ICC Cricket World Cup final: Michael Clarke bristles at claims his style is redundant in modern ODI game

The later Michael Clarke has to walk to the crease in Sunday's World Cup final the better it will be for Australia but do not try telling the skipper his team is better off without him.

After a tumultuous summer in which Clarke has even briefly contemplated retirement after his horror run with injuries, the 33-year-old is one win from joining modern Australian greats Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as a World Cup-winning captain.

His lengthy absence this season has offered a glimpse of what Australian cricket will look like once he is gone but while his runs are no longer central to the one-day team's fortunes his presence is still greatly appreciated by his teammates, and not just because of his on-field leadership.

If he is not seen at the crease it's likely Australia's top order will again have got the job done but if Trent Boult and Tim Southee get their tails up early, there will be no Australian better equipped for the situation than Clarke.

Aaron Finch revealed as much during the week when he said that "quality Test players" like Clarke were still vital in the 50-over format despite the rapid evolution towards power seen this tournament.

When early wickets tumbled and the heat was on, Finch said, it was "quality Test players" like Clarke and Steve Smith whom the team relied upon to retrieve the situation. In other words, Clarke is now the "break glass in case of emergency" man.

From a personal perspective, this batsman-friendly World Cup has not gone according to plan for Clarke, who has played one innings worthy of the tag "captain's knock" - against Sri Lanka.

He can be excused for not delivering during the collapse at Eden Park in his first game back from injury though the team was crying out for him to rescue them in the quarter-final against Pakistan. Instead it was Smith and Shane Watson who pulled them through.

In the semi-final, he slid himself down the order after Australia's strong start, aware the team needed heavy hitters like Glenn Maxwell and Watson instead of an accumulator.

He pulled a similar move in Perth against Afghanistan, though in hindsight could have done with the extra time in the middle.

But after leading Australia to the final on Thursday night a defiant Clarke said his batting style was not redundant in the 2015 one-day arena.

"I think I'm doing all right. I think my record is pretty good up against anybody in the world. I think my record holds its place," said Clarke, fourth in Australia's all-time ODI runs list. "I'm not concerned at all."

Nor is Clarke concerned with Finch's form, boldly declaring the opener would blaze a ton at the MCG after ending his run of outs with an uncharacteristically restrained 81 in the semi.

"I think that's a real positive for Finchy and for the team. Don't be surprised if he walks out on Sunday and makes an unbelievable hundred," Clarke said.

"I think that innings will do him a world of good. The fact that he spent the time in the middle, and I said that to him when he walked off, I think he was a little bit disappointed with the way he batted, or with the way it felt, but I think he did a fantastic job.

"In any form of the game, the partnership is the most important part, not necessarily the individual score, and I thought the work he did with Smitty was exactly what we needed at that time, and I think that time in the middle will allow him on Sunday to walk out and play with freedom."

Finch acknowledged he was "under the pump" but never considered he was on the verge of being axed.

Clarke, who has avoided commenting publicly about selection this tournament, all but declared Australia would go into the final unchanged.

"I think if everyone is fully fit, it's going to be extremely hard to change the XI," Clarke said.

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