Unique Malinga survives 'tennis-ball cricket' upbringing

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mar 31 (Reuters) Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody said today he was grateful that his ''unique'' fast bowler Lasith Malinga had been allowed to develop naturally into one of his team's leading match-winners.

Malinga, who sports long wavy hair with blond streaks and who bowls at about 90 miles per hour with a quirky, low slingy action, became the first man in international cricket to take four wickets in four balls against South Africa on Wednesday.

He was likely to be one of the main threats to West Indies in the Super Eights match at Providence Stadium, Guyana tomorrow, as the hosts attempted to avoid three straight defeats that could eventually signal their elimination.

''He's got a unique action, a unique hairstyle, unique that he bowls 90 miles an hour and he's about five-foot seven -- maybe he's a bit bigger than that.

'UNIQUE BOWLER' ''He's one of these unique bowlers that tend to crop up in the world of sport and particularly we tend to get a few in Sri Lanka. We've had Murali over the past decade or so, who has been a special bowler and still is.

''This guy is a little bit different, he's come through the system of playing tennis-ball cricket, hence his exaggerated low-arm action.

''Thankfully after the process of him going up to international level he hasn't been mucked about too much with his action. They have left him to be as natural as possible and he's reaping the benefit and so is the team.'' Moody said that Malinga, 23, was far from the finished product and cited how he conceded 42 runs from his first six overs on Wednesday (34 from his first four overs) before his inspired comeback.

Australian coach Moody told how they are ''bottling up'' his confidence from that magical two-over stint, yet trying to work with him on improving the more erratic spells.

He is also pleased that his fitness has been good. ''He has improved his consistency with his control and from a physical point of view we also monitor that very closely.

''But so far, touching wood, Lasith has stayed strong and played every match he's been asked to play. I'm sure he's going to be around for a while.'' REUTERS DH BST0219