Top 10 Aussie World Cup hundreds

Australia has dominated cricket World Cups like no other country since the tournament's inception in 1975, appearing in six of the 10 finals and winning four.

During that time, a cavalcade of brilliant batsmen have lit up one-day cricket's grandest stage. 

With thanks to icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup, here is an adapted list of the top 10 World Cup centuries by Australians. 

1: Adam Gilchrist 149
2007: Australia v Sri Lanka (Australia won by 53 runs)
Adam Gilchrist took his place among the ICC Cricket World Cup immortals with a breathtaking century in the 2007 final. The scene was set perfectly for Gilchrist when rain reduced the contest to 38 overs. Blasting from the outset, he left no Sri Lanka bowler unscathed as he pulled, cut, flicked and drove the ball to all corners of Kensington Oval – all with a squash ball in his glove. After bringing up a century in 72 balls, the assault continued until he was dismissed on 149 from 104 balls. All told he smashed eight sixes and 13 fours in an innings which secured Australia its third straight World Cup title. Who will win when Australia and Sri Lanka continue its World Cup rivalry at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 8, 2015? Make sure you are there to witness it live. Click here for ticketing information.

2: Ricky Ponting 140
2003: Australia v India (Australia won by 125 runs)
In the most complete World Cup final team performance ever, Ricky Ponting was the standout for champions Australia. Coming in with the platform laid at 1-105 after 14 overs, Ponting was rock-solid in bringing up his half century off 74 balls. From there, Ponting flicked the switch. It took just 29 more balls to bring up a treasured ICC Cricket World Cup final century. He went onto smash eight sixes on his way to an unbeaten 140 off 121 balls. Australia ended on 2-359 and a third ICC Cricket World Cup title was within grasping distance.

3: Steve Waugh 120 not out
1999: Australia v South Africa (Australia won by 5 wickets)
With Australia’s World Cup hopes on the line against a rampant South Africa side, Steve Waugh played the ultimate captain’s knock. Chasing 272 to win, Waugh came to the crease with Australia in deep trouble at 3-48. Needing a win to progress to the semi-finals, Waugh combined with Ricky Ponting for a 126-run partnership to get Australia back in the match. Waugh blossomed as the pressure mounted, crashing boundaries whenever the run rate increased. In an innings of immaculate timing, Waugh hit the winning runs with two balls to spare, finishing unbeaten on 120.

4: Andrew Symonds 143 not out
2003: Australia v Pakistan (Australia won by 82 runs)
With Australia’s World Cup defence already rocked by Shane Warne’s diuretics scandal, a shift in momentum was dramatically needed. Symonds provided it, and how. His selection in the squad – let alone the starting XI – the subject of intense speculation after just 69 runs in his previous seven innings, Symonds loomed as the unlikeliest hero in Australia’s batting line-up. Yet when the score slipped to 4-86, he strode to the crease and set about taking control. Some 34 overs later, he was still there, having guided Australia to a mammoth 8-310 with a breathtaking 143 not out from 125 balls, including 18 fours and two sixes. Pakistan’s much-vaunted attack had been cut to ribbons, and the Australians were on their way to an undefeated World Cup triumph.

5: Trevor Chappell 110
1983: Australia v India (Australia won by 162 runs)
After dropping its first two matches to Zimbabwe and West Indies, Australia’s campaign was temporarily revived by a magnificent Trevor Chappell century against India. Against a bowling attack that would go on to win the World Cup, Chappell displayed a mix of stoic defence and elegant attack in his innings of 110 at the top of the order. When Chappell departed with the score at 4-206, he had stroked 11 boundaries and laid the platform for a convincing 162-run win to Australia.

6: Mark Waugh 110
1996: New Zealand v Australia (Australia won by six wickets)
In a classic knockout match, Australia’s ICC Cricket World Cup 1996 campaign looked shaky as New Zealand racked up an imposing total of 286. After losing Mark Taylor early, Waugh steadied the Australia ship with a mix of deft stroke-play and pinpoint placement to send the New Zealand fielders scampering. When Waugh was dismissed for 110 from 112 balls, he had brought up his third century of the tournament and ended New Zealand’s World Cup dream. Who will win when Australia and New Zealand clash at the ICC Cricket World Cup on February 28 2015? Make sure you are there to witness it live. Click here for ticketing information.

7: Matthew Hayden 101
2007: Australia v South Africa (Australia won by 83 runs)
Mathew Hayden enters the list with his brutal display against South Africa in 2007. Batting first, Hayden and Adam Gilchrist savaged the South Africa bowling attack, bringing up 100 runs inside 14 overs. When the partnership was broken on 106, Hayden’s startling assault continued. His century was soon brought up in just 66 balls– at the time an ICC Cricket World Cup record. Although he was dismissed the next over, his 68-ball innings yielded 18 boundaries and laid the foundation for a convincing Australia victory.

8: Geoff Marsh 110
1987: Australia v India (Australia won by one run)
In one of the all-time great ICC Cricket World Cup matches, Geoff Marsh proved the difference in Australia’s one-run win over India. After being sent into bat by India, Marsh anchored the Australia innings, sharing in crucial partnerships with David Boon, Dean Jones and Alan Border to put India on the back foot. When his 141-ball stay at the crease ended on 110, Australia were 4-237 and the stage was set for a nail-biting win.

9: Alan Turner 101
1975: Australia v Sri Lanka (Australia won by 52 runs)
Needing a win to confirm its place in the semi-finals of the inaugural tournament, Australia got it on the back of a superb innings from opener Alan Turner. After being put into bat, unheralded Turner blazed the Sri Lanka attack to all parts of Kennington Oval to bring up a hundred before lunch. When he was dismissed, Australia were 1-182 and the chance of a Sri Lanka upset all but extinguished. Turner only played six ODIs, with this knock being his standout innings.

10: Ricky Ponting 104
2011: Australia v India (India won by five wickets)
The quality of Ponting’s 2011 century is highlighted by the fact that it’s the only innings on the list from a losing effort. In a quarter-final showdown, Ponting stood tall against a red-hot India on a spin-friendly surface. Coming in with the ball turning, Ponting nullified India’s spin attack by playing the ball late, working the gaps and sweeping effectively. With wickets falling and runs hard to come by, Ponting kept Australia in the match with one of his hardest earned centuries. Although Australia lost to eventual champions India, Ricky Ponting’s masterful performance was lauded as one of the great captain knocks in ICC Cricket World Cup history.