Emerson: Murali's action is 'worse than ever'

Flashpoint: Ross Emerson and Arjuna Ranatunga exchange views after Emerson had no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan at Adelaide in 1999 © Getty Images

Five years after he no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing at the Adelaide Oval, sparking a furious row with Arjuna Ranatunga, umpire Ross Emerson said that he remains convinced that Murali's action "is worse than ever before".

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Emerson said: "I can't see why they are questioning just his doosra. I actually watched some of this last Test match and his action is worse than whatever it was. And why wouldn't it be? He knows he is not under any threat. None of the umpires are going to call him. It is not worth the trouble."

And Emerson predicted that Chris Broad, the ICC match referee who reported Murali, would not be allowed to officiate in any Sri Lankan games in the future. "I'll put money on it," he said. "That's what happens. Who is running cricket now? The sub-continent. What a joke.

"Every time you read an article, you see that the ICC has cleared him [Murali]," he continued. "If the ICC has cleared him, they certainly have not told any of the umpires. I have written twice to the ICC asking for a copy of the documents clearing him in the last two years and never received a reply. The ACB has never told me his action was all right. Quite to the contrary, [an ACB official] encouraged me to call him a week before Adelaide in January 1999."