Opener expects to face either South Africa or England in the showpiece final at the MCG on March 29
Warner makes bold World Cup prediction
Australia's in-form opener David Warner says he's looking forward to locking horns with either South Africa or England in the final of the ICC World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 29.
Related: View Australia's World Cup squad
While the pitches rolled out for the recent Commonwealth Bank Test Series against India were less lively and more long-lasting than expected, the strips that the ICC will oversee for their showcase quadrennial event are guaranteed to offer at least some pace and bounce.
And that will contrast starkly with the slower, flatter pitches that so many of the white-ball game's most prolific scorers have become used to playing on through their involvement in the Indian Premier League and the myriad of ODI tournaments played on the sub-continent.
Hazlewood, who along with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Johnson will form the tallest if not the fastest pace bowling attack in the tournament, believes it is the Australians' ability to utilise the extra bounce as both batters and bowlers that should prove decisive.
"I think the sub-continent teams will struggle with the bounce, their conditions are a lot flatter and spin friendly and their games are quite high scoring over there," Hazlewood said today at the launch of Australia's 15-man ICC Cricket World Cup squad.
"So I think bounce is the key.
"It's the thing I look for against those sub-continent teams.
"We saw in that (last November's Carlton Mid ODI) series against South Africa that the WACA was quite quick and bouncy and the other wickets (in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra) were a little bit flatter but still had decent carry.
"So if they're those sorts of wickets I think we have a good advantage."
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Warner, who like Hazlewood will be making his World Cup debut in the upcoming six-week tournament in Australia and New Zealand despite playing his first ODI six years ago, also nominated the pace and bounce as factors that will favour the southern hemisphere nations.
But he also added the larger dimensions of Australian grounds, most of which are significantly bigger than those in most other cricket nations, as a key element in Australia's planning.
"I definitely think it's the venues (that provide an advantage) because you look at the Gabba, the MCG and probably Sydney as well, the grounds' square (boundaries) are big," Warner said today.
"So we can use our bounce and pace.
"When you're playing in a country like India, the boundaries are quite small, and as a batter I'm loving it there because you can go through with your shots and your top edges will go to the boundary.
"But here if you try to use the square boundaries to your advantage, you're going to get catches in the outfield.
"I don't think there's going to be easy sixes.
"The conditions, the carry, the bounce, the wickets are going to be very good – our curators in Australia are the best in the world and I think they will produce very good wickets for us."
For that reason, as well as the predictable parochial ones, Warner has no doubt his team will be at the MCG when the World Cup is decided in 11 weeks from now.
And when asked who he expected Australia will face in the play-off, it was the conditions as much as the relative strengths of rivals and historic animosities that helped shape his prediction.
"I really hope it's either South Africa or England," he said.
"I think that would be a great tussle.
"The wickets (in Australia) suit all three countries and it would be a very good battle."
Australia’s World Cup Fixtures
February 14: v England, 2:30pm at the MCG
February 21: v Bangladesh, 1:30pm at the Gabba
February 28: v New Zealand, 2:00pm at Eden Park (NZ)
March 4: v Afghanistan, 2:30pm at the WACA
March 8: v Sri Lanka, 2:30pm at the SCG
March 13: v Scotland, 2:30pm at Blundstone Arena
View the full fixture list here
#CmonAussie
Remember, you can also support Australia on the road to the World Cup by either tweeting @CricketAus the hashtag #CmonAussie or visiting this page to get your digital autograph from Clarke and go on to purchase your very own personalised World Cup top.