Eighteen years is a long time, long enough to make people forget. Muttiah Muralitharan, who on Thursday became the highest wicket-taker in one-dayers after accounting for Gautam Gambhir as his 503rd victim, failed to remember his first Test victim. Incidentally, it was India’s Praveen Amre.

“Yes, may be Amre, because I played my debut series against India. I can’t remember, 18 years is a long time to remember, and it’s a long list,” a smiling Murali said after the fourth ODI. Muralitharan, incidentally, has bowled 17,650 deliveries to reach the top.

The off-spinner, who has struggled to be amongst wickets in this series, says he wasn’t sweating over the time taken to reach the milestone. “I wasn’t worried about it, I knew it had to come some day. It’s a huge honour for me and for my country,” he said.

Asked about the secret of his marathon career, he said, “I don’t know, nothing apart from playing cricket. So I want to continue till I can. There’s no bigger thing than playing in the World Cup, so I want to continue playing till the 2011 event,” he said.

Despite the 4-0 scoreline, the team hotel was prepared to celebrate Muralitharan’s achievement with champagne and cake. For the moment though, Muralitharan is waiting for just one thing — a phone call from Wasim Akram, one that should come sooner rather than later. —