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Download PDF Australia will have a World Cup treble in their sights when they meet Sri Lanka in today’s final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Bangladesh Television and SET Max will telecast the match live from Bridgetown from 7.30pm BST.
The 1999 and 2003 winners are in the kind of form which carried them to a crushing 125-run victory over India in the final four years ago.
And they want to provide a fitting farewell for Glenn McGrath, who will be playing his final international game.
But Sri Lanka have a talented all-round side and a repeat of their win in the 1996 final is not out of the question.
The new ball is likely to be crucial to the outcome of the match — Sri Lanka must avoid losing early wickets as South Africa did against Australia in their semifinal and then look to knock one or two Australian batsmen over early when it is their turn in the field.
The pitch for the final is the same one which was used for the Super Eights game between England and Bangladesh, a surface which provided early assistance for the seamers but became slower as the game wore on, making it difficult for the batsmen to time the ball.
The outcome of the toss therefore will be doubly important.
Australia have simply steamrollered the opposition thus far in extending their World Cup winning sequence to 22 matches and Sri Lanka must find a way to sew some seeds of doubt in their minds, a feat which no other team has managed.
If they can do so by removing the likes of Matthew Hayden and Ponting, it will pave the way for spin bowler Muttiah Muralidaran to weave his magic against the middle order.
Muralidaran believes Sri Lanka can only prosper by playing their own game, and not worrying in advance about what Australia might do.
Sri Lanka are likely to make one change with Farveez Maharoof returning in place of Dilhara Fernando, who struggled in the semifinal against New Zealand after being warned for running down the pitch in his follow-through.
Australia, by contrast, are certain to be unchanged, barring any last-minute injury problems and skipper Ricky Ponting has backed his side to lift their standards even higher.
It is a fair bet that whatever the outcome, there will be a wicket or two for seam bowler McGrath to add to his current career total of 380.
Australia have won five of the previous World Cup meetings between the two sides but the lone defeat, perhaps significantly, came in the final 11 years ago.
Based on Australia’s form this time around, another Sri Lanka win would be an even greater achievement.
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