I blame David Lloyd for opening his big mouth.

England's batsmen had seen off the worst Sri Lanka could throw at them and seemed to be coasting towards the draw.

Then Bumble wanted to know when was the last time Muttiah Muralitharan finished wicketless after such a long bowl.

Co-commentator Ian Botham, with a well-honed nose for trouble, warned Lloyd that it was far too early to be writing him off.

And by the time the stats man had come back with the information - only three by the way - Murali had got his teeth into the English tail. He finished with three of the last four wickets and England had lost the first Test.

Murali did not get the last man out but it was written in the script that he should finish a winner, having broken Shane Warne's world record for most Test wickets on his home ground.

The celebrations that greeted Paul Collingwood's failure to read the infamous doosra were a joy to behold as fire crackers lit up the air like New Year's Eve.

The record haul, now 713 and counting, could not have gone to a nicer, more unassuming player.

But does this officially make Murali the best Test bowler there has ever been?

No, that mantle will still remain with Warne.

And, trying to put any Hampshire bias to one side, here's why.

While Murali's achievement was rightly feted in Sri Lanka, the celebrations around the rest of the world were distinctly muted.

There will always be mistrust because of "that" bowling action. Twice Murali has had to undergo stringent testing from the International Cricket Council to establish that the genetic defect which prevents him fully straightening his arm is not a form of cheating.

According to the experts, his "throwing" action is merely an optical illusion because of a double- jointed elbow.

But inevitably opponents and officials will mutter. I doubt Murali got a congratulatory card from Aussie umpire Darrell Hair, who whipped up the storm when he once no-balled him seven times at Melbourne.

Even the straight-laced Shaun Udal, interviewed on the radio this week, remarked that Murali's achievements will always be viewed with suspicion.

That may be ridiculously unfair on the player, who has handled himself with dignity through all the controversy.

Unfortunately the "yes, but " addendum will always be attached to any list of his mind-boggling stats.

Warne, on the other hand, left his controversy to off the field - where he has produced enough to fill a shelf-load of unofficial biographies.

But the scandal was forgotten, if not always forgiven, because of his God-given talent with the ball. Never forget that spin bowling was out on its feet, bludgeoned by a battery of West Indian pace bowlers, when Warney emerged and made it hip to twiddle again.

From the moment he stunned Mike Gatting with that unplayable first delivery at Old Trafford, Warne had the world's best batsmen in a trance. You could argue, with some justification, that Murali has not held the same grip.

Just consider the figures down the years.

Murali may be unstoppable on home soil, where he has snared 441 of his victims, but he is not the same force against the top boys.

In four Tests in Australia, he has managed only seven wickets with a "best" haul of two for 170 when the Aussies plundered 551 for four at Brisbane last month.

His record has been padded by 76 wickets - at an average of four per innings - against the minnows of Bangladesh; Warne only played against them twice.

Murali has taken another 87 off Zimbabwe compared with Warne claiming six from just the one match.

I'm not knocking Murali's phenomenal effort - and he will no doubt spin Sri Lanka to a series victory over the next few weeks.

But numbers alone don't make him the number one. Doosra translates in Hindi as "the other one".

Whatever the record books may say, the other one is still better.