Ponting believes Oz can win CWC as they 'generally deliver' when it matters

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has backed the national team's chances of winning the Cricket World Cup, claiming that the good thing about Australian cricket history is that they generally deliver when it matters.

The great Australian batsman knows what it takes to win the World Cup, having been part of winning teams in 1999, 2003 and 2007, and believes that the current team is tracking well as the quarterfinals of the tournament looms.

A slow start, mostly because of scheduling and a washout against Bangladesh, gained momentum with a comfortable win over Sri Lanka in Sydney last Sunday, Stuff.co.nz reported.

Ponting claimed that it set a blueprint for the rest of the tournament, notably the use of Shane Watson at number six. He said that currently he feels that the Australian line-up is starting to look good.

Ponting, who is sticking by his pre-tournament prediction of a New Zealand-Australia final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 29, said that they saw what Mitchell Starc can do when he gets it right, adding that Mitchell Johnson hasn't been at his best yet, but that won't be far away, and insisted that they have got Pat Cummins or Josh Hazlewood to bring back in.

Ponting insisted that he liked what he saw against Sri Lanka, adding that the balance of their side now that Watson has come in and batted down the order at six, he believes it makes it look better.

Ponting said that Steven Smith at three, Michael Clarke at four and Watson and Glenn Maxwell at the end to do the power hitting, it is looking really good.

Ponting reckons Australia would go without a spinner when the knockout phase begins, with Cummins or Hazlewood preferred over Xavier Doherty, claiming that that spin option didn't really work well for the side in Sydney.

The former skipper said that Australia had more depth and strength across the board than anyone else, with New Zealand a close second. He said that if one looks at the teams, it's pretty hard to find too many weaknesses in the Australian lineup, adding that they seem to have most bases covered.

Ponting insisted that one has still got to stand up and deliver when it matters, but added that that's the good thing about Australian cricket history; they generally deliver when it matters.