Global Sport

Muralitharan may not tour Australia againHOBART: Sri Lankan cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga says controversial spinner Muttiah Muralitha...

Muralitharan may not tour Australia again

HOBART: Sri Lankan cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga says controversial spinner Muttiah Muralitharan may not tour Australia again because of the hostile reception he has received in the country. Ranatunga said adverse publicity over Muralitharan’s bowling action and heckling by crowds at Sri Lanka’s three matches so far may lead to such a decision.

Although cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the crowds used to scream “no-ball” every time he rolled his arm over.

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Sri Lankan manager Ranjit Fernando said he believed Muralitharan’s action was completely legitimate.

“He’s a young man who has had a deformity in his arm and to come out of it and be one of the greatest bowlers in contemporary times is something which people should look at as something special.”

Rafter alone in race for top spot

MELBOURNE: Dual U S Open champion Pat Rafter is the only man left in the Australian Open who can grab the world number one spot from absentAmerican Pete Sampras during the year’s first Grand Slam. After Sampras pulled out of the tournament because he was exhausted by his season-ending battle to retain the top spot, any one of the top five seeds could have left Melbourne as the new world number one.

Top seed and world number two Marcelo Rios of Chile pulled out with a back injury before even playing, second seed Alex Corretja lost in the second round and third seed Carlos Moya was defeated in the first.

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World number six Andre Agassi — who is still playing — would also have had a chance but Moya’s defeat meant he could no longer accumulate enough points.

World number four Rafter only has to reach the final to become the number one. If he does, he will become the first Australian to do so since John Newcombe held the top spot for eight weeks in 1974.