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by Michael Donaldson

Australia's batsmen will approach the 'Premadasa Predator' with extreme caution when they take on Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy cricket semifinal here on Friday.

Sri Lanka's off-spin genius Muttiah Muralitharan has been absolutely deadly at the semifinal venue, R. Premadasa Stadium. Over the past three years he's played 17 matches there, taking 38 wickets at an average of 14.39 and conceding only 3.34 runs per over.

His skill is the primary reason Sri Lanka has won 14 of its past 17 games at the ground, making it something of a fortress for the home side.

Australian coach John Buchanan said tackling Muralitharan head on was difficult and it was better to dominate the other bowlers and then try to reduce the champion spinner's impact on the game. "I think all the batsmen are fairly certain of the way they'd like to play him but it will be the state of the game that dictates how much he gets into the game," Buchanan said.

Buchanan added the way Australia dealt with the threat of New Zealand's Daniel Vettori should be replicated against Muralitharan, with Australia blasting off to a good start and holding firm when Muralitharan comes into the attack.

Vettori was by far the Kiwis' best bowler in Australia's opening game here, taking 1-25 off 10 overs.

"The players that were in when Vettori was bowling played the game the right way," Buchanan said. "They were able to eke runs from him without taking undue risks because the platform had already been set and we weren't under stress to either retain wickets or accelerate the scoring rate. "If we can produce a similar sort of effort in this game then Murali comes in on our terms not his terms ... he doesn't pose the same sort of threat provided we approach him in a similar vein to Vettori, where we're happy to take ones and twos and keep him well and truly out of the game.

"But if Murali's allowed to get into the game on his terms - when we're behind on the run rate and down on wickets - then he becomes a much more potent force."

Buchanan, who has been enjoying a break from coaching while his players take a holiday in the Maldives, said Sri Lanka would give Australia a good indication of how things were going in terms of planning for the World Cup.

So far on this tour, Australia has been in scintillating form and Buchanan said that could continue as long as key players - namely Matthew Hayden, Shane Watson and Brett Lee - kept performing as they had to date. Hayden's stunning form helps Australia make strong starts while Watson is growing into a top-notch all-rounder and Lee has learned how to control his pace in order to restrict runs - all of which has helped solidify the Australian outfit.

"There's a lot of good signs that things are moving in the right direction ... on their day this is a very, very talented side," Buchanan said. "If everything comes together in one effort other teams will find it very difficult to deal with. "But I sense at the moment we haven't been totally tested and we'll find that out against Sri Lanka on Friday night." (AAP)

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