Sri Lanka bank on Murali & Moody

Sri Lanka players welcomed back their champion off-spinner today with the suggestion that in future he lock his kitbag. They would be hoping, though, that he unlocks his deadly bag of tricks as they gear up to face fellow islanders from the Caribbean in the two-Test series beginning here tomorrow.

It’s been a long time out of action for Murali. But after two shoulder operations, a Bollywood-hyped wedding and a clearance by the ICC over the use of the doosra in the past year, he’s back to tackle the next phase of his Test career — taking Shane Warne’s 583 Test wicket record.

He is a long way from that with 532 wickets yet the challenge of a new Test series has awakened his spirit. ‘‘Murali is such a character and full of gentle mischief, that you are inclined to feel his absence from the dressing-room’’, said Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu today. ‘‘We missed it in New Zealand and, in a sense, ever since his injury sidelined him.’’

Murali didn’t waste too many words on the waiting media. ‘‘I’ve said it all before’’, he grinned. ‘‘There’s nothing new to say at this stage. We’ll wait until the game has ended and then see what points are worth talking about.’’

This is also a big match for Tom Moody, his first as Sri Lanka coach. A good honest bloke for an Australian, Moody felt the Murali factor could be seen as early as lunch on day one of this test, the 150th in Sri Lanka’s history.

‘‘Of course’’, he added with a grin, ‘‘it largely depends on the toss and who bats first. But we are not looking at this West Indies side as a pushover. That is when you have to be aware of your gameplan, tactics and the players getting their skills right.’’

Which is fair enough when you think of the verbal fracas that has gone on in the windy isles of the Caribbean over players’ contracts, an issue that has seen the tourists send a second-string side to this tsunami-ravaged island.

Arriving without Lara, Gayle, Collymore and Sarwan means that there will be a possible six new caps being handed out before the toss today.

FIVE FACTS

• The most inexperienced West Indies side ever to take a Test field: only skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul has more than 10 caps, and six have none

• Omari Banks is the only experienced spinner

• Apart from Chanderpaul and Dwayne Smith (6 Tests), no frontline batsman has faced Murali before

• This is Murali’s return to serious cricket after one year; the last time he played — a draw against South Africa — he took five wickets in the match

• When the two teams last met at SSC, in 2001, Lanka won by 10 wickets. Lara (221 and 130) offered the only resistance to Vaas, who took 14 wickets