Warne Equals World Record

Shane Warne today equalled Mutiah Muralitharan's world record of 527 Test wickets but it was not enough to force a win against the plucky Sri Lanka rearguard.

The Australian leg-spinner drew level with Muralitharan with his seventh wicket of the match when he had Upul Chandana stumped for 14 as Sri Lanka slumped to 174 for eight in the second Test in Cairns.

But neither he nor his team-mates could take the final two wickets required for victory as the gritty Sri Lankan tail-enders stayed firm for a draw.

After the match, Warne said he though reaching 527 wickets was a greater feat for himself than Muralitharan, but he regretted not taking two more wickets. "I'm proud of myself to equal the record," he said.

"The wickets I have always played on for my whole career, most of them have been to suit fast bowlers in Australia. Murali, obviously they prepare wickets that suit him. They spin square from ball one, so he's obviously got a lot more of a chance than I have.

"It would have been nice to get one or two ahead of him and to win the test match would have been the perfect script I suppose."

Warne, who was handed a 12-month doping suspension over a banned diuretic in February 2003, will not have another chance to claim the record for himself until October when Australia tour India, and conceded Muralitharan will expect to again hold the record outright by that time. The Sri Lankan missed the Australia series due to personal reasons but should be back in action when South Africa tour the sub-continent in August.

"Who knows what the future holds?" Warne said. "He plays most of his test matches in Sri Lanka where they prepare wickets for him so everything is in his favour. The likelihood is he is probably going to get it and keep it and that's fine. As long as we keep winning, I'll be pretty happy."

Though Australia could only draw, Ricky Ponting was happy with his team's overall performance and a 1-0 series win. "It was another great series," the Australian captain said.

"We've played some sensational Tests against Sri Lanka in the last few months. The ground here is sensational and everyone concerned here should be very proud. We look forward to coming back here in the near future."

Sri Lankan skipper Marvan Atapattu also praised the groundstaff at the Bundaberg Rum Stadium. "I think this was a more cricketing wicket," he said.

"We enjoyed playing this wicket and the crowd were superb. The pitches back at home are much slower than this but as batsmen we like playing on pitches that come on with true bounce and pace."

Meanwhile, Glenn McGrath has been fined 25% of his match fee for an audible obscenity during the final day's play. The Australian fast bowler was fined over an appeal for a leg before wicket decision against Sri Sanatha Jayasuriya.

Leading wicket takers in Test cricket

M.Muralitharan (527)

S.K.Warne (527)

C.A.Walsh (519)

G.D.McGrath (440)

Kapil Dev (434)

R.J.Hadlee (431)

Wasim Akram (414)

C.E.L.Ambrose (405)

A.Kumble (397)

I.T.Botham (383)