Shane Warne says assessing Muttiah Muralitharan's action in a Test would be worth the hassle © Getty Images

Shane Warne believes Muttiah Muralitharan's action should be assessed in a Test match to end any lingering speculation over its legality. Warne is set to be overtaken as the world's leading Test wicket-taker by Muralitharan, who needs seven more victims to pass Warne's mark of 708.

Muralitharan's action has been repeatedly cleared by biomechanical tests over the past decade but those trials have never taken place in a match situation. Warne's bowling mentor Terry Jenner said on the weekend that Muralitharan needed to be tested during a game to clear his name completely, and Warne agrees.

"He should be tested under match conditions," Warne wrote in his column in News Ltd newspapers. "I'm sure he is sick of it all, but it would be well worth the exercise and hassle.

"I think for his own peace of mind and everyone in world cricket, do the testing in the heat of battle - a Test match. Surely the ICC, Sri Lanka and Murali would want that."

Muralitharan was first no-balled for throwing during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 1995-96 and again during a one-day game in Adelaide three years later. In 2004, when he troubled Australia with his doosra during a Test series in Sri Lanka, he was reported by the match referee Chris Broad.

Along the way Muralitharan has undertaken biomechanical tests in Perth, Hong Kong and England, and has been repeatedly cleared to keep bowling. The former Australia batsman Michael Slater took part in the 2004 analysis and he said despite going into the trial with doubts about Muralitharan's action, by the end he was totally convinced Muralitharan did not throw - even when bowling the doosra.

"In Australia, there is an almost universal belief Muralitharan is a chucker," Slater said in the Sunday Mail. "But if they were to see this footage they would be amazed. When people see the video, they say, 'I've changed my mind, he's not a chucker'."

Muralitharan has a chance to pass Warne's Test wicket record during the second Test, which starts in Hobart on Friday. Australia and Sri Lanka are competing for a new prize in the two-Test series - the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.