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SRI Lanka's gallant attempt to stay in the Carlton and United series met with little success at the WACA yesterday as an uncompromising Australian team and an unsympathetic Australian crowd waved them goodbye by the comfortable margin of 45 runs.

This has not been a month the world champions would want to remember. They have been outplayed on the field and the subject of outrage off it.

Each time Muttiah Muralitharan bowled during his first over in the morning, thousands of spectators chorused ``no ball''.

Arjuna Ranatunga was booed at every opportunity and was bumped by Glen McGrath when he batted. Even the jovial team manager, Ranjit Fernando, is sagging.

Their agony is not done, either. They may be out of the competition but they now have two meaningless games still to fulfil.

The last straw came with the news that Sanath Jayasuriya has broken a bone in his right arm, having been struck by a delivery from Brendon Julien, and is out of action for up to two months. They will all be glad to go home.

In contrast, Australia had a lovely day out. Their uninhibited batting belied the cracked and spiteful pitch, the fielders performed more like the South Africans and the bowlers threatened the way that they always seem to. Not many teams would have beaten Australia yesterday, least of all the shot-away Sri Lankans.

Australia's formidable total reflected dashing stuff all the way down the list. Local boy Adam Gilchrist got them off to a flyer and another equally revered son of Western Australia, Damien Martyn, gave the middle of the innings its impetus.

Man of the match Ricky Ponting's miserable fortnight, after punishment for an after hours misdemeanour, was forgotten as familiar pull strokes transcended the difficult pitch.

He promised much before being run out but later was to field with memorable brilliance and to trundle his medium pacers most tidily.

Michael Bevan was back from a groin strain which he picked up on top of a spate of criticism about his slow scoring in the run-chases which Australia lost against England in Brisbane and Sydney.

Yesterday, he proved his critics wrong with one of those fabulous innings in which he finds scoring opportunities off just about every ball and displays natural timing when hitting the boundary.

A target of 275 must have looked a mile away to Sri Lanka and with Aravinda de Silva out injured again, the dressing-room must have known that their hopes rested with Jayasuriya. He did not let them down.

What a marvellous striker of the ball Jayasuriya is - a murderous square cut first ball of the innings off McGrath, an amazing straight six off Adam Dale and an immense smash down the ground off Shane Lee were highlights which thrilled the Sri Lankans in the crowd.

But the uneven pitch had the last say when Julien's good-length ball reared and struck Jayasuriya's arm full on. His pain was evident, Sri Lanka's interest was over.

Others did their bit, but none had quite the class to resist Australia who, again, were excellently led by the imaginative Shane Warne.

His captaincy is becoming a feature of this team, who are looking stronger by the day. They will meet England in the finals, which begin in Sydney on Feb 10, and at this stage it is hard to make either of them a clear favourite.

Pace bowler Paul Reiffel is almost certain to miss Australia's forthcoming West Indies tour after aggravating a groin injury while playing for Victoria against Queensland in a Mercantile Cup match on Saturday.