Ross Emerson, the retired Australian umpire, says that most umpires believe Muttiah Muralitharan's action is illegal, but that they do not no-ball him for fear of losing their jobs. "Muralitharan's action has changed since 1995 - it's got worse," said Emerson, who called Murali during a one-dayer against England at Adelaide in 1998-99. "But he's not worried about it because who's going to call a bloke who has more than 400 [Test] wickets?"

"I still consider his action illegal, as do most umpires around the world, but they won't do anything about it because they're worried about their jobs.

"Privately, all the top umpires say he throws but they've seen all the trouble that can happen if you call him, so they won't."

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