Editing Muttiah Muralitharan (section)

===Abuse in Australia===
Muralitharan voiced his frustration at routinely being heckled by Australian crowds who accused him of throwing – one common jeer directed at him was "No Ball!".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2740000/newsid_2741800/2741859.stm |title=Jayasuriya fearful for Murali |work=BBC Sport |date=10 February 2003 |access-date=1 January 2008 |location=London |archive-date=6 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106014909/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2740000/newsid_2741800/2741859.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/4680246.stm |title=Murali cleared by yet more tests |work=BBC Sport |date=4 February 2006 |access-date=1 January 2008 |location=London |archive-date=7 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071207010208/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/4680246.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/4676700.stm |title=Murali frustrated by Aussie jibes |work=BBC Sport |date=3 February 2006 |access-date=1 January 2008 |location=London |archive-date=26 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060626045200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/4676700.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="The Age 2006-02-05">{{Cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/cricket/abuse-driven-by-jealousy-says-murali/2006/02/05/1139074109034.html |title=Abuse driven by jealousy, says Murali |first=Alex |last=Brown |work=The Age |date=5 February 2006 |access-date=28 December 2007 |location=Melbourne |archive-date=9 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809192139/http://www.theage.com.au/news/cricket/abuse-driven-by-jealousy-says-murali/2006/02/05/1139074109034.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/235625.html |title=Muralitharan reprimanded for gesture |agency=Agence France-Presse |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |date=3 February 2006 |access-date=1 January 2008 |archive-date=7 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707052753/http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/235625.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the then Australian Prime Minister [[John Howard]]'s statement that Muralitharan was a "chucker",<ref name="The Age 2004-05-15">{{Cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/14/1084289883247.html |title=No doubts, PM says Murali's a chucker |work=The Age |date=15 May 2004 |access-date=4 February 2008 |location=Melbourne |archive-date=31 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831135820/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/14/1084289883247.html |url-status=live }}</ref> in 2004, Muralitharan indicated that he would skip future tours to Australia.

[[Tom Moody]], the former Sri Lanka coach and former Australian Test cricketer, said he was embarrassed by the derogatory reaction and negative attention directed towards Muttiah Muralitharan by Australian crowds. Moody stated that "As an Australian when I have been with the Sri Lankan team in Australia, or playing against them in the World Cup, it's the only situation we find in the whole of the cricketing world where we have this disgraceful slant on a cricketer".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/296648.html |title=Aussie crowds embarrass Moody |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |date=2 June 2007 |access-date=1 January 2008 |archive-date=9 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709164837/http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/296648.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[2007–08 Commonwealth Bank Series|2008 Commonwealth Bank series]] in Australia, some members of the Sri Lankan contingent including Muralitharan, were the target of an egg throwing incident in [[Hobart]]. The Sri Lankan cricket selector [[Don Anurasiri]] was hit by an [[Egg as food|egg]], while Muralitharan and two others were verbally abused by a car-load of people as they were walking from a restaurant back to the hotel.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/cricket/lankans-security-boosted-after-eggthrowing-incident/2008/02/03/1201973741295.html|title=Lankans' security boosted after egg-throwing incident|work=The Age|date=4 February 2008|access-date=6 February 2008|location=Melbourne, Australia|first=Jamie|last=Pandaram|archive-date=12 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812100540/http://www.theage.com.au/news/cricket/lankans-security-boosted-after-eggthrowing-incident/2008/02/03/1201973741295.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to the incident taking place at night, it is unclear whether Muralitharan was indeed the target of the culprits.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/cbs/content/current/story/334909.html|title=Rotten egg prank could have turned bad|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|date=4 February 2008|access-date=4 February 2008|archive-date=7 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207153009/http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/cbs/content/current/story/334909.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Even though the Australian coach of the Sri Lankan team, [[Trevor Bayliss]], down-played the incident as "a non-event", Cricket Australia tightened security around the team. In response to this episode Muralitharan was quoted as saying "When you come to Australia, you expect such incidents".<ref>{{cite news|title=Murali says he expected nasty greeting in Australia|url=http://archive.deccanherald.com/DeccanHerald.com/Content/Feb42008/sports2008020450407.asp?section=updatenews|access-date=12 January 2016|work=[[Deccan Herald]]|date=4 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205190156/http://archive.deccanherald.com/DeccanHerald.com/Content/Feb42008/sports2008020450407.asp?section=updatenews|archive-date=5 February 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the conclusion of Muralitharan's test career cricket writer Rahul Bhattacharya summed up Muralitharan's trials thus:
"Murali is described often as a fox. This seems right. Unlike hedgehog bowlers who pursue one big idea, Murali, like a fox, had many ways of pursuit. Like a fox he did not hunt in a pack. Like a fox he was himself cruelly hunted for sport in some parts of the world. Fox hunting was banned a few years ago in England, but is still legal in Australia."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/29195103/Our-bowlers-and-other-animals.html| title = Archives Top and Latest News - mint| access-date = 1 August 2010| archive-date = 10 August 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100810060059/http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/29195103/Our-bowlers-and-other-animals.html| url-status = live}}</ref>