How the lowest point of Australia's World Cup campaign spurred them on to the final against New Zealand
'Kick up the backside' Australia needed
Michael Clarke believes Australia's stunning batting collapse in Auckland a month ago proved to be a timely "kick up the backside" for the World Cup favourites.
Australia were rolled for 151 against New Zealand in the pool stage, their collapse of 8-26 in nine overs setting a new low for the country's worst eight-wicket collapse in an ODI.
Mitchell Starc bowled magnificently in the chase and almost secured a shock victory for the Australians, but the late fightback didn't stop Clarke labelling the batting "horrendous" after the match.
Clarke was unsurprisingly more upbeat after his team downed India in their semi-final on Thursday night, setting the stage for another trans-Tasman showdown in Sunday's final.
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Australia walk off Eden Park in Auckland // Getty Images
"New Zealand will take confidence that they've beaten us in the tournament, but I believe that was the turning point in this tournament for the Australian team," Clarke said.
"That gave us a bit of a kick up the backside.
"We got a good look at a very good team that was playing at the top of their game, certainly with the ball."
Clarke said his side's attitude had been "exceptional" since the loss.
"You've seen that in our results ... we've been improving every single game," he said.
"That'll hold us in really good stead for Sunday."
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Australia have been unbeaten since the loss in Auckland // Getty Images
Australia's batting has been near-faultless over the past month, with totals of 6-417, 9-376 and 7-328 when batting first the highlights of a reshuffled order that now features Steve Smith at first drop.
Clarke suggested there was "no need to talk about" the Eden Park collapse in the days leading up to the final on Sunday.
"We've certainly improved in that area," he said.
"We'll talk about the New Zealand team once again ... we'll study them and we've been watching just about every game (they have played since).
"We know their strengths, we know their weaknesses and we know they're at the top of their game."