Warne–Muralidaran_Trophy
Warne–Muralitharan Trophy
Australia-Sri Lanka cricket award
The Warne–Muralidaran Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Australia–Sri Lanka Test cricket series from 2007–08 season onwards. The trophy is named after the two leading wicket takers in Test cricket, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (who prefers to romanise his name as "Muralidaran"[2]) and Australia's Shane Warne.[3] The trophy celebrates the 25th anniversary of Australia–Sri Lanka Test cricket.[4] The trophy features casts of the two bowlers' right hands and match-used cricket balls bowled by them during their careers.[5] Sri Lanka Cricket, the governing body of cricket in Sri Lanka had written to its Australian counterpart, Cricket Australia, that the winner of the series should be awarded a trophy named after the two bowlers.[6] Cricket Australia had responded positively to the Sri Lankans' proposal. In unveiling the trophy, Cricket Australia said in a statement,
...The two greatest bowlers in world cricket history have lent their names to a perpetual prize that will be played for in the Test series between Australia and Sri Lanka.[4]
The Warne–Muralidaran trophy became the latest addition to the series of trophies named after former players such as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, for Test series between Australia and India and the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy which is contested between Australia and New Zealand in ODI format.[7]