Why Ricky Ponting is rated so highly as a captain even by the hard-boiled Ian Chappell was evident in the post-match briefing after Sri Lanka had been decimated in the first semi-final.
Ponting arrived with Andrew Symonds by his side, wearing his peak cap at a tilt and a broad smile that stretched from ear to ear. "Did you expect to win after scoring only 212 runs,'' was the first salvo fired at him. "It was a threshold score,'' he said, "but we have players whose ability I trust when the chips are down.''
That brought a huge smile on Symonds' face too. Belief in the talent of his players and the capacity to support them even when the going was rough made Ian Chappell one of Australia 's most influential captains. Some of his team-mates still refer to him as 'skipper', which in the cynical world of former international cricketers is a huge accolade.
Ponting seems cast in the same mould - an aggressive batsman and thinker, a no-nonsense talker, and a players' captain - all this without sacrificing his individuality.
To have reached the final of the World Cup without Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie - two matchwinners - is a measure of not only the depth of Australian cricket, but also Ponting's self-confidence and his ability to drive his players to success.
Like Chappell, Ponting feels and plays cricket from the gut, and his hunches have paid off marvelously. Symonds, for instance, was a marginal selection. "There were other names discussed,'' said Ponting at the briefing, "But I have seen in domestic cricket what this man could do. You have got to give such players the confidence.''
Perhaps Ponting's bigger success has been Brett Lee, who was not always an automatic choice for the one-day squad under Steve Waugh, certainly not the man for the new ball, and whenever he played was asked to cut down on speed for greater control.
But Ponting, in what could be his most decisive attempt to emerge from Waugh's shadow, has given Lee the new ball and asked him to bowl as quick as he can. The results have been dramatic for his team, and traumatic for the opponents.
More than Shane Bond, and much, more than Shoaib Akhtar, Lee has been the most dangerous fast bowler in the World Cup.
For his hard work, Ponting has rewarded him with attacking fields - for a few overs against Sri Lanka he bowled with two slips, gully, short mid-wicket, silly point, shortish cover and short mid-wicket - and an understanding pat on the back if he has been hit for runs, or has had a catch dropped off his bowling.
That reflects belief not only in the player, but also in himself and his tactics. In many ways, that shows why Australia have been so successful in this tournament. uuuuu Aravinda de Silva's farewell innings in international cricket ended in dismay