Who's the Best: Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan?

The debate over whether Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan is the best bowler of all time is one that has been raging for a number of years now.

It was ongoing while the two were still playing international cricket and has carried on since both retired from the Test match stage in 2007 and 2010, respectively.

Warne was a leg-spinner who made what was a dying art popular again, while Muralitharan was the finest off-spinner of his generation.

Both terrorised batsmen from all over the world, on their home turf and overseas, and remained among the best in the world for over a decade.

There are a number of factors that can help us try and work out which player was the best in Test matches, the hardest form of the game and the one where they both flourished.

Let’s take a look, and see if we can come to a decision.

Overall Records

	Matches	Wickets	Average	BBI
S. Warne	145	708	25.41	8-71
M. Muralitharan	133	800	22.72	9-51

First, it is important to consider both players and the overall figures they ended their careers with as a starting point.

Warne was the first to retire in 2007, ending with 708 wickets at an average just over 25, and at the time, he was the leading wicket taker in Tests.

Muralitharan then followed him in 2010—carrying on in one-day internationals until the following year—having broken Warne’s record and carried on to 800.

The Sri Lankan reached 800 wickets with his last ball in Tests to complete a fairytale ending to a storied career in international cricket.

On those figures alone, and considering his lower average, Muralitharan takes the victory at this stage.

Advantage: Muttiah Muralitharan

Records At Home

	Matches	Wickets	Average	BBI
S. Warne	69	319	26.39	8-71
M. Muralitharan	73	493	19.56	9-51

To evaluate whether Warne or Muralitharan was the better bowler, we will first start our investigation by looking at their overall bowling figures when they played at home.

On the spin-friendly wickets of Sri Lanka, Muralitharan prospered as he took almost 500 wickets at an average under 20 in just 73 Test matches.

He took five wickets in an innings on 45 occasions, while he took 10 or more wickets in a game 15 times, both of which are phenomenal achievements.

Meanwhile, Warne played 69 matches and took 319 wickets at an average of 26.39 on his home turf of Australia, statistics that are all exceeded by Muralitharan.

It is worth noting at this juncture that Sri Lankan pitches are far more conducive to spin bowling than Australian pitches, but Murali’s statistics still stand up against Warne’s.

On balance, Muralitharan has the advantage after this round.

Advantage: Muttiah Muralitharan

Records Away

	Matches	Wickets	Average	BBI
S. Warne	73	362	25.50	7-165
M. Muralitharan	60	307	27.79	9-65

Away from home, things become a little bit more complicated, as the two bowlers have statistics that are very close together in Tests overseas.

Warne played more matches than Muralitharan outside his native country, took more wickets and did so at a marginally better average.

However, he did not take as many five-wicket hauls—20 to Muralitharan’s 22—so it is far closer than it may appear at first glance.

It may also be of interest that Warne had a bowling average of 21.45 in Sri Lanka in eight Tests, while Murali averaged 75.41 in just five games in Australia.

As such, having taken everything into account, Warne shades it on this factor, as he was the marginally stronger performer away from home.

Murali was also a real handful outside of his home country, but the advantage on this one goes to the Australian.

Advantage: Shane Warne

Roles in Their Teams

In addition to the tangible statistics available to us, we must also consider something more intangible, and that was the two bowlers’ roles in their respective teams.

Warne began his career as a match winner with the ball, especially under the captaincy of Mark Taylor, who used him as an attacking option.

However, that began to change as Steve Waugh assumed the reins of the Baggy Green, and he became something more of a supporting bowler for their terrifying pace battery.

That he managed to take over 700 wickets is still quite an achievement, especially as Brett Lee roared in and Glenn McGrath maintained his metronomic consistency.

It often felt as though the pace bowlers softened up the batsmen, then Warne would swoop in and clean up, although that is a far too simplistic way of looking at it.

Warne operated within one of the most successful and strongest Test teams of all time, and he profited hugely.

Meanwhile, Muralitharan was the undoubted leader of the Sri Lanka attack, and he played that role for almost two decades.

He was forced to bowl a large number of overs, and ended up bowling more balls—44,039—than anyone else in the history of Test cricket.

He took advantage of this heavy workload and used it for his own gain, with regular wickets meaning he was indispensable for a number of Sri Lankan captains.

On the basis of this assessment, both players come out evenly matched.

Warne took something of a back seat to the Australian speedsters—but was never far away—while Muralitharan was at the forefront of almost everything Sri Lanka did.

Both maintained a phenomenal consistency, so they can’t be separated.

Advantage: Draw

Conclusion

To conclude, based on a very crude adding up of our various factors, Muralitharan is the winner by a margin of 2-1-1.

However, that is not to discredit the talented Warne, who remained a potent threat for Australia for many years and was part of some of their most famous victories.

In a sense, it is almost impossible to tell them apart, as both were very successful but neither was truly perfect on the field.

It is hard to argue with the final wicket tallies, however, and that gives Muralitharan the edge.

It was a close-run thing, though.

All stats courtesy of ESPNCricinfo.