against India, has a chance to finish with 800 wickets.

Warne feels that Murali's record will stand forever.

"I don't think it will ever be broken. Even though so much more Test cricket is played these days, I think Murali's record will stand for a long, long time and probably forever," Warne was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.

"You just have to work it out by numbers - for that record to be broken someone has to play 140-150 Tests and take 5-6 wickets a Test. That will take some doing."

Warne said that it was "unfortunate" the Sri Lankan had "always been dogged by drama" over his rubber-wristed action.

Warne also felt that Muralitharan was never a chucker.

"Murali's action has been passed by scientific tests... I always thought it was probably legitimate," he said.

"But because of the way he bowled, I was worried that young spinners would try to copy his action and end up bowling illegally."

Warne feels cricket will lose one of its great competitors.

"Murali simply loved bowling - he loved a challenge (and) was fantastic for the game. Sometimes he would pick my brain about different things and, although we always tried to outdo each other, we always got on well," he said.

Warne said-Murali's record will stand forever

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Murali's unbridled hunger for Test wickets

It looked like a Test match that would attract only cursory interest in a calendar so bogged down with international fixtures.

But now Sri Lanka's match against India in Galle starting on 18 July will be a very special one, bringing to an end the phenomenal Test career of one of the finest bowlers the game has seen.

Should Muttiah Muralitharan take eight wickets in the match - and for a player with his record it is by no means a distant prospect - he will end with an extraordinary haul of 800 wickets.

With the volume of Test cricket set to drop in the coming years, it is almost unthinkable that anyone will get close to that mark ever again.

Although the left-arm swing bowler Chaminda Vaas gave him valuable support for a while, for long periods of many Test matches Muralitharan carried the Sri Lankan attack on his own two shoulders.

At times, rumours were happily allowed to circulate by Muralitharan himself that the master off-spinner had developed a new delivery, one that this time no opposition batsman would be able to counter.

Muralitharan dismissing Michael Vaughan on England's 2007-08 tour of Sri Lanka

An exasperated Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, said before one series that he would no longer worry about Murali's variations because there was only a finite number of directions he could turn the ball.

But when I interviewed another former England skipper, Alec Stewart, a few hours after news of Muralitharan's Test retirement had been broken by BBC Sinhala, the former Surrey man said the key issue was the amount of spin imparted.

"I could see which way the ball was spinning in the air, but you never knew how much it was going to turn; it could be a few inches or it could be a few feet," said Stewart.

"Beyond that, there was always change of pace, degree of flight, and angle of delivery to consider as well. All the problems you normally face from a regular spinner are just exaggerated because of the amount of spin he can impart on the ball.

"Anyone who can spin the ball as much as he could - and he obviously spun it more than anyone else who has played the game - is going to take wickets.

"In a Test match, he could bowl half the overs in the day, and was always developing his doosra [the ball that turns the "wrong way", away from the right-hander].

"He performed at the highest level for a long, long time. He would get tired, because it's hard work, but Sri Lanka built their bowling attack around him and with the stack of overs that he bowled there came a stack of wickets.

"There will always be a question mark about his action. Some people say he bowls it, others say that what he does is illegal. But you can't take away what he has achieved."

The accusations of illegal "chucking" that have dogged Muralitharan will never vanish, forming an indelible blot on his career.

But the man himself is such a pleasure to talk to, such a joy to see in action, and such an unbridled entertainer that it seems perverse to attach any notion of skulduggery to what he has done.

Without getting immersed in the technicalities, Muralitharan's right arm has a congenital defect which means that it appears to bend more than it actually does when he bowls.

He has been filmed bowling in the nets with a brace strapped to his arm that allows for virtually no elbow flex.

It is not as though others are untouchable. When the International Cricket Council examined video footage of bowlers during the 2004 Champions Trophy they found that 99% of bowlers flexed their elbows to some extent.

From that point on, it raised the permitted thresh-hold to 15 degrees of elbow bend, and since then the subject has been less of a concern to players and administrators.

Replacing Muralitharan, who was also one of the most carefree and uncomplicated tail-end sloggers, a safe catcher in the deep and a deceptively dangerous fielder close in, will be difficult for Sri Lanka.

His obvious successor appears to be Ajantha Mendis, a 25-year-old with more variety than Muralitharan if not the same lavish turn. But his career has slowed after a dramatically effective first year in the international game.

We are unlikely to see anyone with such an extraordinary hunger for Test wickets ever again. Muralitharan, the attack dog of spin bowlers, was never content to bide his time and wait for errors.

Fleeting appearances in the shorter formats will continue. He is likely to bow out of one-day internationals after next year's World Cup, and may have a season or two left in the Indian Premier League.

But the sight of him relentlessly whirring away for over after over, hour by hour, in Test matches will 

Murali's unbridled hunger for Test wickets

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Ajmal tipped to replace Kaneria

With Pakistan desperate to level the series against Australia they are toying with the idea of recalling offspinner Saeed Ajmal in place of Danish Kaneria for the second Test at Headingley. Though the news has not been confirmed sources have indicated that Ajmal's doosra could swing selection in his favour in order to target Australia's left-handers.

"There has been some talk about playing Ajmal," a team official indicated to Cricinfo. If the think-tank does favour Ajmal it would be a rude jolt for Kaneria who managed to impress everyone, including Shane Warne, with his control and accuracy at Lord's, particularly in the first innings, and he finished with match figures of 4 for 123 in conditions that favoured the pace bowlers.

But the presence of five left-handers in the Australia line-up could be the clinching factor when Salman Butt, Pakistan's new captain, sits down with his coaches to decide the final eleven on Tuesday. Ajmal has better figures against left-handers in comparison to Kaneria. His average against them is 36.00 compared to Kaneria's 49.27, although against the right-handers both are fairly close with Kaneria (28.56) slightly behind Ajmal (24.07).

Impressive as those figures are, Ajmal is inexperienced and has only played five Tests while Kaneria has a wealth of experience with 59 matches under his belt. Also, Ajmal's last Test was against an almost identical Australia batting line-up at the MCG and he had match figures of 2 for 223 as Micheal Clarke dominated him with ease. Meanwhile, Kaneria has collected 33 wickets in his last six Tests at under 30 and this year he is the joint-highest wicket-taker for Pakistan along with Mohammad Asif.

Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan offspinner and pioneer of the doosra, feels the Pakistan team management are in a difficult position when it comes to deciding which spinner should get the nod. However, he is inclined to rank experience higher than the perceived effectiveness of Ajmal's doosra.

"I don't mind to pick either of the two," Saqlain told Cricinfo. "Danish is a world-class bowler, and can damage the Aussies as well. He has got experience. But Saeed Ajmal is good, too. So both are capable of giving trouble to Australia."

Saqlain, who spent time with the Pakistan squad during their two-day warm-up match against Leicestershire and shared valuable tips with Ajmal, felt Kaneria did nothing wrong in the first Test to deserve demotion.

"Danish has been in a good form and he has been bowling very well. He did well in the first Test too," Saqlain said. "Our problems are more in the batting department where sometimes our top order fails and at times the middle order. If we can put runs on the board Danish can more much better and put more pressure."

Saqlain was not shy of comparing Pakistan's situation to that of Australia in the years when Stuart MacGill was competing for a place in the team against Shane Warne. "Look at the Aussies," he said. "They always went for Shane Warne because of his experience, skills and character.

"Danish has a lot of experience and has been playing county cricket for a couple of years. Ajmal is promising too. I am not saying he can't do the job. But then there are so many factors that determine who could be the best man."

Ajmal tipped to replace Kaneria

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Mohammad Yousuf said- I can play under any captain

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf is ready to come out of retirement sooner rather than later, further broadening the possibility of an appearance at some point for Pakistan in the summer.

Yousuf, who announced his sudden retirement after a win-less tour of Australia, had said recently he was targeting the tour of UAE later this year to make a return, but the team's struggles in the first Test against Australia at Lord's may have prompted him to change his mind.

"I am available any time for my national team," Yousuf said in Karachi. "If the team doesn't need me I stand retired. But if I'm needed, I am ready and available to serve my country. If PCB invites me with respect I will definitely go and join the team."

Ijaz Ahmed, Pakistan's assistant coach, hinted at Yousuf's possible return. "He can replace Afridi but the management haven't decided yet who will come. It could come out in a couple of days. Maybe later, somebody will come but not at the moment.

Pakistan made scores of 148 and 289 with only one batsman, Salman Butt, managing to pass fifty. They lost 11 of their wickets to Shane Watson and the part-time spinner Marcus North.

Though their bowlers competed well, the batsmen fell short mainly due to the lack of experience in the middle order, which was missing the pedigree of Yousuf and Younis Khan for differing reasons.

In the immediate aftermath of the Lord's loss speculation centred on the PCB sending out an SOS to Yousuf, but Ijaz Butt denied that was the case. The matter of Yousuf and Younis's return was considered at a meeting the chairman held with team management to appoint a new captain, but was deferred until after the second Test against Australia, officials insisting they were happy with the performances of debutantes Azhar Ali and Umar Amin.

"These are the only two players we are talking about, Younus Khan and Yousuf," Ijaz Ahmed added. "Let's see, it might be decided about Yousuf. Yousuf might be coming here."

Salman, 25, was appointed captain after Shahid Afridi announced another unexpected retirement from Tests. Afridi was named captain for the entire tour of England but quit after the Lord's defeat saying he wasn't enjoying Test cricket after all.

"He was the vice-captain as well. I hope he can manage this," Ijaz Ahmed said of Salman's promotion. "We have done a lot of talking to him and he has played really well and is shaping up well. I think he is getting mature and now he has got the responsibility as well. I think he will come good for that."

Yousuf has had problems in the past with Shoaib Malik when he was captain but said he was willing to play under Salman. "It's a PCB decision (appointing Salman) and everybody should respect it," Yousuf said. "I can play under any captain and have never felt degraded playing under anyone."

Yousuf added that he was in touch with the PCB chairman, who was kept aware of his plans to return.

Yousuf was the captain during Pakistan's shambolic tour of Australia, where the team came under fire for their performances. The PCB responded by penalising seven players it believed were responsible for the defeats, Yousuf among them. He and Younis were banned indefinitely, and as a mark of protest, Yousuf announced he was quitting the game "for now."

He was the only one among the seven punished players not to appeal against the sanctions, despite the PCB leaving the door open for him to return. However, since Yousuf didn't respond to those messages from the board the national selectors could not consider him for the tour of England.

Mohammad Yousuf said- I can play under any captain

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