THE controversy that surrounded Muttiah Muralitharan’s action should not take away from his extraordinary record, according to former England captain Michael Atherton.

The Sri Lanka spinner, leading wicket-taker in both Tests and one-day internationals, has announced he will be be retiring from the five-day game this month at the end of the Galle Test match against India, which begins on July 18.

The 38-year-old, who made his Test debut back in 1992, has taken 792 wickets in 132 Tests and 515 wickets in 337 ODIs, but has always been dogged by controversy.

His unusual action caused umpires to no-ball him for throwing in the early stages of his Test career, before the International Cricket Council altered their guidelines to allow for a measure of tolerance for the straightening of a bowler’s elbow during delivery.

Atherton, a former Lancashire team-mate of Muralitharan, said: “It’s a controversy that will always be linked in with him but, regardless of whether you think the arm straightened or not, it’s an incredibly skilful thing to do what he did - which is turn it the amount he did, bowl it with accuracy and have the stamina that he did.”