Melbourne: Legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on Friday said Australia does not have enough fire in its bowling unit, which is the reason for its extended poor run and may also dent chances in the upcoming Ashes series against England.

Australia on Friday suffered its sixth defeat in a row in all forms of game as they lost to Sri Lanka by 29 runs to surrender the three-match One-day series.

"At the moment, Australia is a bit down because of lack of talent," Murali, who has scalped 1300-plus wickets in his career, told Sydney Morning Herald.

"You need to take 20 wickets, so you need a spinner to get two or three wickets and also one or two strike bowlers.

"[Mitchell] Johnson is a good bowler on song, but then he goes off form. That does not help them. [Glenn] McGrath was always tight, and he had [Jason] Gillespie and [Brett] Lee as well. So they are struggling in the bowling. The batting is not bad," he added.

Muralitharan believes the team who wins the first Ashes Test will eventually win the series.

"England is in high mood, but luck can change quickly. Things can go wrong in one match, and suddenly the pressure is on you. Whoever wins the first Test is going to win the series. The team that has its nose in front does well here," said Murali, who played his last competitive match in Sydney against Australia.

The first Ashes Test gets underway on November 25 at Brisbane.