Bayliss wary of new-look Australia

Muttiah Muralitharan needs nine wickets to pass Shane Warne's record © AFP Enlarge

Trevor Bayliss, the new Sri Lanka coach, has vowed not to underestimate the rebuilding Australia when his team faces them over two Tests in November. The retirements of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer will force Australia into several readjustments, but Bayliss said beating them was still the "biggest challenge for any international team".

"I'm not going to be underestimating Australia," Bayliss told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Anyone thinking that way is just looking for punishment.

"You take away McGrath and you replace him with [Stuart] Clark, then you take away Warne and you replace him with [Stuart] MacGill. Both those replacement guys would have taken hundreds and hundreds of wickets in another era. It will be a great challenge."

Bayliss, the former New South Wales coach, was appointed to succeed Tom Moody in June and will leave for Sri Lanka next week to prepare for the Twenty20 World Championship in September. However, he is already thinking ahead to the Australia series and has considered the local reaction to Muttiah Muralitharan, who needs nine wickets to overtake Shane Warne's 708.

"Australian crowds go at him because they know how good he is and they're looking to unsettle him," Bayliss said. "It should be interesting if or when he breaks [Warne's] record."