BBC News Online: Sport: 1999 Cricket World Cup: Match Previews

Dickie Bird's guide to the final

Ever since England got knocked out I have predicted that Australia will win and I have no intention of changing my mind now.

They are looking very strong and have come good at just the right time.

And even though Pakistan look stronger on paper I believe the wonderful team spirit of the Australians will carry them through.

Waugh in the trenches

The Australians are playing very well at the moment and they fight for each other.

And in Steve Waugh they have a captain who doesn't know the meaning of the word defeat.

He is the type of person you would want next to you in the trenches.

He demonstrated these qualities perfectly in the Super Six game against the South Africans when all appeared lost. His century when the pressure was on was one of the greatest knocks I have ever seen in a one-day match.

It ranks right up there with Clive Lloyd's 102 in the 1975 World Cup final against the Australians and Viv Richards 138 not out in the 1979 final against England. Both of which I umpired.

What a semi

And what a semi-final with South Africa. It has to be one of the closest I have ever seen and in the end the belief of the Australians just carried them through.

I thought they would win the match because of the psychological advantage they carried through from their previous victory over the South Africans.

But you have to feel very sorry for the South Africans. They have played a tremendous part in the tournament and it is very sad the way they went out.

Still in one-day cricket anything can happen as the semi-final showed.

Potential match winners

Pakistan do possess a world class opening bowling attack but their batting can be a bit of a weakness if it doesn't fire. They can get a lot of runs but are a bit unreliable.

Their key match winners are all bowlers: Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq.

For Australia their batting is very strong with their skipper leading by example. Then there is Michael Bevan, who I believe is the best one-day batsman in the world at the moment.

Their bowling is also strong with both Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne able to turn a match.

With the better weather the pitches have improved and this has helped Warne turn the ball. His performance against South Africa will have silenced his critics.

If I were either skipper for the final on Sunday I would elect to bat first and get runs on the board.

Batting second you put pressure on yourself and start to panic, as South Africa did in the semi-final.

I do hope it is a good pitch at Lords on Sunday and I am really looking forward to the game. I just think Steve Waugh's boys will prove too good.

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Dickie Bird's guide to the final