"He was one of the main focuses for us in the team meeting, talking about the right way to go about playing him," Ponting told a news conference on Friday.

Malinga made a stunning start to his side's Group A campaign after missing the two opening games against Canada and Pakistan due to back strain.

Facing a modest Kenya side, the paceman finished with career-best figures of 6-38 - including a hat trick - after bewildering the inexperienced batsmen with his toe-crushing yorkers. He claimed the last four wickets in six deliveries.

"We have to make sure when he comes on in those middle overs that we don't let him take wickets and have the impact on the game," Ponting said.

Australia has had two relatively easy victories against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, but without Michael Hussey the defending champion could be tested by Malinga and offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan at R. Premadasa Stadium.

Sri Lanka lost narrowly to Pakistan by 11 runs at the same venue last week, after crushing Canada by 210 runs, but Ponting believes the loss would not have hurt the co-host that badly.

"I don't think that changes anything at all," he said.

"They're a well-skilled and well-drilled team." Ponting expects Australian selectors to name a replacement for injured pace bowler Doug Bollinger soon after the game against Sri Lanka.

"In this part of the world you can have a couple of guys go down overnight," Ponting said referring to the hot and humid conditions of the subcontinent.

"I'd be surprised if that announcement is not made straight away after this game." Selectors have delayed naming the replacement after Bollinger was ruled out due to an ankle injury - in an apparent move to test the fitness of left-handed batsman Hussey.

"The last thing you want to do is be caught short going in to any game in a World Cup," Ponting said.

Hussey was left out from the 15-member original squad due to a hamstring injury, but the left-hander is fit again and scored 19 runs in a Sheffield Shield match on Friday.

"It will be interesting to see how he gets through that game," Ponting said. "There's probably got to be a chance that Mike might come." Hussey's skill in playing against spinners on the typically slow pitches of the subcontinent could help Australia's bid to win the title for a fourth successive time.

Australia will have seven days break after the match against Sri Lanka before taking on Kenya at Bangalore on Mar. 13. Ponting said the long break could provide a replacement player enough time to get used to the conditions.

The Australian captain reckoned selectors might also want to see how the bowlers were doing in the testing conditions before naming Bollinger's replacement.

"Probably one of the reasons... until after this game is to see how all the fast bowlers that are here are actually getting through their workloads," he said.

"We had a couple of guys coming here who were probably a little bit underdone, someone like Shaun Tait is just working up to full fitness now." Ponting focusses Australia on Malinga