I don't want to criticise the umpire but if he's chucked that one he has

"I don't want to criticise the umpire but if he's chucked that one he has thrown many more," he said.The controversy and confusion lingered into the second day of the Test when Muralitharan bowled a further 20 overs without being no-balled.Muralitharan was bowling from the Southern End of the MCG when he was no-balled on Tuesday by Darrell Hair but he survived subsequent scrutiny after switching to the Members' End, where Steve Dunne, the umpire from New Zealand, was standing.The Sri Lanka management said they would talk to both umpires at the end of the match in an attempt to establish why some of Muralitharan's deliveries were called while others were deemed legitimate.Hair, who made all the calls against him, told Sri Lankan officials he would no-ball him again if Muralitharan bowled during the final session of the second day on Wednesday, but Muralitharan did not bowl again in the innings even though Australia made 500.Sri Lanka collapse, page 21. He comes over with a slightly bent arm and when he releases the ball his wrist straightens, but if you look really carefully the arm remains bent," the West Indian captain said.Border, who retired from Test cricket last year, admitted: "I just feel sorry for this young bloke and I think he's been set up a little bit."If they decide he's legal, let him play out his career because he's played 23 Tests to date and hasn't been called before."Richardson also questioned the sudden decision to no-ball Muralitharan. Muralitharan's Test career is under threat after he was no-balled seven times for throwing on the opening day of the second Test against Australia. Sri Lanka are considering omitting him from next month's third Test and sending him home unless the International Cricket Council makes a definite ruling over his suspect bowling action. Richardson, whose West Indies side played Sri Lanka earlier this month in the World Series limited-overs tournament in Australia, said he did not believe the spinner was a "chucker", merely unorthodox."When I look at the slow motion picture of him bowling, I don't really think he chucks. Both were guilty of trying to `wind up' opposition batsmen by making gestures meant to convey that they were reeling them in and would soon get them out."It's got to a stage where I don't want anything like that," said Lloyd, who spoke to both team managers, Raymond Illingworth and Alan Jordaan, during the tea interval.Cork and Mark Ilott had already been spoken by Illingworth after the first day's play following exaggerated celebration at the fall of a wicket..

Richie Richardson and Allan Border yesterday joined the controversy over the legality of Muttiah Muralitharan's action, as both defended Sri Lanka's 23-year-old off-spinner. "If a batsman walks away slowly, that's OK, so long as they walk away."Lloyd did take exception to the antics of Dominic Cork and South Africa's Brian McMillan. Mike Atherton was treated with sympathy after shaking his head and trudging off slowly when the South African umpire, Cyril Mitchley, gave him out caught behind off Paul Adams on 72. The ball appeared to brush the pad and make no contact with Atherton's bat Some referees might have viewed his actions as showing dissent, but the match referee, Clive Lloyd, ruled that Atherton had displayed nothing more than disappointment. "I've no problems with Mike Atherton's departure from the crease," Lloyd said. 250: 436 min, 109 overs.Atherton 50: 202 min, 166 balls, 4 fours.Hick 50: 176 min, 140 balls, 6 fours, 1 six.Umpires: S A Bucknor and C J Mitchley..

He edged a wide one from Pollock, who bowled with persistent accuracy and aggression, finishing a good day for South Africa with 3 for 58.England, who finished on 250 for 7, can still save this match, though much will depend on how South Africa bat in their second innings and whether Hansie Cronje will be as cautious as he was in Johannesburg, where his delayed declaration probably prevented his team from winning the second Test.Port Elizabeth scoreboard(Third day; South Africa won toss)SOUTH AFRICA - First innings 428 (D J Cullinan 91, D J Richardson 84; D G Cork 4-113).ENGLAND - First innings(Overnight: 40 for 1)*M A Atherton c Richardson b Adams 72(298 min, 237 balls, 6 fours)J E R Gallian c Cullinan b Pollock 14(97 min, 78 balls, 2 fours)G P Thorpe c Rhodes b Adams 27(53 min, 34 balls, 3 fours)G A Hick lbw b Donald 62(191 min, 158 balls, 8 fours, 1 six)R A Smith lbw b McMillan 2(9 min, 9 balls)R C Russell not out 26(129 min, 89 balls, 3 fours)D G Cork c Richardson b Pollock 1(4 min, 3 balls)R K Illingworth not out 25(82 min, 60 balls, 5 fours)Extras (lb7, w1, nb9) 17Total (for 7, 438 min, 110 overs) 250Fall (cont): 2-50 (Gallian), 3-88 (Thorpe), 4-163 (Atherton), 5-168 (Smith), 6-199 (Hick), 7-200 (Cork).To bat: P J Martin, M C Ilott.Bowling: Donald 20-5-40-1 (nb6) (4-0-9-0, 6-3-4-0, 4-1-9-0, 6-1-18-1); Pollock 22-8-58-3 (nb3, w1) (3-2-5-1, 2-1-1-0, 5-2-16-1, 7-2-15-0, 3-0- 16-1, 2-1-5-0); Adams 32-10-73-2 (7-2-16-0, 8-2-23-1, 2-1-5-0, 12-3-28- 1, 3-2-1-0); Matthews 20-7-42-0 (4-2-6-0, 5-0-14-0, 2-1-3-0, 4-1-13-0, 5-3-6-0); McMillan 15-6-30-1 (nb1) (5-3-5-0, 7-3-13-1, 3-0-12-0); Cronje 1-1-0-0.Progress: 50: 93 min, 25.1 overs 100: 181 min, 47 overs Lunch: 109- 3 (Atherton 49, Hick 7) 51 overs 150: 270 min, 72.5 overs Tea: 170-5 (Hick 39, Russell 0) 81 overs New ball taken after 88 overs at 190-5 200: 353 min, 90 overs. When he was out, miscueing a pull off Adams to Jonty Rhodes at mid-wicket, he had played some of his best cricket of the tour so far.It is a claim Dominic Cork would not presume to make after his three balls at the crease. If this happens to be the case with Mitchley, then perhaps raising a finger is a way of avoiding impending cardiac arrest. If not, he will probably just admit to having had a bad day.He was not the only one, as the majority of England's top order showed in another poor display on a near perfect batting pitch. Jason Gallian, who was neatly caught by Daryll Cullinan at first slip off Pollock, failed to add to his overnight score.Gallian still pushes too hard at the good-length ball pitching around off stump, and although his 14 runs represented the highest score so far by an England No 3 in this series, it was a pyrrhic victory.Another in need of a big score is Graham Thorpe, who looked in fine form, driving and pulling with great control despite an off-the-mark shot that flashed over cover point's head for four. It was another poor decision, the ball striking Hick well above the knee roll, completing a trying day for umpire Mitchley.At the press conference afterwards, Professor Richard Stretch, who has been monitoring a study of Test match umpires' heart rates, confirmed that they can often reach peaks of 140 per minute following an appeal.

The culprits apparently being Cork to Cullinan on Wednesday and the "I'm reeling you in" gesture Brian McMillan gave Robin Smith a few balls before sending him packing lbw.Once again Smith showed the indecision that plagues his early minutes at the crease and when Hick followed him, lbw to Allan Donald, 10 overs later with the score 199 for 6, England looked to be listing. Yesterday's referee was Clive Lloyd, whose quick and sensible intervention promptly defused the ball tampering incident in Durban.Once again he decided the player involved did not have a case to answer, though he did see fit to speak to the managers of both sides during the tea interval, in a bid to curb players from gesturing at one another on the field. That doubt had been in evidence just before lunch, when he gave Atherton the benefit of it, after the batsman swivelled on a short ball from Pollock, which faintly brushed the bottom glove on its way to the wicketkeeper.In the event, Atherton looked up in disbelief muttering something under his breath, before trudging off knowing that his job of seeing England to relative safety across hostile country had been left unfinished.The incident clearly upset Atherton and those that remember the England captain's deft polo swipe sending a plastic chair cartwheeling in Perth last winter, may like to know that a similar one, positioned invitingly outside the England dressing-room, had a leg mysteriously amputated, minutes after Atherton's dismissal.If there was evidence of off-field chair abuse, there was no clear-cut dissent on the pitch, though 18 months earlier - against this same opposition at The Oval - he had been fined half his match fee (about pounds 1,500) for little more than shaking his head after being given out lbw.The match referee on that occasion was Peter Burge, who, having been deceived earlier in the summer by Atherton, over the soil in the pocket affair at Lord's, was always going to come down hard. The ball - a rare chinaman - brushed the outside of the pad as Atherton went back to flick it to leg.It was a poor decision from the umpire, Cyril Mitchley, standing in his 11th Test, not least because of the amount of doubt involved.

Only Michael Atherton and Graeme Hick managed to pass fifty, and but for their partnership of 75 and some clever salvage work by Jack Russell and Richard Illingworth, who put on 50 late in the day, England would have been following- on with two days left to play.Once again England were indebted to their skipper, who scored a grittily compact 72 before being given out caught behind off Adams. Best of all he is a product of what can be achieved in this country now that the old orthodoxy has been supplanted. The parsimonious nature of the pitch offered little turn and after being given some rough treatment by Graeme Hick, who struck him over long-on for his first six, he completed an invaluable first day in the classroom.However, the rare sight of a third uninterrupted day's cricket did not prevent England from displaying their usual failings under pressure. His presence in this rather faceless side (whose most famous figure is, perversely, a fielder) is as fresh and unfettered as the Cape Doctor that whistles across the Cape Flats where he lives.It did not matter a jot (except to England) that both his wickets were tinged with good fortune, for he bowled well throughout the day.