SLC lodge complaint against Muralitharan with CA

Muttiah Muralitharan, the former Sri Lankan spinner who is working with the Australian team as a spin consultant ahead of the three-Test series in Sri Lanka, and Charith Senanayake, the Sri Lankan team manager, were allegedly involved in a verbal altercation, following which Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) lodged a complaint with Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday (July 25).

It is alleged that Muralitharan tried to influence the pitch preparations and asked for a spin-friendly track for the warm-up clash at the P Sara Oval. The Australians cantered to a massive win by an innings and 62 runs against the Sri Lankans, with Steve O'Keefe, the 31-year-old left-arm spinner, ending with match figures of 10 for 64.

The former Sri Lankan spinner confronted Senanayake and rubbished the allegations. "Charith has accused [me] and told the media that I have cut the grass on the pitch to help Australia's spin bowlers to take the wickets in the three-day game. That's a lie," Murali said. "When I met him I asked him: 'We played together and respected each other, why are you telling lies?', he told me that they have just made an inquiry.

"The Tamil Union wicket was made at the time by Janaka Sampath, who is the SLC board curator. They should clarify from him what actually happened, rather than going on rumour."

Muralitharan was also left unimpressed after the Australian team was not allowed to carry out fielding drills inside the venue ahead of the first Test. Murali allegedly stormed into the venue and SLC accused him of conducting training on the centre wicket without taking prior permission.

Thilanga Sumathipala, the SLC president, confirmed that the board had lodged a complaint with the visiting team for the violation. "There are two problems here," Sumathipala said. "The first is that Charith Senanayake has made a complaint that he had been berated. The second is that a certain training session for the Australia players at Pallekele had been carried out without permission."

Sumathipala also cried foul over the prospects of Muralitharan's association with Australia helping the visitors perform better, and stated that the home board was 'very hurt' by the alliance.

"We're very disappointed because Murali is a player the board spent a lot of effort saving," he said. "We saved him three times. From a professional standpoint, there is no problem with him working with the Australian team. But the issue here is an ethical one. We've named the trophy the Murali-Warne trophy.

"And I remember once when we went to Kandy with Murali, he was on a truck and there was so much support for him that it took four hours for him to get home. Kandy is his hometown, and he's now had to coach an opposition team at Pallekele. Regardless of professionalism, we're very hurt by this."

Muralitharan has had several run-ins with Australia and endured a stormy relationship with them throughout his career over chucking allegations. However, the two have now buried the hatchet and found a way to work together. Muralitharan took a thin-veiled dig at Sri Lanka Cricket for having a problem with it.

"I know in '95 and '96 I had problems against Australia, and the whole of Sri Lanka backed me," Muralitharan said. "I thought that when Australia asked me to coach, that's them saying that I didn't do anything wrong - that I am correct and they were wrong at the time. That's them proving it by asking me to train their spinners.

"Does SLC think that just because I coach Australia for 10 days, Australia will win? If that's the case I am the best coach in the world, and Sri Lanka should hire me every time, and we will win every time."

"These people who are accusing me should go and look in the mirror [and compare] what they are doing to the country and what I am doing," he pointed out. "The other fundamental wrong is that when our players become brilliant coaches, the board chases them off. I'm talking about Chandika Hathurusingha, Chaminda Vaas, Marvan Atapattu, Mario Villavarayan, and Thilan Samaraweera, who went to Australia. These people are all working in different countries where they are valued more than [they are] here.

"What we do is bring all the top coaches from abroad when we [already] have the talent. We are not using it. Am I the traitor or are they the traitors? When they pay also - the foreign coaches are paid so much more than the Sri Lankan coaches."

Muralitharan's appointment by Cricket Australia stems from their quest to leave no stone unturned to be well-prepared for unfamiliar conditions in the sub-continent and improve their record there. Before Muralitharan, the visitors had hired Thilan Samaraweera, another former Sri Lankan, to work with some of the Australian batsmen at Australia's National Cricket Centre in Brisbane ahead of the tour.

The first Test begins on Tuesday (July 26) in Pallekele.