By Sarah Holt

When Muttiah Muralitharan claimed his 500th Test wicket the Sri Lanka spinner followed West Indian legend Courtney Walsh and Australia's Shane Warne to the magical mark.

Australian seamer Glenn McGrath is the only active player within sight of them, 70 wickets off the pace.

BBC Sport looks at what marks the members of the 500 wicket club as men apart.

Walsh tops the list as the only fast bowler among the trio of players to surpass the 500-wicket mark.

Walsh was scarcely troubled by injury and established himself as a mainstay of the rampant Windies side of the 1980s.

Walsh is now coaching the next generation of West Indies bowlers

He emerged on the Test scene as a shy, beanpole of a bowler in November 1984 against Australia.

Over the next 17 years, the sight of his 6ft 5in frame firing the ball down with a snap of his hips consistently struck terror into the world's leading batsmen.

At Sabina Park in 2000, Walsh smashed the previous mark of 434 wickets held by India's Kapil Dev.

Remarkably, he needed just another year to claim 84 more to set his leading mark of 519 Test wickets in 129 Tests.

It was back at his home ground in April 2001 that he claimed his last victim - South African tail-ender Allan Donald.

Secret of his success: A partner in length and line

Walsh was not the only king of swing in the West Indies - the other was his best friend Curtly Ambrose.

Walsh operated in tandem with Ambrose working the new ball in a deadly opening partnership, taking 421 wickets in the Tests they played together.

Warne became the first spin bowler in history to reach the 500-wicket landmark when he dismissed Sri Lanka skipper Hashan Tillakaratne on 12 March 2004.

TOP TEST WICKET-TAKERS 1. C Walsh 519 in 132 matches 2. S Warne 504 in 102 3. M Muralitharan 500 in 87 4. N Kapil Dev 434 in 131 5. R Hadlee 431 in 86 6. G McGrath 430 in 95 matches 7. Wasim Akram 414 in 104 8. C Ambrose 405 in 98 9. I Botham 383 in 102 matches 10. A Kumble 382 in 81

The signs did not look good for the Australian when he made an inauspicious Test debut against India in 1992 - limping back to the pavilion with figures of 1-150.

But Warne proved to be indispensable to an Australian side on the rise.

The leg-spinner used a subtle combination of pace, spin and flight to trap the world's most wary batsmen.

Warne reached the 300-wicket mark, against South Africa in 1998 but his success was hampered by a series of personal battles.

Injury, match-fixing allegations, off-field scandal and finally a 12-month ban for taking a banned substance in 2003.

Warne clinches 500th wicket

Warne remained undeterred on the cricket pitch bounding past the 500-mark in his 108th Test - his first after the ban.

Secret of his success: Weapon of choice

Warne's indomitable spirit and swagger has seen him survive on and off the pitch.

But his faith in his own abilities has been crucially backed up by Australia's selectors.

Warne is used as a frontline attacking bowler not just to chug through the overs while the seamers take a rest.

It has worked too - he has eclipsed Dennis Lillee as Australia's leading wicket-taker.

Muralitharan lost his battle to beat Warne to be the first spinner to enter the 500 club but remains hot on his heels as the pair aim for 519.

Four days after Warne passed the milestone, the Sri Lankan matched him by bowling Australia's Michael Kasprowicz for a duck in his home town of Kandy.

Murali is the fastest and the youngest of the trio to clinch his 500th wicket - reaching the mark in his 87th Test at the age of 31.

He made his Test debut in 1992 against Australia and took three wickets - including Mark Waugh lbw for a duck.

Murali gains 500th wicket Murali's career in pictures

Like Warne, Murali has developed a unique style - puffing out his chest, twisting his arms and using his "helicopter" wrists to hurl down the ball.

His action was deemed to be so unique that it was called into question first in 1995 and again three years later.

Murali shook off his "chucker" tag when the ICC approved his action after a medical examination revealed he had a defect which does not allow his arm to straighten fully.

The Sri Lankan now believes 600 wickets are within his sights and, with retirement pencilled in after the 2007 World Cup, time is on his side.

After shoulder, groin and arms injuries Murali has urged Sri Lankan selectors to give him time to rest.

The only thing that could derail Murali's bid to break the 600 barrier is physical meltdown.

Secret of his sucess: Going it alone

Murali's rapid rise to the 500-wicket mark has been facilitated by Sri Lanka's reliance upon his skills.

The off-spinner takes an average of 40% of Sri Lanka' wickets - not just because he is world-class but because he is asked to bowl so many overs.