"Without a question, I think... they are more of a team under pressure," he said.

"They have done so well in this competition, they have blown away teams and now they are in a situation where if you lose one game, you're gone."

Australia are unbeaten in nine World Cup games and have not been beaten in 15 successive one-day internationals, a world record.

The last time they lost was against the Sri Lankans in January but Ricky Ponting's [ Images ] team exacted their revenge at the World Cup when beating Whatmore's team by 96 runs in the Super Sixes.

"Sri Lanka have had to fight a bit harder," Whatmore, a former Australia test player, added.

"Still in some judges' eyes Sri Lanka is not a powerhouse in world cricket.

"But we have made the semi-finals of the World Cup at the expense of South Africa [ Images ], who are meant to have been a really powerful team, New Zealand [ Images ] and England [ Images ]."