Warne-Murali Trophy: Legacy of two great spinners

• Seventh series commences at Galle tomorrow

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

The Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, named after two of the greatest spinners Test cricket has produced – leg-spinner Shane Warne of Australia and off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka – has certainly ignited contests between the two countries since its inauguration in 2007-08 – the 25th anniversary of Australia-Sri Lanka Test cricket.

It was Sri Lanka Cricket that came up with the idea of having a Trophy named for the series after the two great spinners and Cricket Australia responded positively to the proposal.

The first series was played in Australia in 2007-08 and Australia, led by Ricky Ponting, won the two-match series 2-0 to become the first holders of the Trophy. Brett Lee, who was Man of the Match in both Tests, took the Man of the Series award.

Australia kept their hold on the Trophy when they toured Sri Lanka in 2011 for the second series. Australia, captained by Michael Clarke, won the three-match series 1-0 with two Tests ending in draws due to bad weather. Michael Hussey, who was Man of the Match for all three Tests, took the Man of the Series award as well.

The third series between the two countries in Australia in 2012-13 saw Australia complete a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka and retain the Warne-Murali Trophy. Sri Lanka was outplayed in all three Tests. The unusual feature was that in each of the Tests, an Australian fast bowler won the Player of the Match award – Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, and Jackson Bird. The Player of the Series was Australian Captain Michael Clarke.

Sri Lanka, led by Angelo Mathews, completed a stunning 3-0 whitewash of Australia in the fourth series played in Sri Lanka in 2016 to lay their hands on the Warne-Murali Trophy for the first time. Australia’s defeat in the first Test was Steve Smith’s first loss as Australian Captain. He was later to suffer his first series defeat as well. Kusal Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, and Rangana Herath won the Player of the Match awards in the three Tests. Herath, who was dominant with the ball, was Player of the Series.

It did not take long for Australia to regain the Warne-Murali Trophy. When Sri Lanka toured in 2018-19 for the fifth series, Australia, captained by Tim Paine, swept a 2-0 win of the two-match series. Once again, Australia’s pacemen proved their dominance with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc taking the Player of the Match awards and Cummins going one better to bag the Player of the Series honours.

Australia retained the Warne-Murali Trophy when the sixth series played in Sri Lanka in 2022 consisting of two Tests ended in a one-all draw, with each team winning one Test. Both matches were played at Galle with Australia,  led by Pat Cummins, winning the first and Sri Lanka, captained by Dimuth Karunaratne, the second. Cameron Green won the Player of the Match for Australia, and Prabath Jayasuriya for Sri Lanka on his debut, picking up two six-wicket hauls. Dinesh Chandimal scored the first double century by a Sri Lankan against Australia and was also the Player of the Series. The series formed part of the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship.

Of the six series played so far for the Trophy, Australia has won four and Sri Lanka one, with one drawn. 

The seventh series, comprising two Tests in Galle, is due to commence tomorrow. As part of the ICC World Test Championship, it promises to be a keenly contested affair despite the fact that Sri Lanka are no longer in the running for the final, while Australia is already a finalist.