Date-stamped : 28 Dec95 - 22:31 Electronic Telegraph Thursday 28 December 1995 Australia v Sri Lanka - Second Test: Dilemma over spinner By Ihithisham Kamardeen in Melbourne ENDING Muttiah Muralitharan`s Australian tour was one of the op- tions considered by two senior members of the Sri Lankan cricket board, captain Arjuna Ranatunga and his vice-captain Aravinda De Silva in an hour-long meeting yesterday. However, they failed to reach a firm conclusion on the fate of the off-spinner no-balled for throwing by Australian umpire Dar- rell Hair on the first day of the second Test at the MCG. Hair no-balled Muralitharan, 23, seven times in the space of three overs when bowling from his end. Muralitharan switched ends and bowled another 32 overs, including 20 yesterday, without being called by New Zealand umpire Steve Dunne. The latest development took place after the Australian batsmen mauled a predictably modest Sri Lankan attack for 500 for six de- clared. The visitors were soon in trouble on 29 for one at stumps on the second day. Anura Tennekoon, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, said it was essential to discover exactly what Hair finds illegal about Muralitharan`s style of delivery. "We want to find exactly from the umpire why some were called and some weren`t," he said. "Then we can establish what the fault is." When asked whether Muralitharan would continue to be selected after this Test, Tennekoon said: "It is one of the things we will have to sit down and discuss more." Rumours swept the ground Muralitharan would have been called after tea had he returned to the bowling crease. He did not. Former Australian Test spinner Bruce Yardley, himself called for throwing in the West Indies, was disgusted over the no-balling. "We should be celebrating his action not trying to run him out of the game. There is no way Muttiah has to change his action [be- cause his arm stays bent throughout]. If he straightened his arm like they say he does, the ball would go 50 metres over the wicketkeeper`s head." Yardley coached Muralitharan in Sri Lanka in 1991 and worked on his action. Source :: Lake House/Lanka Internet Services Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)