New Delhi: West Indies legend Brian Lara picked Shane Warne over Muttiah Muralitharan when asked to name the best spinner of all time in international cricket. Lara, who is regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time, insisted Muralitharan created more pressure on him while bowling, but he rated Warne as the best of all time.
Lara opened up on the comparison between Lara and Maurali during his appearance on the ‘Stick to Cricket’ podcast, hosted by former England cricketers Alastair Cook, Phil Tuffnell, David Lloyd, and Michael Vaughan. Muralitharan and Warne are regarded as two of the greatest spinners of all time and are also the only two bowlers with more than 1,000 wickets across formats in international cricket.
“Shane Warne is the best. He is the best. And you know, I would walk out to bat against Murali, and I am confused. You know, I got that 688 runs in three matches and the first half an hour of Murali bowling, I would be confused,” Lara said on the podcast.
“I play a sweep shot down to deep backwards square for a single, you know I play a sweep shot again and then all of a sudden, you know, because the other guys did not read him. He is like ‘Oh, take out the no bat pad for Lara. Nothing. Nothing. Let’s move everybody up’. And all of a sudden, the pressure came off. But Murali gave me more pressure than Shane,” he explained.
Further explaining why he picked Warne over Lara as the best spinner to have played cricket, Lara explained that the Australian legend went on to pick over 1,000 wickets in his international career despite being in a team featuring the likes of Glenn McGrath and Craig McDermott, among others. He also hailed Warne’s mental prowess, which set him apart from others.
“That is why I rate him (Warne) higher, because I think he was mentally stronger. And obviously with his bowling attack and the pitches that he bowled on, which favoured, you know, the McGraths and McDermotts, for him to pick up that amount of wickets, very, very special. I think his strength was his mental thing,” Lara added.
Shane Warne vs Muttiah Muralitharan in numbers
Both Warne and Muralitharan enjoyed stellar careers for their respective teams. Muralitharan holds the record for being the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. He finished his Test career with a staggering 800 wickets at an average of 22.72, including 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 10-wicket hauls.
Muralitharan is the only bowler to have picked 800 wickets in the longest format. On the other hand, Warne is in the second spot on the list of highest wicket-takers in Test cricket with 708 scalps to his name in 145 matches at an average of 25.41. Warne picked up 37 five-wicket hauls and 10 ten-wicket hauls in his Test career.
Overall, Muralitharan picked up a whopping 1,347 wickets in 495 matches at an average of 22.86, including 77 five-wicket hauls and 22 ten-wicket hauls in all three formats combined in international cricket. Warne finished his international career with 1,0001 wickets in 339 matches across formats at an average of 25.51, including 38 five-wicket hauls and 10 ten-wicket hauls.