By Martin Gough

Leading up to a big one-day match, some international captains would spend days in the nets and hours pondering possible selections and tactics.

TOP AUSSIE PERFORMERS VB Series Batting: Adam Gilchrist 284 runs, ave 47.33, best 116 Damien Martyn 274 runs, ave 39.14, best 79 Mike Hussey 259 runs, ave 64.75, best 73 VB Series Bowling: Brett Lee 15 wkts, ave 19.40, best 5-22 Brad Hogg 8 wkts, ave 36.00, best 3-32 Nathan Bracken 7 wkts, ave 26.28, best 2-11

Ricky Ponting took a week off, then went sailing.

Australia's Test side has taken some knocks over the past year, notably losing their vice-grip on the Ashes.

But after some increasingly confident displays in the VB Series against South Africa and Sri Lanka, the one-day team are overwhelming favourites to win their third successive World Cup next year.

That is not to say they have been without their critics - several former stars have hit out at the policy of resting key players in rotation.

But Australia just keep winning - 20 of 28 games in the last 12 months - while those players who have been rested have silenced the knockers in the best possible way, by scoring lots of runs.

Adam Gilchrist's position as opener came under threat after a woeful few months but, after a week off, he returned with a century against Sri Lanka and a blistering 88 against South Africa.

You need players with a fair bit of international experience under their belts going into Ricky Ponting

Then Ponting, who took a break after hitting just 63 runs from the first four games of the series, responded with assured scores of 53 and 72 against South Africa over the weekend.

"With the amount of cricket we're playing now it's really difficult to bring yourself up to be 100% physically and mentally for every game we play," explained the Australia captain.

"Players start making bad mental errors and their judgment is not as good as it probably could be.

"In our game, one little mistake and that's the end for you."

While the Test batting line-up has undergone reconstruction since the Ashes defeat to England, the one-day version has undergone only a minor renovation.

WORLD CUP ODDS Australia 15-8 South Africa 11-2 England 6-1 Pakistan 6-1 India 6-1 New Zealand 10-1 West Indies 8-1 Sri Lanka 14-1 100-1 Bar Source: William Hill 4/2/05

Simon Katich, Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke may have lost their Test spots, but they have continued to flourish in the 50-over game.

Michael Hussey has slotted in well to Michael Bevan's old spot at seven while opener Phil Jaques hit 94, the highest score on debut by an Australian, last month to demonstrate his country's batting depth.

If Australia have a weakness, it is in their bowling, where they are hugely reliant on paceman Brett Lee, whose 15 wickets in the VB Series is almost double that of any team-mate.

Left-armer Nathan Bracken is covering well for Glenn McGrath, who is absent on compassionate leave, but a string of trialists such as Stuart Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Dorey have yet to establish themselves.

Much is expected of all-rounder Shane Watson, whose season was ruined by a shoulder injury, while James Hopes has been a success as a batsman, less so as a bowler.

When I was behind the wheel I was probably concentrating harder than I've ever had to concentrate before Ricky Ponting

"We've got quite a few guys in our squad so we're trying to get them as much cricket as we can and make sure we've got all bases covered going into the World Cup," said Ponting.

"You need players with a fair bit of international experience under their belts going into that tournament.

"You never know what's going to happen with injuries, losses of form and that sort of stuff."

More used to being at the helm of the best team in world cricket, Ponting took the helm of ABN Amro One, the leader in the Volvo Ocean Race, on Thursday.

"When I was behind the wheel I was probably concentrating harder than I've ever had to concentrate before," he said.

"I said to the skipper 'I'm not sure how I'd do going around the world on one of those things.'

"He said he doesn't know how I stand up against some of the fast bowlers around the world, so I think we've both chosen the right career paths."

If Ponting can become just the second captain ever to win successive World Cups, after Clive Lloyd of the West Indies, that will be an understatement of massive proportions.