By IANS
Melbourne : Tom Moody feels privileged to have contributed to Muthiah Muralidharan’s feat of breaking Shane Warne’s Test wickets record even if those contributions were occasionally inglorious.
Moody was Muralitharan’s second Test victim, bowled by a delivery “that almost pitched off the strip and spun back five feet” at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club in 1992. Moody returned 12 years later to coach the Muralidharan-inspired Sri Lankan side.
“There was always pretty good banter from him about me being his second wicket,” Moody said. “I always told him that I should have been his first, because the bloke he got out before me, Craig McDermott, was caught behind off the thigh pad.
“I can clearly remember the ball he got me out with. It almost pitched off the strip and spun back five feet to bowl me middle-and-off while I was padding up. We thought he was a leg-spinner; his action was that unusual.
“It’s no surprise that he got the record. Like Warney, he’s a unique bowler in modern-day cricket and he deserves his success.”
Muralidharan broke Warne’s record of 708 Test wickets when he dismissed Paul Collingwood during England’s first innings in Kandy, Sri Lanka, to take his 709th wicket.
Muralidharan achieved the record in his 116th Test and on his home ground, which had been eagerly awaiting the historic moment over the first two days of the Test.
After a difficult tour of Australia, where he managed four wickets in two matches, Muralidharan closed in on the milestone with four wickets during the second day.
Muralidharan and Warne came face to face during Sri Lanka’s recent two-Test tour of Australia. During the tour Muralidharan was unable to take the required seven wickets to beat Warne’s record on Australian soil.