da pinnacle： Sri Lanka team manager Chandra Schaffter has denied that MuttiahMuralitharan was forced to play at Edgbaston after media speculation that hewould have preferred to sit out the match and allow his shoulder to fullyheal
Saadi Thawfeeq05-Jun-2002Sri Lanka team manager Chandra Schaffter has denied that MuttiahMuralitharan was forced to play at Edgbaston after media speculation that hewould have preferred to sit out the match and allow his shoulder to fullyheal.”That is the last thing I would do. We left the decision entirely to him andhe did not confirm that he was playing until the morning of the match,” saidSchaffter.He also claims that team morale had not been affected by the remarks made bykey bowler to the media after the Edgbaston game.Muralitharan had criticised team mates, saying: “Sometimes I have to takeall the wickets. But you can’t expect a miracle bowling spell from me everytime. The rest of the bowlers weren’t up to the mark in this match”.”There is no reaction from any player. They know Murali well now, not totake what he says seriously,” said Schaffter.Muralitharan also said that he was not certain whether he would play in thenext Test at Old Trafford because he ‘felt ugly to play without being 100percent fit’.Schaffter said Muralitharan was asked to play only for his bowling atEdgbaston and the rest of the team members were to protect him on the field.Batting was not a requirement from him, said the manager.Muralitharan bowled a marathon 64 overs and took five wickets for 143 runs,but complained of pain and soreness in his injured left shoulder. He facedonly one ball in the entire Test swishing his bat one handed in the firstinnings. He did not bat in the second.Team coach Dav Whatmore said Muralitharan bowling more than 60 oversvindicated their decision to play him, and added that he would be incontention for the third Test starting on June 13 at Old Trafford,Manchester.The British press have been unhappy over the restrictions imposed on them bymanager Schaffter in talking to the Sri Lankan players. Only the captain,coach and manager are available to them.”I have to take such precautions because some of our players are not sofluent in English and what they say can always be misinterpreted in themedia. Murali’s case is just one of them,” said Schaffter.Today’s British newspapers said that Muralitharan “had been pressurized intoplaying” and that “the rest of the bowlers seemed deflated by his return asa one-dimensional bowling machine who had to be coddled in the field”.