By Neena Bhandari, IANS
Sydney : The two leading Test wicket takers, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, Thursday unveiled the perpetual cricket trophy named in their honour, brushing aside reports of tensions between them.
The media was abuzz with news of Muralitharan saying Warne “must be a miserable man in his life” after the Australian spinner called for the Sri Lankan’s controversial bowling action to be tested under match conditions by the ICC.
In Hobart, they were all smiles before the media, saying the verbal feud between them had been a “miscommunication”.
Muralitharan told newspersons: “There is no issue at all. I thought he said something about my bowling action and then I said he was a miserable man. We just talked to each other and patched it up. It was a miscommunication more than anything else.”
Warne said: “I spoke to Murali about it this morning so I’m pretty happy actually, I’m not that miserable. I’ve got absolutely no issue with Muralitharan and his action or anything like that.”
As the two cricketing nations battle it out Friday with the second test match beginning at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, capital of the only island state of Australia, Muralitharan is aiming to take those seven Test wickets required to surpass Warne’s world record tally of 708.
The Warne-Muralitharan Trophy is a joint initiative from Cricket Australia and Sri Lanka Cricket and was created to celebrate 25 years of Test cricket between the two countries.
Cricket Australia Chairman Creagh O’Connor said: “The trophy is a stunning tribute to both men, and strengthens the bond between Australia and Sri Lankan cricket. Shane and Muralitharan’s spinning hands have been immortalised in silver holding match-used cricket balls.”
Said Sri Lanka team manager Shriyan Samararatne: “The whole of Sri Lanka is watching and hoping that Muralitharan can break Shane Warne’s Test wicket record in this series against Australia. As the greatest player in Sri Lanka’s cricket history, we are excited to be able to honour Murali in such a manner.”
The trophy, crafted by Flynn Silver in Kyneton, Victoria, contains silver casts of Warne and Muralitharan’s right hands complete with cricket balls used by both while playing for their countries.
The hands are mounted on a bur walnut finish and sit on a gold-plated bronze base. It took Flynn Silver more than 200 man-hours to produce.
The Warne-Muralitharan Trophy joins the Border Gavaskar Trophy (India), The Sir Frank Worrell Trophy (West Indies), Trans Tasman Trophy (New Zealand), and Ashes (England) among the trophies contested between Australia and other nations in Test cricket.