Murali spins Lancs a winter warmer

Lancashire may be seeing a little more of Muralitharan than they had expected next season.

International commitments will limit how often the Sri Lankan spin-king, who agreed to return to Old Trafford last month, can play for the county in 2007.

But he has handed Lancs a boost by announcing he is planning to play less one-day cricket for his country after the World Cup. Murali is almost certain to miss the first match of the County Championship, which starts on April 18, because of the World Cup in the Caribbean, and if Sri Lanka reach the final he would also miss the opening two ECB Trophy group games.

Sri Lanka are also due to play a two-Test and three one-day international series against Bangladesh at the end of June and beginning of July, which would all but wipe him out of Lancashire’s Twenty20 campaign, and he could also be called up for the Afro-Asia Cup in June which pits an Asian XI against an African XI.

And 34-year-old Murali is set to miss the end of Lancashire’s campaign to play in the first Twenty20 World Cup in September.

But by limiting his one-day appearances, Murali could well miss the one-dayers against Bangladesh and the Afro-Asia Cup.

"The workload is huge and there’s no point in playing each and every ODI competition or tournament," he said.

"I’ll just cut down on the ODI matches. It’s not that I don’t like one-day cricket, but it’s just too hectic. There are a couple of other spinners and the Sri Lankan selectors should take a look at them."

Shane Warne, meanwhile, believes his spin rival can become the first bowler to take 1,000 Test wickets.

"I have always said Murali will get 1,000. He is going to get number nine, 10 and 11 every innings and couple of top orders," said Warne, who passed the 700 wicket mark at the MCG this week.

"If he plays another 35 Tests then he is going to be pretty close to the 1,000 mark, which is probably only another couple of years."

-The Sunday Island