COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - A Sri Lankan team official says Muttiah Muralitharan will be playing in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand on Tuesday.

Media manager Brian Thomas told AP that "Muralitharan will be on the field" at the Premadasa Stadium.

There were doubts over Muralitharan's fitness after the offspinner strained a hamstring during the group match against New Zealand and later pulled a quadriceps muscle in the quarterfinal win over England.

Muralitharan will be making his last appearance in front of a capacity home crowd of 35,000 as he has already announced his retirement after the World Cup.

If Sri Lanka wins the final will be played at Mumbai on Apr. 2

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Sri Lanka spinner Muralitharan in doubt for semis clash

SYDNEY (AP) - Ricky Ponting stood down Tuesday as Australia cricket captain, ending a nine-year career that made him one of the country's most successful skippers, but was marred recently by humiliating team performances at the World Cup and in the Ashes.

Ponting, 36, told a packed news conference in Sydney his resignation as test and one-day international captain was effective immediately, but that he wanted to be considered for selection as a batsman.

"I think it's the right time," he said. "Getting through the Ashes series the way that we did and the World Cup now over, I wanted to make sure I gave the next captain every opportunity I possibly could to make sure he had as much experience going forward into the next couple of events we'll play."

He endorsed Michael Clarke as his successor as captain.

Australia's World Cup quarterfinal loss to India last week - the defending champions' worst result at the competition in two decades - followed a 1-3 loss to England in the Ashes series that ended earlier this year.

The losses added pressure to Ponting's leadership and prompted Cricket Australia to announce a comprehensive review of all aspects of the team.

"The fact that we went out of the World Cup when we did was the main reason for it," Ponting said. "I have had no tap on the shoulder from anybody. This is a decision that has been wholly and solely made by me and people close to me."

Ponting is Australia's most successful captain on paper. Australia won 48 of the 77 tests Ponting led as captain - including a record-equalling run of 16 consecutive victories between Dec.2005 and Jan. 2008. Australia also won 163 of 227 ODIs under Ponting.

Ponting has won three World Cups, two as captain when Australia didn't lose a match, and a Champions Trophy.

But his record has been slipping - three Ashes series defeats in four series have proved costly to his popularity in Australia - and his return from injury to helm this year's World Cup squad was increasingly viewed as a litmus test for his career as captain.

Some lackluster batting performances and visible tetchiness on and off the pitch during the World Cup did not help his image, and back-to-back losses to Pakistan and India within six days ended Australia's run of 34-unbeaten World Cup matches.

The one bright note was his 104 against India at Ahmedabad last week. It was his first century in 13 months, and helped convince him that he still had something to offer, though not as captain.

"The fact that I probably proved to myself in the last one day game the other day that I've still got what it takes to play a good international innings was something that was really important to me," Ponting said.

"Now that I don't have all the extra responsibility of the captaincy as well, I would like to think I could turn myself into a better player than what I've shown in the past six months."

Ponting's statistics as a batsman remain impressive - he has 13,288 runs from 359 ODIs dating back to 1995, and 12,363 test runs with 39 hundreds.

In terms of centuries and runs scored in international cricket, Ponting is second only to Indian great Tendulkar, who is aiming for his 100th international century when India plays Pakistan in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Ponting said Clarke had his total support as his successor as captain, saying Clarke had proven himself in first-class leader during stints at the helm of Australia's Twenty20 and one-day sides in recent times.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard described Ponting as the nation's greatest batsman after Don Bradman, saying she telephoned the outgoing captain after his announcement and told him he deserved the highest congratulations on his cricketing career.

"To play that kind of role for Australia is an enormous privilege and I know from talking to Ricky today that he has felt that privilege," she said.

Cricket Australia acting CEO Michael Brown said the board would meet later Tuesday to hear recommendations on captain and vice-captain from the chairman of selectors, and a decision would be make later. He said the positions were open to any active players, though he conceded that Clarke was a "very hot candidate."

Brown paid tribute to Ponting for overseeing "arguably the most successful Australian team performance in the history of the game."

"He has played a very significatn part in the rebuilding of Australian cricket, and is handing it over at an appropriate time to his successor," Brown said.

Ponting said he would give his full support to whoever becomes captain.

"It's my turn to step away and completely hand over to the next captain," he said. "Obviously whoever that may be will have my full and total support as long as my playing days are here."

He said he hoped to be among the players named Wednesday in the Australian squad heading to Bangladesh next month for a three-game tour.

"I am keen to stay around and play a little bit longer," he said. "With the team where it is at the moment, I think I have a lot to offer as a player and certainly as a leader for some of the younger guys if and when required."