Australia are blessed. It took Michael Hussey 29 matches for his average to drop below 100 and he's not only replaced Michael Bevan as a finisher extraordinaire but actually bettered him. He can control the middle overs - maneuvering the spinners, scurrying between wickets, lofting aerial strokes, gliding cheekily - and possesses an enviable composure during the pivotal stages. Basically with Hussey at the crease forget the score; just put your money on Australia.

India have heavily relied on Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the final stages. When the mood catches him, Yuvraj doesn't just finish games, he kills them. Of the 16 half-centuries that Yuvraj has managed while chasing, India have won on 14 occasions (In 21 games between November 2005 and May 2006 he reeled off six half-centuries and three hundreds). In Dhoni, India possess a finisher imbued with the X-factor. His destructive qualities are well documented but he's recently shown that he can temper his approach, shepherding the tail during the tense stages.

South Africa's Mark Boucher has mastered the art of shifting gears over the years. His only one-day hundred was a 44-ball massacre and his matchwinning 98-ball 69 on a juicy trampoline at Mohali showed his versatility. Justin Kemp has been his partner in many a rescue act and teams will beware of his ability to clear the ropes, stands and even stadiums.

Brendon McCullum can be counted on to provide some tail-end dynamite for New Zealand © Getty Images

New Zealand's Brendon McCullum and Jacob Oram promise to be equally destructive. Their contrasting styles make them a combustible pair - one's a nuggety accumulator, who's well capable of the big shots, the other's a palm-tree hitter, who's adept at shifting gear. New Zealand, who enter the tournament on the back of a couple of sensational run-chases against Australia, often make up for their top-order failings through tail-end dynamite and can be counted to pull off the close chases.

England have banked on Paul Collingwood to provide them with the impetus towards the end. Though he was more of a playmaker during the recent CB Series, when he propelled England to the title, he's often been influential at the end, as five fifties and two hundreds in the last 25 games testify.

Sri Lanka may not have an accomplished finisher (Chamara Silva promises much but is only 14 ODIs old) but enjoy the aggressive talents of Chaminda Vaas and Farveez Maharoof lower down. Both have the ability to boost first-innings totals but it's in the second innings, with the tension mounting, that their talents will be tested.

The two major teams that might have a problem finishing are West Indies and Pakistan. Abdul Razzaq's absence leaves a big void and its now upto Shoaib Malik to steer the bottom half of the line-up. He's got the technique to move it around and is very capable of taking bowlers on. It may boil down to how much support he receives from the erratic but explosive Shahid Afridi and the tail.

Dwayne Bravo often carries the responsibility in the dying stages but West Indies' penchant for the collapse has left them vulnerable too many times. Dwayne Smith is more miss than hit while Denesh Ramdin has lost his cool more often than not. They'll hope to stay calm when it matters. A few million Caribbean cricket crazies will wish for the same.

you have missed Masrafee bin Mortaza from Bangladesh, he has had quite a few great finishes in the last couple of months. What about just this week vs New Zealand, two sixes to finish the game

Are not we forgetting someone who has shown the penchant for some interesting finishes, Rahul Dravid?

For England, there are two more options considering paul Colingwood comming in at no:4, the fininshing job could well reside with Andrew flintoff and Jamie Dalrymple who is becoming more impressive.

Very interesting analysis. However, Shane Watson for Aussies, Flintoff for England, Shaun Pollock & Gibbs (now that he bats down the order) for South Africa can come in very handy in tight finishes

I think Pakistan have :Mohammad Yusuf as great finishers.
& in England they have Kevin Peterson & Andrew Flintoff two big guys.

One big name missing here is Andrew Symonds. I agree that he is out injured and runs the risk of not participating in the world cup itself, but if he does get fit he can send the bowlers on a leatherhunt. Also, a few of the very underrated finishers i believe are Daniel Vettori and Shaun Pollock. What Say?

Russel Arnold for Srilanks... though he is more of an accumulator , he can clear the fence at times.

Sarwan record speak for it`s self as one of the finisher in world cricket today,unfortunately he coming off a injury that have kept him out of action in recents times,couple knocks under is belt and he would readyto go

i think Azhar Mehmood is not a bad finisher for Pakistan as he has hit a lot of sixes in county and in one day cricket.Andrew hall is also a good finisher from south africa.

You have forgotten Inzimam-ul-Haq from Pakistan. He is the most pressure absorbing batsmen in the side. He plays according to the situation, especially in chasing the totals. He can also be explosive when needed. With him on the crease, you dont need to worry about the run rate at all, even if it is above 6 or 7 for more than 10 overs. I think he has been the finisher for Pakistan most of the times.

Well, its a well compiled list but i still feel altough Abdul Razzaq is missing from the Pakistan lineup. The trio of Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Azher Mahmood would be handful in the last 10 overs and certainly better than maharoof and vaas.

Mashrafe Mortaza is turning out to be good finisher in the end of the innings. He proved it playing against New Zealand.

What about Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Peiterson for England?

You speak about low middle order batsman. There are openers and top order batsmen who have set the foundation. Ganguly, Inzamam, Tendulkar, Dravid, Lara, Gayle........... they have not only set it up, they carried through to the end

you have left Irfan pathan of india and chaminda vaas of sri lanka,andrew symonds of australia,rana naved of pakistan

What about the fantastic power of big Andrew Symonds from Ozland who can make a stadium seem very small indeed?! (He can also make a rap singer blush with his hair-do, but that's another thing!)

What about Andrew Flinthoff and Kevin Pietersen of England.
How about Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed of Bangladesh. Though they come at the top of the order, they can score very quickly.

What about Andrew Flinthoff and Kevin Pietersen of England ?
How about Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed of Bangladesh. Though they come at the top of the order, they can score very quickly.

are u srs srini u think dravid is a finisher, lol. well i think ur missing afridi, personally wen he is batting at the bottom end he is a finisher for the pakistan side!

No kevin pietersen!!!!!! That's insane, he's the first name that comes to mind after hussey and he will be one of the two best odi batsmen of the next 7-8 years.

I would include Flintoff from England, Mcmillan from New Zealand, Even Ponting himself From Australia in the list of finishers

How can we forget Rahul Dravid, whose clinical finishes have won India so many matches.He has the right kind of temparament required at the end.

What about our Agarkar, he is a great finisher for our team the only difference is our opponent wins the moment u give him the ball. So according to me he is a great finisher for all other teams

i think you totally forgot about Symonds!!!!
think australia winning the world cup..depends on his fitness..and perhaps shaun pollock??he ain't a bad hitter at all either..craig mcmillan??in the recent series against australia has shown his powers.

I think Azhar Mahmood coming in for Razzaq as well as Kamran Akmal could potentially be very important and very effective finishers for Pakistan combined with Malik and Afridi. Kamran Akmal hasn't been in the best of form but he is much better suited to WI pitches. When Pakistan toured WI last year he finished off an ODI with three consecutive 6s. Rana Naveed is no mug with the bat either.

Pakistan's best finisher is Inzimam-ul-Haq. He is extremely good in chasing totals, plays according to the situation and can be explosive when needed. He has been the finisher for Pakistan most of the times.

Yes of course you are missing Rahul Dravid, who has played that sort games in quite bit from time now. In last world cup too he & yuvraj were the one who use to play that role finisher, along side dravid playing role wicket keeper batsman. So i hope you should add him too...

I think Afridi, the moment he comes onto the crease and as soon as he leaves the side is finished.

Big Mac for NZ, Dalrymple for England, Arnold for Sri Lanka

It's amazing how the older players tend to be discounted. In Pakistan's case, how could anyone forget Inzamam. Generally, he's comin in lower down the order these days for the last 10-15 overs. And how many vital knocks of 30 or 40 odd has this great veteran made to steer Pakistan to a respectable total? Need I say more.

I think dilshan is perfectly adept at finishing an innings, hes got experience and is an underated player.

Of late Dinesh Kartik shaping very well to be a finisher. He has all the qualities.

Hey u hav missed out on our very own RAHUL 'WALL' DRAVID. Also u hav overlooked Newzealands CRAIG MCMILLAN & Englands ANDREW FLINTOFF.

and with the form that pollock is in at the moment? stats may not speak the entire truth, as in recent times he has been hitting the ball cleanly and is generally good for at least 30 or so...maybe not the most explosive of hitters, but definitely in contention...

For Australia, Andrew Symonds is a key player in the death overs. For New Zealand, you can add McMillan, especially with his recent games
For South Africa, Shaun Pollock hard hitting works often.

What about Shaun Pollock for South Africa? He's done a fair job many a time.

you have missed out mohd yousuf of pakistan

You can definity add Craig McMillan to the list at quick fire 50 and 100 against Australia in his last 2 matches are proof of that. His experience at this level may copunt for somethin to.

you forgot andrew symonds of australia and shaun pollock of south africa

What about the guy who came back from a long stint away from the New Zealand, and has since smashed some superb scores in the CB series and the Chapell Hadlee Trophy. Yep, thats right, Craig McMillan

we want to watch live match between pakistan and south africa but u have no information about that match why?

Another player who can finish games if fit will be Andrew Symonds, he made his name at the last world cup and will look to enhance his legacy in the carribean.

Have we forgotten all about Ramnaresh Sarwan's exploites for West Indies as a finisher????!!!

I totally agree with Rajkumar ... you cannot consider Collingwood a finisher surely? He is too far up the order to consider him that.. for england i would put my money on Jamie Dalrymple to up the rate at the end, with plenty of big shots from the youngsters (Mahmood and Plunkett) in the tail.. that is if they get picked

I think you have missed mentioning the name of Inzi. I think he's Pakistan's bets finisher of the lat 3-4 years in both ODI's and tests. And the best thing about him is that he can be both defensive and can take any attack form the scruf of the neck.

yes i agree that pakistan will miss the services of adul razak but like 92 world cup Inzamam who obviously like to come down the order will be the match finisher for pakistan don't u think.

I think we need to include Rahul Dravid as well in this list. He has a great ability of shepherding the lower order around him. We all know his ability to accumulate runs in singles and twos but he is equally capable of big shots towards the end if necessary. Dravid with either Yuvraj or Dhoni is a great finishing combination.

How about Andrew Symonds? Can give the total a massive boost with his big hits..

Are you forgot Andrew Symonds.He is a perfect finisher.Although he is not playing now a days but if he gets going on his day it could be forgetable dream for any bowler.

Guys what about the "Mac attack" Craig McMillian. How can we not forget jut three weeks ago his blistering attackh on the Australian bowlers to cahse down 340 odd when NZ where already 4 wickets down. A cool head now,with the power to launch any bowling attack out of the park.

How about Murali? :)

weel,i think u didnt do justic when u write about pakistan,and forgot to mention about kamran akmal,to me he is the best down the order.

You are forgetting Ramnaresh Sarwan. He has proven to be the ideal finisher for the West Indies over the recent years and has shown that it does not take boundry hitting to win a cricket game. Do not forget after the retirement of Bevaun he was rated as the # 1 finisher in the game.

I think have missed out Styris of NZ.

What about Brett Lee, he has been there a fair bit for the aussies, most memerable one for me was against sta africa at the gabba in 2005 he got 57 while mike hussey got another half ton. or even shaun pollock of sth africa

What about Brett Lee, he has been there a fair bit for the aussies, most memerable one for me was against sta africa at the gabba in 2005 he got 57 while mike hussey got another half ton. or even shaun pollock of sth africa

Inzamam is one guy who never gets his due ..I think he has been one great finisher for Pakistan over the years but has never got the accolades which he deserves.He is no Miandad for sure but he has bailed the team out and put them on course of victory many a times.

Dwyane Smith is a waste, I was very very impressed with him when he hit a century on his debut in SA a few years back but he has let his team down all the times since then.He should be just asked to pack his bags and watch school kids play cricket,he might learn a thing or two from them !!

i think that one of the reason why we are so inconsistent but if gale carry his bat there is no stopping

Shaun Pollock! I have often heard commentators say that he is one of the cleanest hitters of a cricket ball in the world. I have seen him (together with his partner at the other end of course) bat at more than 10 runs per over for the last 10 overs. Go Pollock!!

Hi you missed Bangladesh

we are forgetting Dwayne "sluggo" Levrock with the ball and clay smith lionel can with the bat for bermuda. they can make a difference.

Do not forget Ricki Ponting. When he gets going he can also finish. Remember the last world cup final.

Mashrafe Mortaza of Bangladesh should definitely have been included!

Guys - finishers would be batsmen who normally come in at 6 / lower. Dravid / Ganguly are therefore disqualified. If Dravid who normally comes at 3 qualifies as a finisher, Sachin / Ganguly / Adam Gilchrist ..... would all qualify as finishers for the few occassions when they bat through to the 45th over / beyond.

Clearly Flintoff is Englands best finisher. Collingwood bats up the order if he's included so should all the run scorers in the middle/top order.

justin kemp, andrew symmonds, flintoff,Hall,Justin Kemp,Boucher,

I think KP from england

If India want to make his mark then sehvag must fired from team and open with utthappa and karthik have to play on middle,only way to go for next level othervise back to home soon!

Ireland is going to win the world cup final.
They made history.