BBC SPORT | ENGLAND ON TOUR | Murali spurred to greatness

Muttiah Muralitharan has used the controversy surrounding his bowling action to develop into a better player.

The unorthodox off-spinner, whose action was subjected to intense scrutiny, said the chucking row inspired him to prove the doubters wrong.

A deformity from birth has meant the Kandy-born bowler delivers the ball with a bent elbow but that has never stopped the allegations.

In 1999 in Adelaide, Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga, led his team from the field in a one-day match against England after umpire Ross Emerson no-balled Muralitharan.

Muralitharan's action has been intensely scrutinised
The International Cricket Council said his style was fine to clear up the doubnt once and for all and the Tamil has used the stigma of being labelled 'a chucker' as a spur to greatness

"People were scared of me, so they tried to push me out of the game," he claimed.

"I thought why should I leave - and that made me much stronger mentally and made we want to improve.

"I was very disappointed by it all, but the Sri Lankan board and my previous captain Arjuna were very supportive - and if they were doing that for me why should I have left the game?

I hope all the talk about my action is now finished - I'm not doing anything illegal

Muttiah Muralitharan

"I hope all the talk about my action is now finished - I'm not doing anything illegal and I was cleared by the ICC a long time ago."

The 28-year-old was only the third spinner in history to take 300 Test wickets and now has 303 scalps in 59 Tests.

His best performance came against England in the one-off Test at the Oval in 1998 when he took 16 wickets in the match to guide the visitors to a 10-wicket win.

"That's all in the past, and we have to look to the future," he stressed.

"It's the only time I've ever taken 16 wickets in a match in my life - even in club matches I've never done that before.

Arjuna Ranatunga moves in to confront umpire Ross Emerson after no-balling Muralitharan in 1998
Ranatunga moves in to confront umpire Emerson
"If I play for another four or five years I will play 40 Test matches and I will be hoping to get to 500 wickets, but at the moment the first target is to reach 400.

"I could play for another 10 years, but a lot will depend on my fitness and how tired I get."

If Muralitharan remains free from injury and available for selection it is likely he will break all wicket-taking records.

But for now, beating England in the first Test at Galle is his primary aim.


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