Jayasuriya - nasty blow on arm (Getty Images)

By Myles Hodgson, PA Sport, Johannesburg

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Brett Lee provided another thrilling example of Australia's seemingly endless resources with a fiery display to end Sri Lanka's challenge and put the world champions through to the World Cup semi-finals.

Despite losing Shane Warne to a drugs ban and Jason Gillespie to a heel injury, Australia do not seem to be suffering by the loss of two of their superstars and looked almost unstoppable en route to a 96-run hammering of Sri Lanka.

Virtually every other side in the tournament would struggle to cope with the loss of just one of them, but in Australia's highly-competitive squad it just leaves a vacancy for someone else to come in and produce a match-winning display.

In their previous game, Andy Bichel claimed seven wickets against England to scoop the man-of-the-match award and this time it was Lee, who would have been unlikely to play had Gillespie been fit, who delivered a hostile spell to lay the foundations for the victory they required to qualify for the last four.

Lee claimed three wickets in 11 deliveries having already sent Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya to hospital, where it was confirmed he suffered a bruised left forearm and a cracked wrist after trying to defend a short ball.

His efforts left Sri Lanka, chasing Australia's formidable 319 for five, reeling on 48 for four and although Aravinda de Silva hit a brilliant 92 off 94 balls to help his side to a respectable total, the outcome of the match had long been settled before then.

Perhaps spurred on by last Sunday's wicketless return against England, Lee's pace unsettled Sri Lanka from the moment their captain was helped from the field by their physiotherapist, delivering a hostile eight-over spell which all but ended their challenge.

Fellow opener Marvan Atapattu was his first victim, driving back down the pitch only for Lee to take an impressive low catch diving to his left and Mahela Jayawardene, out of form having scored only 16 runs in his previous four innings this tournament, edged tamely behind in his next over.

Glenn McGrath, who had been successfully tying up his end while Lee provided the dramatics at the other, ended Hashan Tillekeratne's determined innings when he was bowled for 21 before Lee struck again to dismiss Russel Arnold leg before.

Once Lee had exploited what pace there was from a batsman-friendly pitch, it was the turn of Australia's less celebrated squad members to make an impression with Brad Hogg brilliantly running out Kumar Sangakkara despite only having one stump to aim at and ending a 52-run stand with de Silva.

Chaminda Vaas provided support for Sri Lanka's most experienced campaigner, hanging around for 13 overs before being trapped leg before on the back foot attempting to cut Hogg, to prompt de Silva into a late display of his strokeplay.

Seven years on from his match-winning innings in the 1996 World Cup final against Australia, de Silva launched into their attack and hit four sixes and nine other boundaries before giving a gentle return catch to Hogg having been dropped before he had even scored by Matthew Hayden in the gully.

Australia's huge total had been built around two outstanding innings from wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and captain Ricky Ponting as the world champions set out to achieve their 13th successive win in one-day internationals.

Gilchrist set the tone for their innings with a typically flamboyant 99 off 88 deliveries, which included two sixes and 14 other boundaries, and looked destined to claim his first century of the tournament, particularly after he was dropped by Muttiah Muralitharan on 96 after he had cut Vaas.

But captain Ponting, looking for a second run after he had driven Muralitharan into the deep, did not anticipate Vaas' superb direct throw which hit the stumps at the non-striker's end and denied Gilchrist his hundred.

Perhaps guilty at his role in Gilchrist's demise, Ponting tried to match his team-mate's extravagant strokeplay and hit 20 off one over from Vaas, which included two sixes as Australia began to accelerate towards the end of their innings.

Ponting's superb display was ended with five overs remaining when he mis-timed an attempted pull off Dilhara Fernando and wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara took a running catch after he had scored 114 from 109 balls.

Australia lost two more wickets in their pursuit of quick runs with Damien Martyn's well-paced 52 from 58 balls being halted when he was bowled by Fernando attempting a big heave in the final over while Darren Lehmann pulled straight to mid-wicket.