Tale of a Murali-like wrist

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">MUMBAI: Even as mystery bowler Muthiah Muralitharan got indications that his ''doosra'' had passed muster from bio-mechanics experts in Australia, he got his wrist blessed by a Buddhist monk.<br /><br />Just as well for one knows of one mystery bowler who didn''t enjoy such blessings and lasted just one Test.Not fact but fiction. It''s tale related to the Murali type. In of one the handful cricket fiction novels written David Petri, an ageing amateur Englishman turns himself into a Murali-type mystery bowler play for England and help beat the ''bloody'' enemy, Australia.<br /><br />The central character, Henri Horton, is holidaying in France where he sees a roadside artiste, performing amazing things with the hat, sending it any direction with an unbelievable turn of wrist. Horton is curious how he does it and examines the wrist to find that the Italian has had a few bones removed from the wrist to make it appear double-jointed.<br /><br />He undergoes the same operation which makes his wrist treble-jointed. He can give astounding shapes with ease.<br /><br />Back home in England he builds a net with artificial turf in his office backyard. And tries out the new wrist. Balls begin going egg- shaped in the air, they cut viciously on landing. He can make them rip forward, turn them from left to right or have them bounce back towards him, even from twenty yards !<br /><br />Friends, when they see that think it is because of lumps in the matting. Yet he lands a few feet clear of stumps with perfect elbow and wrist action and finger spin.<br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />Satisfied, he gets a friend to get the England selectors interested to see his magic. They do and are amazed.<br /><br />How to pick a debutant at 53, is their dilemma? The best ‘keeper in England and the best player of spin also are called to confirm the bowler''s worth and they do. The selectors finally pick him in the squad but not for the first two Tests. The first is lost the second drawn.<br /><br />Horton is called to save the series. He''s on. The first ball flies past—an enormous wide. The second too. A wag shouts "why don''t you move the stumps". The fourth pitches near the edge of the nets and nearly clips the off bail. He''s done it. The commentator racks his brain for words and comes up with a description, sideways yorker!<br /><br />The best Aussies batsman Bardman (a variety of that great name) comes and is startled by one that jumps from the leg stump.<br /><br />After just one over tragedy strikes as Horton is struck by migraine.<br /><br />On return the mystery balls continue. One is a top spinner in line of the stumps hits bottom of blade-- shooter. A half volley goes for six.. One pitches two yards outside the off and just misses the off.<br /><br />A third pitches on leg cuts across sharply to where fourth slip would have been. The back spinner on mid stump like a "dog begging".The outcome: a caught and bowled. He ends the over with two more wicked balls .<br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal"><br />The fourth ball of the third over pitched outside the leg, the batsman turns to deflect and is caught down the legside by the keeper goalkeeper style. One good one results a leg slip catch. From 251 for 1 to 261 for four. When he is taken off the crowd gets furious.<br /><br />Watching the game are his son and daughter. Wife Meg has left him because she cannt stand his mysterious absences feeling there is a woman involved. <br /><br />There is another woman of course. She is a sports journalist Sarah who is privy to all that''s going on and backs up Mike and takes care of his kids. About his performance Sarah writes;''''He fought illness and physical and mental distress and the whole Australian XI. If he bowled wides that nearly broke the windows of St Paul''s and brought slow, derisive hand claps from the igorami in the crowd he also bowled four fantastic balls that had some of the finest batting in the world groping. What a sight, what a man.''''<br /><br />The test is finely poised.England out for 217, Australia 351 England again out for 247 and Australia need 113 to win.<br />In the final dramati moments Horton claims a hat-trick and while taking the winning catch with just two needed, finds the ball shattering his fragile wrist. The hand is amputed. No more cricket for our hero<br /><br />That''s the end of the mystery wrist. The fiction may well have been a reverie. After which one''s thoughts come back to Murali''s wrist. Woe betide what would happen if Murali caught a blow on his wrist like our novel hero, Horton.<br /><br />The famous wrist that gets his arm to straighten by ten degrees, five more than allowed by IC when bowls the doosra. The wrist now tied with holy thread by the monk as a protection. Can we assume Murali won''t go the way of Horton?<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>