History gives Australia the edge in final

Australia are hoping to ride their impressive recent record in tournament finals to another piece of silverware against the West Indies in Barbados on Monday morning (3am AEST, Fox Sports 4).

The tourists will take on the hosts at Kensington Oval in the tri-series decider after the Windies knocked South Africa out of the tournament with a 100-run win on Saturday.

Australia have an impressive recent history in high-pressure ODIs, having won nine of 12 matches in either tournament finals or series-deciding games in the past five years.

And the Aussies are historically near unbeatable in major tournament deciders as well, having won five from seven World Cup finals and two from two in the Champions Trophy.

Image Id: ~/media/A4F3E750C6D34F2AAAC87FEBF8CCD0AE Image Caption: Australia celebrate winning the 2015 World Cup // Getty

In contrast, the Windies have played just five finals or series deciders in the past five years, losing four of them, and have a 3-3 record in finals of major ODI tournaments in their history. They haven't won an ODI tournament featuring more than two teams since 2004.

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"We have another final and I think Australians really step up in finals," Australia captain Steve Smith said on match eve.

"I think we haven't played our best cricket so far throughout this series. Having said that, all you want to do is make it to the final and from there you want to be playing your best cricket.

"We haven't had a polished performance yet, so it'd be nice to have that tomorrow."

Victory in the final will be a welcome boost for the winning side as they look towards contrasting challenges in the next 12 months.

For Australia, victory will affirm their status as the No.1 ranked ODI team in the world and continue their build towards the Champions Trophy in England next year, while the Windies are fighting to secure automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup.

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The West Indies will not feature in next year's Champions Trophy in England, having been ranked ninth at the cut-off date last September. They have since moved up and are keen to avoid the same mistake for the World Cup.

The performances of the world No.8 Windies so far in this series has already earned them valuable points in the International Cricket Council's ODI rankings, moving them clear of ninth-placed Pakistan with around 15 months before the cut-off for the World Cup.

Hosts England and the other top seven ranked teams in the world as of September 30 next year will automatically qualify for the tournament, while the teams ranked 9-12 will have to compete in a qualifier tournament in Bangladesh in March and April 2018, with the top two teams from there progressing to the World Cup.

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"We know the importance of this series and the importance of moving up the rankings," said captain Jason Holder.

"We've been criticised in the past for being stuck at No.7 and No.8 (so) it's important we keep making strides forward.

"All I can urge is that the guys stay together. If we keep a core group of players together ... identify who we want to take forward and hopefully get the backing of everybody around us and keep the group together.

"It's a big plus for the team and West Indies cricket that we've shown we can compete with against good sides.

"But nobody goes to a final to lose. We're going to compete and try to win the final.

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"I think it's important now that we've come this far so there's no turning back right now. It's a situation where we've just got to give it our all."

Australia in series deciders since June 2011

Oct 2011: Australia 7-227 (Watson 49, Hussey 45no) beat South Africa 6-222 (Kallis 54, Amla 52) by three wickets in Durban

Mar 2012: Australia 231 (Wade 49, Warner 48) beat Sri Lanka 215 (Tharanga 71, McKay 5-28) by 16 runs in Adelaide

Image Id: ~/media/5DF64F9F81684511B88E583B8E5F1F3F Image Caption: Shane Watson and Australia celebrate beating Sri Lanka in Adelaide // Getty

Mar 2012: Australia 281 (Warner 69, Watson 66, Russell 4-61) beat West Indies 251 (Sammy 84, Lee 3-42) by 30 runs in Gros Inlet

Sep 2012: Australia 7-250 (Hussey 65, Maxwell 56no) beat Pakistan 7-244 (Hafeez 78, Starc 4-51) by three wickets in Sharjah

Jan 2013: Australia 5-247 (Hughes 138no) beat Sri Lanka 215 (Mathews 67, Doherty 3-21, Henriques 3-32) by 32 runs in Hobart

Sep 2013: Australia 298 (Watson 143, Clarke 75, Stokes 5-61) beat England 249 (Bopara 62, Faulkner 3-38) by 49 runs in Southampton

Image Id: ~/media/87EEEE16AD76448A8CA28441DD04310A Image Caption: Mitch Johnson bowls Joe Root en route to victory at Southampton in 2013 // Getty

Nov 2013: Australia 326 (Faulkner 116, Maxwell 60) lost to India 6-383 (Sharma 209, Dhoni 62) by 57 runs in Bangalore

Sep 2014: Australia 9-217 (Finch 54, Steyn 4-34) lost to South Africa 4-221 (Du Plessis 96, De Villiers 57no) by six wickets in Harare

Feb 2015: Australia 8-278 (Maxwell 95, Marsh 60) beat England 166 (Maxwell 4-46, Johnson 3-27) by 112 runs in Perth

Mar 2015: Australia 3-186 (Clarke 74, Smith 56no) beat New Zealand 183 (Elliott 83, Johnson 3-30, Faulkner 3-36) by seven wickets in Melbourne (World Cup final)

Image Id: ~/media/35D99D1A2B86400C93FEFA6D2B368EE5 Image Caption: Mitch Starc celebrates removing Brendon McCullum in the World Cup final's first over // Getty

Sep 2015: Australia 2-140 (Finch 70no, Bailey 40no) beat England 138 (Marsh 4-27, Hastings 3-21) by eight wickets in Manchester

Feb 2016: Australia 191 (Khawaja 44, Marsh 41, Henry 3-60) lost to New Zealand 246 (Guptill 59, Elliott 50) by 55 runs in Hamilton