Muralitharan claims expectations are too high

Sri Lanka's magical off-spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan, speaking after the Sri Lankan's final practice before Wednesday's Coca-Cola Cup clash against New Zealand, warned that the wicket taking expectations placed upon him are too high.

Reacting to suggestions that his form dipped in the England tour he said: "I don't think that 14 wickets in a three-Test series is a poor performance. It is wrong for people to think that I will take 25 wickets every series. Nobody in the world can perform like that.

"People should not only expect me to take the wickets," he said. "We have four or five bowlers and they also have a job to do. We all have to contribute to win matches.

"Look at Australia - they have four good bowlers, who contribute in each and every match and that is why they are the best side in the world at the moment.

"If people think that I an going to take 25 wickets every series then I will take over 800 Test wickets in my career and that's not going to happen."

Muralitharan took 45 wickets in the six CricInfo Championship games that he played for Lancashire this year, which is 21 fewer than he took in the same number of games in 1999.

He feels that the improved standard of first-class cricket in England made it hard to repeat the astonishing exploits of his first season: "They have now spilt the championship into two divisions and the sides in the first division are getting stronger and stronger with more competition.

"The wickets were also a little bit wetter than on my last visit and the conditions were more suited to the seam bowlers," he said. "Considering that I thought I bowled quite well."

He sounded frustrated, however, by the willingness of players to just pad him away: "What can you do? You just have to keep bowling. They can't keep padding away all the time, as you have to score runs as well."

There had been speculation that he may have been playing too much cricket recently, but he argues: "My policy is that the more you play the better you get.

"You have to capitalise on your opportunities when you can, otherwise you may look back after your retirement and regret that you didn't play," he said.

In fact he hasn't ruled out further assignments abroad: "I didn't sign any contracts, but I might play a couple more seasons, maybe in South Africa as well."