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A ball, a brace and video cameras: when the world's most prolific bowler set out to prove that he was not a chucker
A ball, a brace and video cameras: when the world's most prolific bowler set out to prove that he was not a chucker
VITHUSHAN EHANTHARAJAH | AUGUST 2016
"I don't say that today will provide the answers, but I do think that we manage to unravel some of the mystery." There's a sincerity to Mark Nicholas as he stares into the camera. He looks almost childlike in appearance: suit slightly oversized, top button done up and tie fastened yet not dovetailing. This isn't the Mark Nicholas who prowls the pristine greens of Australia's outfields with the manner of one on top of the food chain. Here he is sitting, shoulders flexed in. There's uncertainty in the air and he can do little to hide it. The footage rolls. It's July 5, 2004, and Lord's is preparing for an England-West Indies ODI. While most of the ground is a hub of noise, as cables are unreeled, fastened and taped, the Nursery Ground is still. Nicholas is in dark trousers and a cream shirt, with sleeves rolled up. Standing next to him, Muttiah Muralitharan is wearing a sleeveless Sri Lanka T-shirt. In conversation Nicholas is clear and concise. Murali stutters, his English sentences crossing a few bumps as they make their way from a mind working in Tamil. Murali is there to prove his worth: to Nicholas, to those operating the cameras, to bystanders who have blagged themselves onto this side of the fence, to those in the production vehicle on site, and in two weeks' time, when the footage is to be broadcast during the lunch interval of the England-West Indies Test at Lord's, to millions watching. He is here to prove that his 527 Test wickets so far have been achieved fair and square. That, despite what many believe, he is no chucker.
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http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1034337/when-murali-bared-his-soul