Taking eight wickets in the last Test after announcing his retirement is a memorable feat. Among the batsmen, Sunil Gavaskar did it scoring a century playing for World XI after announcing his retirement. Even the great Don failed in his last test. Muthiah Muralitharan, the smiling assassin, did it in great style, reaching to 800 wickets in his last test against India in Galle.

It was Hansie Cronje facing Muralitharan for the first time in 1992 said “he is a bowler with a different and interesting action”. Murali is great learner as early in his career hidden in the shadows; he studied the conditions and batting styles and techniques and began to understand how the game was far tougher than your first-class game. Being such a student, he understood the value of bowling long spells he led the attack against South Africa at SSC in 2006 taking 10 wickets bowling a long spell of 82.2 overs.

Former Australian Prime Minister and Cricket Australia’s and New Zealand’s representative John Howard’s appointment was rejected by six of the ICC's ten full members, thought to consist of the subcontinent boards of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as well as South Africa and the West Indies. Zimbabwe is said to have provided the most vocal opposition privately and led the movement and, though they didn't sign the letter that brought matters to such a head, they are believed to have played a prominent part in the decision. 

The rejection is a big blow to the Cricket Boards of Australia, New Zealand and England with no reason given officially for the rejection. Support for John Howard's appointment to the vice-presidency of the ICC fell away "significantly" in the last week with at least a couple of the boards, which eventually opposed the move, changing their stance in that time.

India will try to persuade Australia to supply uranium to it during a bilateral meeting on energy here on Monday, seeking flexibility on Canberra’s longstanding position that it would not export the nuclear raw material to countries who are not signatories to the NPT.

“There are plans to initiate some discussion for sourcing uranium from Australia. Though at present the Labour government here has already made it clear that it would not supply uranium (to countries) who have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here.