So who can beat Murali's record?

So who could realistically break Murali's record? Not sure who could break his record out of the current crop of bowlers. Mendis is already 25 so he might be a bit too old. Although maybe it could be Steve Smith...

Looking at who could do it, i think he would have to:
- start playing at a young age
- be a spinner
- most likely playing for a sub continental team
- playing a lot against Bangladesh

Andreas Thorkildsen

WAT Beer

DJ_Smerk wrote:WAT Beer

Well with his current 1 wicket a match average, we better get him in the England team now if he wants to play 801 matches.

embee wrote:Andreas Thorkildsen

He'd beat Murali's record after one game.

Maybe Warne can come out of retirement for the Ashes? He'll have broken the record by the end of it.

Henry Nolonga wrote:Maybe Warne can come out of retirement for the Ashes? He'll have broken the record by the end of it.

Doesn't he still hold the bowling record?

no one. this will stay forever much like hobbs' 199

Although Hobbs beat his own record because for many years he was credited with 197.

I don't see it being like Bradman's or Hobb's record. I think Murali's will definately be broken, but not for a while certainly.

vilkrang wrote:I don't see it being like Bradman's or Hobb's record. I think Murali's will definately be broken, but not for a while certainly.

Murali says Bhajji. I say...what?

It won't be Bhajji rest assured.

The world will need to unearth an 18 year old spinning genius that can play at the top level for 14 or 15 years to be any chance of reaching 800. Fast bowlers cannot sustain a long enough career to get anywhere near the mark.

At 12 Tests per year and a strike rate of 5 per Test it would take 13 and a half years to pass Chuck's record.

It's a record that won't be broken. And one that will generate much discussion every time it's raised.

Don't think this one's an unbreakable record. Just need one young freak to come through. Hopefully from here.

doremi wrote:Don't think this one's an unbreakable record. Just need one young freak to come through. Hopefully from here.

Indeed, it will certainly stand for a long time but it's not like Bradman's and Hobb's, which will never be beaten under any circumstances. There are definately circumstances that will allow 800 to be broken, and for cricket's sake I hope it happens sooner rather than later though I suspect it will be later.

I can't see there being enough Tests in the future for anyone to break it. This past couple of decades has seen a situation where it's possible to play 12 or 14 a year, but with the lack of crowds everywhere but England and Australia for the long format I think the amount of matches will only reduce, and some countries could virtually withdraw from it completely.

Murali's 800 will only last until the day the ICC decide to take away the Test status of the World XI matches, of course...

And just to put it into perspective, the leading wicket-takers among active players (those having played a Test this year):

Harbhajan 355
Vettori 325
Kallis 266
Kaneria 260
Zaheer Khan 242
Steyn 211
Martin 181
Anderson 165
Johnson 157

None of them even half way there and Steyn apart, they're all either old, not that good or both!

Nicely encapsulated, beams.

beamer wrote:but with the lack of crowds everywhere but England and Australia for the long format

england gets smaller test match crowds than india's big 5 test centres

It will have to be a spinner who plays at least 140 tests.

Indeed, and in this day and age, that will take many, many years. And are there any Y-Geners (or younger) willing to commit to the hard work required to excel at Test level when there is big cash to be made in hit-and-giggle?

Unlikely ever to be approached, let alone broken.

skully wrote:Unlikely ever to be approached, let alone broken.

The same as Bradman's average and Boucher's dismissals

murali's record of 6 wpt is not likely to be repeated in the modern game. so someone really special will have to play at least 160 tests

only 2 men have achieved that, with only one more likely to get there in the forseeable future. all 3 are batsmen who started young and had a mostly injury-free career

murali is a full 92 wickets ahead of second best. over 180 wickets ahead of 3rd. this is a monumental record and i dont see it being broken unless we somehow see teams playing 18 tests a year on average. and thats not very likely at all

Chuck and Warnie were freaks of the modern era. With less Tests played these days, a superfreak will have to be unearthed.