'It will be a big challenge without Murali' - Atapattu

Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka's captain, said that Sri Lanka's tour of Australia next month would be an even bigger challenge for his side if Muttiah Muralitharan decides to pull out.

Speaking to the press at Bulawayo today, Atapattu said, "If Murali decides he is not going to Australia, it will be one heck of a challenge for us. It will be a big struggle trying to contain the strong Australian batting line up without him."

Sri Lanka are due to tour Australia from June 24 to July 13 to play two Tests at Darwin and Cairns. "Right along it has been [Chaminda] Vaas and Murali who have been doing the bulk of the bowling and getting the bulk of the wickets for us," he continued. "But at the same time, it will also give an opportunity for somebody else to come and perform and show what they are capable of."

Murali has been offended by remarks made by former Australian cricketers, and by John Howard, Australia's prime minister, who publicly criticised his bowling action soon after he passed Courtney Walsh's tally of 519 Test wickets to become the new world-record holder.

It was also in Australia where Murali was called for throwing by the home umpires, and on his last tour there four years ago, he was constantly jeered by a section of the crowd whenever he came on to bowl. Murali then vowed that he would never tour Australia again in the future, and the recent remarks are likely be the icing on the cake.

On the matter of Dion Ebrahim being banned for one game after making remarks about Muralitharan's bowling action during the Bulawayo Test, Atapattu had no sympathy. Ebrahim was allegedly given a tough time out in the middle by the Sri Lankan fielders in Zimbabwe's second innings.

Atapattu said, "If you take our team as a whole, Murali is the most respected cricketer, performance-wise, in our team. You don't go around saying things about him and trying to undermine his achievements after he has broken the world record by taking more than 520 wickets. You just admire him. That's how we look at it.

"We hate to see somebody saying nasty things about another player who had achieved something. When the world says this is the best bowler in the game today, you don't go and say something nasty to him. We were really angry at Ebrahim's remarks. We respect cricketers from other countries and expect the same from them. We tried to control ourselves today, but it wasn't the case. I thought Ebrahim got what he deserved."

Muralitharan once again finished as Sri Lanka's leading wicket-taker in the two-Test series against Zimbabwe. He took 14 wickets and once again emphasized his value to the team. With his doosra banned by the ICC, Muralitharan fell back on his offbreaks and top spinners, and picked up six wickets in the second Test.

"One thing I had in mind during the Zimbabwe second innings was for him to get five wickets. I told him `get me five if you can and show the world that you are still capable of getting wickets'," said Atapattu. "I don't think the Test would have gone on for so long had Murali been able to bowl his doosra ball. We would have loved to see him bowl it, especially in this innings because the wicket was a good batting track.

"Murali is a guy I am pretty sure will work out something else and come back strongly, maybe stronger than he was earlier. I hope nothing will happen to him because he is such a unique personality, an icon. He is one of the best cricketers the world will ever get to see because he has given so much entertainment to the cricket loving public."

Atapattu added that the Bulawayo Test was the hardest for him as captain to keep the team morale going. "We kept on saying this is the last game and we've got to finish the tour on a high note because we are meeting the world champions in another month's time," he said. "We had to keep our levels high and performances going and somehow we managed to get a good result in our favour."

The team motivated themselves in the one-day series by aiming to retain third spot in the ICC one-day rankings. And in the first Test at Harare, it was of course Murali's world record.

"I thought we played well in both Tests, especially to bowl them out twice on a good batting wicket. This wicket was good for batting than the one at Harare. It was a good effort and I think we deserved to win," said Atapattu. "I thought both the teams to a certain extent, even the Zimbabweans, came out fighting because the wicket was good for batting. I thought to get them out twice under 80 overs in each innings was a good effort although they were a much weaker side."

He continued, "We approached this series like we were playing any other team. We were trying to keep the incentive levels high right throughout the series and to have the same discipline going.

"Had Zimbabwe played their full side it would have been better for us before going to Australia. I am sure it would have been a tougher competition, but still this is what we had to face. We are at two extremes now, playing a weak Zimbabwean team and a month later the full might of Australia. Having done so well here, we've got to guard ourselves against overconfidence when we get there."