With a thrilling World Cup final in prospect, Australia has the edge in the batting and Pakistan in the bowling according to the latest PwC Ratings. All six of Australia's top order batsmen are in the top 25 of the Ratings. Michael Bevan has maintained his position at the top and Steve Waugh has been the biggest climber for the Australians, up 23 places over the tournament and now at his highest one day Rating for over two years (though he has of course dominated the Test match Ratings for a lot longer). Pakistan has only Saeed Anwar, Inzamam and Ijaz in the top 30.

Pakistan's bowling looks the stronger of the two, however, with all five front line bowlers in the top 40 (even though Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq don't yet qualify for full Ratings). Shane Warne's spectacular return to form has put him above Glenn McGrath in the top ten, with Damien Fleming now 12th. Paul Reiffel's rating at 35th is respectable, but the biggest concern for Australia continues to be filling the fifth bowler slot.

South Africa Review

South Africa's dramatic exit from the tournament means that the final will be without four of the highest rated one day cricketers in the world. Shaun Pollock's five wickets ensured that - barring something spectacular in the Final - he will still be number one bowler at the end of the tournament, with Allan Donald fourth. Lance Klusener and Jacques Kallis are second and third in the batting, both of them enhancing their already impressive reputations as world class all rounders. The Achilles heel for South Africa proved to be the unexpected fragility of the middle order, with Hansie Cronje and Daryll Cullinan both dropping in the Ratings. However, Herschelle Gibbs has been one of the rising stars of the World Cup, and he is now placed at 31st, up 35 places over the tournament.

New Zealand Review

New Zealand managed to reach the semi-finals even though the star players - Astle, McMillan, Fleming and Cairns - all dropped in the Ratings. Their success can be credited in particular to two individuals - Geoff Allott and Roger Twose. Allott came into the tournament with a modest record in Test and One Day cricket, but he has been the rising bowling star of the World Cup, up 31 places to 24th. The ever-reliable Gavin Larsen remains the top rated New Zealander, however, even though he dropped five places to 17th.

Roger Twose (23rd) and Matthew Horne (60th) are both at the best one ratings of their careers. Twose takes over from Nathan Astle who has dropped 23 places and nearly 150 points during the World Cup.

[NB - 'career bests' have changed because of change of scaling]