Langer looks ahead to New Zealand clash

Captain Aaron Finch has backed Pat Cummins to find top gear in their match against New Zealand, as Australia mull their best bowling combinations on what shapes as the driest pitch they've played on at the World Cup.

Cummins has taken none for 106 from 18 overs in wins over Bangladesh and England, but Finch suggested the numbers are misleading and labelled him a key part of their attack.

"With the ball I think he’s been excellent," Finch said of Cummins, who took 11 wickets in Australia's first five games.

"There’s nothing to suggest otherwise. Yes, he hasn’t got the wickets in the last two games, but he’s still been a huge part of our side.

"He’s someone who’s so reliable that you go to when you either need a wicket or you need some control in a game. He provides so much for the side."

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Having expressed his surprise that pace had prospered over spin in the early stages of the tournament, Finch says Australia remain open to playing two spinners with the mercury tipped to hit 32 degrees for Saturday's clash with the Kiwis.

The Lord's pitch used for the Australia-New Zealand game will be the same one that hosted Australia and England earlier in the week and will have been exposed to 72 hours of hot and dry weather come the weekend.

Finding room for both Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa in their XI will be difficult given coach Justin Langer has said neither Cummins nor Mitchell Starc are likely to be rested, while Jason Behrendorff is fresh off a career-best 5-44 after being recalled to play England.

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Lyon got the nod over Zampa for his first game of the tournament on Tuesday, but Finch said it's difficult to split the two and suggested match-ups with individual New Zealand batters would dictate selection, as they did against England.

"They're both neck and neck," said Finch. "The way Nathan bowled the other day is probably more of a defensive option, a bit more control.

"But leg-spin is an incredibly hard craft. For Zamps, the numbers were against Zamps (for) England, Nathan had a distinctive advantage.

"That's just the way we're looking at it. There's nothing more or nothing less to it. There is no science. Just looking a bit deeper into tournaments."

Asked if they could play together, Finch said: "Absolutely."

Finch's counterpart Kane Williamson looms as New Zealand's key man with the bat.

The right-hander is averaging 138 so far at the World Cup and has hit back-to-back centuries against South Africa and West Indies.

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Australia have upped their reliance on match-up data for finding specific weaknesses of their opposition, but Finch suggested they'd had a hard time finding Williamson's Achilles heel.

"Kane Williamson is a pretty good example of someone whose numbers are pretty good against anyone who bowls," said Finch, who played with the New Zealander at county side Yorkshire.

"He’s been on fire. He’s a world-class performer in all formats of the game. He’s as good as anyone in the world and with Kane you have to be really disciplined with your line and length.

"He’s so damaging if you bowl wide, and he’s so good off his pads that your length has to be really, really disciplined. You have to try and dry him up.

"It’s like all great players they don’t have a huge amount of weaknesses, and on pitches that don’t bounce a huge amount it’s tougher to get that nick.

"So you just have to be patient and disciplined."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs

June 25: Australia beat England by 64 runs

June 29: New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N)

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE