Murali happy to wait for Test record

Muttiah Muralitharan is not concerned about breaking the world wicket-taking record in Australia in November because he plans to play Tests for another four years. Muralitharan, who is nine short of overtaking Shane Warne's Test record of 708, said he was "not really focused" on the milestone, but was confident he would reach it eventually.

Sri Lanka are due to play Tests in Brisbane and Hobart, which did not offer slow bowlers much support in the previous domestic season, and Muralitharan said he would need to be "lucky" to capture enough wickets to pass Warne. "I'm not really focused about that because we're trying to play well and win matches there," he told AAP. "The wickets are good, bouncy.

"They're supposed to favour fast bowlers but I don't know if it'll be too early in November. So maybe, if I'm lucky, it will spin and I can get some wickets."

Muralitharan said he was not in a rush to own the record. "If I get the wickets, then fine, otherwise I can do it in another series," he said. "I want to play another four years of Test cricket for Sri Lanka, so it'll happen at some moment because I'm just nine wickets away." In 16 years as a Test offspinner Muralitharan has captured 700 breakthroughs and if he maintains his annual average over the next four he could add another 175 victims.

Muralitharan hoped the Australian crowds would react in a "positive way" to him after he received bad treatment since being no-balled at the MCG in 1995-96. "Hopefully I'll get a good reception," he said. "Whatever happened has gone now, it's a new thing, and hopefully they'll react in a positive way. I haven't thought about it happening again. I always think positive, rather than thinking negative."