Muttiah Muralitharan believes his great spin rival Shane Warne can get 1,000 Test wickets if he stays in the game long enough.

Warne currently holds the world record with 623, 60 ahead of Muralitharan, who has played 33 fewer Tests.

Warne has predicted in the past that the Sri Lankan would be the first bowler to take 1,000 Test wickets, and repeated his claim on Wednesday.

"He'll get a thousand, I've said that for ages," Warne said.

"Look at him. He's young, he's fresh and he gets wickets all the time.

"I'm just happy to hang on to it while I've got a little lead on him at the moment, but I'm sure he'll catch that up pretty quick."

Muralitharan, who at 33 is three years younger than the Australian, said Warne was himself capable of reaching the mark.

"Shane's being modest. He can take easily 1,000 wickets because he's going to be playing another five or six years."

Warne and Murali say there is no rivalry between them.

They have become good friends since they joined forces in a Melbourne benefit match last January for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

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