Cricket: Murali remains major threat

It is the classic recipe for Sri Lankan success: a reasonably even first innings where your spinners are good but not overwhelming; a massive third innings score led by your classy left-handed No 3 and fast-scoring right-handed No 5; then watch as your spin twins carve through the opposition on the final day.

Except on this occasion it wasn't Sri Lanka's spinners, led by Muttiah Muralitharan, doing the damage, or the left-hand, right-hand punch of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

It was Stephen Fleming (174 not out) and Craig McMillan (142) setting up a victory that Paul Wiseman (5-82) and Daniel Vettori (3-101) made sure of on a turning track.

Problem being that of those four principals, playing 11 years ago, only Vettori remains. Since that time New Zealand has not won a test away in the subcontinent that has not been played at Bangladesh. Nobody gives them much chance of reversing that horrific trend.

There is more bad news from the architect of that victory.

Fleming had terrific success in that series and five years later when he ground Murali and his mates into the Colombo dust with an astonishing 274 not out, an innings that owed much to the judicious use of the front pad as Murali persisted with his preferred over-the-wicket line to the left-hander.

"He's got much better at it [bowling to left-handers]," said Fleming. "I got him at a good time. He was still playing around with the doosra at that stage and the umpires are a lot less reluctant to give lbws now because of that delivery."

Fleming also acknowledged he had the advantage of reach in nullifying Murali, something only Tim McIntosh of New Zealand's top order possesses.

Sweeping, a la McMillan in '98, was an option, said Fleming, but only if it was a shot you were comfortable with and had practised assiduously.

"The most important thing, whether it is sweeping or not, is to be able to get yourself off strike by working singles. I could use my reach and get my hands out to work the ball through the leg side or angle it wide of slip, but that is the key to facing Murali.

"You need that ability to get off strike. You don't want to be facing Murali for two straight overs because he has such a good cricket brain he'll work out a way of getting to your weakness in that time."

There would have been brief hope on Friday morning as any New Zealand batsman watching a sports news tracker would have seen the headline: "MURALI ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM TESTS."

Hope was brief. Murali will retire next year, after a two-test series against the West Indies. Having missed the 2-0 win against Pakistan recently with a torn tendon in his knee, Muralitharan is desperate to get back into wicket-taking action.

He has every reason to feel confident he can do that against New Zealand. Despite the heroics of Fleming and McMillan above, Murali has 69 wickets at 21 against New Zealand, better than his overall average of 22.18.