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'Too much class': Ponting previews World Cup final

Three-time World Cup winner expects No.1-ranked England to have too much firepower for New Zealand at Lord's

Ricky Ponting believes England's powerhouse one-day side will lift the World Cup trophy for the first time and warned that their success could make Australia's Ashes campaign even more challenging.

The hosts vanquished their rivals in a resounding eight-wicket win in Thursday’s semi-final at Edgbaston, a performance Ponting rated as Australia's worst of the tournament, and as uncharacteristic for the five-time champions.

Only New Zealand, who upset India earlier this week to make their second straight World Cup decider, now stand in England's way. 

But Ponting expects Eoin Morgan to lift the trophy on the Lord's balcony on Sunday afternoon.

Dominant England storm into World Cup final

"I think England will win," the three-time Cup-winner told cricket.com.au

"I said before the tournament started that I thought they'd be exceptionally hard to beat. 

"I had them as the favourites coming in, nothing changes now. New Zealand have done amazingly well to get into the final and well done to them. 

"Two consecutive World Cup finals is an awesome achievement for that group and they'll have some experiences to take out of that last final, whereas none of the England players have played in a final before. 

"That being said, I think there's just a bit too much class in this England side for them not to win."

New Zealand stun India to book World Cup Final spot

If England do finally take out their maiden 50-over title, Ponting suggested the repercussions could be felt in next month’s change of format with the Ashes.

While personnel, including both sides' captains, will inevitably change between one-day and Test outfits, the majority of those who played in Birmingham on Thursday will at least be in contention to feature in the series opener at the same venue on August 1.

Jason Roy, who blasted a match-sealing 85 off just 65 balls in the semi-final, has been tipped as one player who could use the World Cup as a launching pad into the Test arena.

Roy left fuming by unlucky dismissal

Asked if England potentially winning the tournament helps their overall Ashes cause, Ponting said: "It probably does to be honest. 

"The country will be on a bit of a wave and a bit of a high, the players will certainly be on a huge high after that World Cup. 

"But who knows if they don't (win), it might have an adverse effect on their Ashes campaign as well. You can take lots of things from different series. 


"It's a completely different series going into an Ashes and there will be quite a few different players in their Test team than will be in this one-day team. They'll have different captains as well. 

"But I'm sure if they happen to win the World Cup, they'll take as much as they can from it going into the Ashes."

Australia's defeat marks an end to Ponting's two-month stint as an assistant under head coach Justin Langer.

The 44-year-old, who tasted success at the 1999, 2003 and 2007 editions of the World Cup, is the most successful captain in the history of the event and arguably knows more about how to plan a successful campaign than anyone.

Having stressed from the tournament's outset the importance of the team reaching its peak at the end of the campaign, Ponting lamented that they'd struggled to find their best form at the pointy end after going out with consecutive defeats to South Africa and England.

Finch reacts to crushing semi-final defeat

He also stood by their overall one-day strategy, having taken a more conservative approach to the format than England.

"Unusually for Australian teams in World Cups, we played our worst cricket in the most critical moments," he said. 

"I said right at the start of the tournament you have to play your best cricket at the back end and you have to stand up in the big moments. 

"We won all the big moments in the first half of the tournament and we've lost most of the big moments in the last couple of games. 

"That'll be the thing that gets spoken about the most and see if there's any reason behind it.

"Up until a week ago, we were probably the favourites to win the whole thing and we just haven't played at our best. 

"The game plan we had coming in I think stood up really well. It stood up against England early doors, stood up against New Zealand. 

"Tactically, I think we got things right. Personnel-wise, we picked the best team that we could for every game. Unfortunately we've come up short for the last couple of games."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs

June 25: Australia beat England by 64 runs

June 29: Australia beat New Zealand by 86 runs

July 6: Australia lost to South Africa by 10 runs

July 9: New Zealand beat India by 18 runs

July 11: Australia lost to England by 8 wickets

July 14: Final, England v New Zealand, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE