Cricket: Ponting backs Murali to shut out Warne's words

Muttiah Muralitharan is seven wickets away from breaking Shane Warne's test wicket record. Photo / Getty Images

HOBART - Australian captain Ricky Ponting says the latest controversy surrounding Muttiah Muralitharan is unlikely to affect the Sri Lankan spinner in the second cricket Test starting tomorrow.

Muralitharan needs to take seven wickets in the match at Hobart's Bellerive Oval if he's to break Shane Warne's world record of 708 Test wickets while on Australian soil.

Warne and Muralitharan were today unveiling a new trophy named in their honour, to be contested in every Australia-Sri Lanka Test series.

But Warne has said in a News Ltd newspaper column that Muralitharan's much scrutinised bowling action should be tested by the International Cricket Council under match conditions.

A "very disappointed" Muralitharan hit back yesterday suggesting Warne "must be a miserable man in his life" to keep making such comments.

Ponting wasn't buying into the matter at his captain's pre-Test press conference today.

"I'm not actually sure what Murali has had to say about Warney," Ponting said.

"I heard something on the radio this morning that there was a feud going on there.

"He (Muralitharan) has had to deal with a lot of different distractions right through his career for different reasons.

"I don't think this one will be one that he will be worrying too much about going to sleep tonight before a Test match when he is sitting on 702 wickets and he needs seven to break the record.

"He'll be focusing on his bowling and how he's going to bowl better to us than he did last week in Brisbane because I thought our guys played him really well."

Muralitharan took only two wickets in the First Test which Australia won by an innings and 40 runs at the Gabba.

- AAP