Murali defends 'Great coach' Whatmore against Ranatunga

Colombo, July 13 (UNI) Contradicting his mentor Arjuna Ranatunga, spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan came to the rescue of former coach Dav Whatmore, describing him as a ''great coach'' with perfect man-management skills.

Sri Lanka'a former captain Ranatunga reportedly advised PCB officials to turn its back on the Australian who has been lined up for a coaching job, alongwith former Australia fast bowlers Geoff Lawson and Richard Done.

''Dav (Whatmore) has done a good service for Sri Lanka. We won the World Cup and 10 test matches in a row under him. If he is not good how could he have achieved this,'' Murali said.

''He is a great coach and I don't doubt his abilities,'' the second-highest wicket-taker told reporters.

The off-spinner adds ''Whatmore's man-management skills and handling of the (Sri Lanka) team were perfect.'' Muralitharan, who has so far taken 694 wickets, believes breaking retired Australian Shane Warne's record haul of 708 wickets would be difficult unless he takes another rich haul in Bangladesh's second innings of the ongoing third test in Kandy.

''Without Warne there is going to be fast bowler-friendly pitches in Australia. I don't expect the pitches to be spin-friendly in the absence of Warne,'' opined Murali.

Sri Lanka plays two Test matches on a tour of Australia in November, ahead of the Indian team's sojourn Down Under.

UNI