Warne salutes Muralitharan’s feat

Shane Warne congratulated Muttiah Muralitharan for reclaiming his world record for most Test wickets...

Shane Warne congratulated Muttiah Muralitharan for reclaiming his world record for most Test wickets, declaring today that the mark will stand forever. Muralitharan claimed his 709th wicket in Sri Lanka’s first Test against England in Kandy to become Test cricket’s most successful bowler.

“I congratulate Murali for breaking the record I had,” Warne said. “It was nice to have the record for a short while but I knew I would only have it for a short time. Murali has said he wanted to take 1,000 Test wickets and he is every chance of getting there. If he does I don’t think anyone else will catch him.

“He’s been a wonderful player for a long period of time. He’s an excellent competitor and has been great for Sri Lankan cricket. He’s a great bloke too. I’ve been to Sri Lanka to help him after the (December 2004) tsunami and we now even have a trophy named after the two of us. I’d just like to say well done on the record.”

• Lara lauds Murali

“I congratulate him on his feat. His achievement is remarkable and testimony to the fact that he has been playing for so many years for Sri Lanka,” Lara, who is captaining the Mumbai Champs team in the ICL, said in Panchkula.

• Hats off: Prasanna

In Panchkula, spin legend Erapalli Prasanna today congratulated Muralitharan. “Hats off to Murali for his achievement. I doubt any bowler can ever reach there,” he said.