No special security for Muralitharan

SYDNEY—Cricket Australia will not introduce special security measures to protect Muttiah Muralitharan from crowds during Sri Lanka’s two-Test series, hoping existing measures would catch any offenders.
Muralitharan had received a hostile reception on previous tours from crowds who continue to chant “no-ball” despite his regular clearances from the ICC.
“There’s not a specific Muralitharan protection program,” Cricket Australia public affairs manager Peter Young. “But we have a national program to ensure that we have a family friendly environment in cricket, and as part of that we do have plainclothes people in crowds.”
Muralitharan arrived in Adelaide this week for his first full Australia Test tour in 12 years which will include his bid to break Shane Warne’s Test wicket record - assuming he is fit to play. A bicep injury has hindered Muralitharan’s attack on the mark and he hasn’t played since rupturing it in August playing for Lancashire. However, he was looking comfortable in bowling practice on Friday morning and seemed at ease with his repertoire. The Sri Lankans are keen to sweep aside all talk of crowd trouble and concentrate on their on-pitch performances. And, as middle-order batsman Jehan Mubarak confirmed, they certainly won’t be shy of taking the match to Australia. “We’re going to be aggressive, definitely,” he told Cricinfo after practice at the Adelaide Oval. “I don’t think we’ll go overboard, but definitely the attitude is going to be aggressive and positive.” Aggression appears to be the watchword, with Sanath Jayasuriya echoing that the best approach is to “play aggressive cricket and positive cricket”.
Having had only one Test series since last December - easily overhauling Bangladesh in July - the Sri Lankans are itching to pull on their whites. But, as Mubarak recognises, they will have to take their time to adapt: “We’ve been playing a lot of Twenty20 and one-day cricket and now we move into Test cricket and have to bat for long periods of time.
“Scoring areas will be different, with the ball coming on more. We might have to play more on the back-foot. We are slowly bringing those changes into the game.”
They have their chance for some decent practice on Saturday, with the first of two warm-up matches prior to the first Test in Brisbane on November 8. The three-day game is against a Chairman’s XI at the Adelaide Oval. Jayasuriya is looking forward to using the practice to adjust used to the pacy conditions following their one-day home series against England on slow tracks. “We have been practising and whenever the short ball is there to hit we play positive cricket so if it is there to hit we hit it. The younger guys mustn’t worry about all these comments about bouncing. We should concentrate on our game and our game-plan.”
He welcomed the experience that Marvan Atapattu would bring into the side. He and Atapattu are the only players to have scored centuries in Australia and the batsman is expected to play his first Test since 2005. “Marvan is a key player,” Jayasuriya said, “and technically he’s the best player so he will gain a lot of confidence for the other players.”
He dismissed the notion that the commotion surrounding Atapattu had been disruptive to the side. “A bit of a misunderstanding, but now it’s been sorted out and we will concentrate on our cricket.”—Agencies