Four men out adds '30 or 50 runs'

As the World Cup nears its knockout phase and those teams that have failed to fire in the preliminary rounds prepare to fly home, Australia opener David Warner believes the sun might also be setting on the new batting benchmarks that seem to be set every other day.

The tournament has record books regularly rewritten, with South Africa captain AB de Villiers thrashing the fastest ODI century on Australian soil as his team compiled a record World Cup total, only for it to be toppled by Australia in Perth within a week.

Australia's Glenn Maxwell then came within a whiff of setting a new mark for the quickest World Cup century against Sri Lanka last weekend, while Sri Lanka's batting legend Kumar Sangakkara yesterday became the first man to score centuries in four consecutive ODI innings.

Sangakkara scores four hundreds in a row

But Warner, who himself came within a couple of well-timed blows of the highest ODI score by an Australia batsman when he pummelled 178 against Afghanistan last Wednesday, attributes the glut of runs to the reduction in the number of fielders allowed in the outfield for much of an innings.

In previous World Cups where fielding restrictions have applied, a maximum of five fielders have been permitted beyond the inner-circle in the overs when those mandated restrictions are not in place.

But prior to the current tournament, the ICC amended the playing conditions to lessen that number by one and batsmen have not only revelled in the extra unprotected boundary space but gleaned where it is bowlers are likely to land the ball based on where the outfielders are positioned.

Warner claimed today that if there was a return to the former fielding conventions in the wake of this free-scoring tournament then team and individual totals would likely drop significantly.

"Four fielders outside the circle makes a massive difference and I think it adds an extra 30 to 50 runs to the totals," Warner said ahead of Australia’s final group match against winless Scotland in Hobart on Saturday.

"I don't know if they (the ICC) are making it five players outside the circle after the World Cup but if they do I think you’ll see those totals reduced a fair bit."

With India's Rohit Sharma recently scoring an ODI record 264, the West Indies' Chris Gayle posting the World Cup's maiden double-hundred in Canberra last month and 29 centuries scored in the first 26 days of the tournament, speculation has grown that an individual score of 300 is no longer a batting fantasy.

But Warner believes that if it's going to happen, then it will need to happen in this current World Cup or certainly before the fielding restrictions revert back to offer bowlers an additional measure of protection.

And when he was asked the same question recently, Australia captain Michael Clarke added that it would need to be an opening batsman or someone who came in very early in the innings and therefore had most of the 50 overs in which to bat.

Which effectively rules out the two most destructive batsmen in the tournament to date, de Villiers (who came within a single of yet another century on Thursday) and Maxwell.

De Villiers falls for 99 against UAE

"I think it'll have to happen in this World Cup because if they go back to five (fielders) out I don't think you'll see many 200s hit anymore," Warner said today.

"With that extra player, (it) makes a massive difference to your individual scores and your team totals. 

"It's quite hard to exceed that 200 score when you play at (bigger venues like) the MCG or the Gabba, even the SCG for example.

"It's quite hard to score 200 unless you have those four people outside the circle."

While individual scores continue to climb, it is the depth and versatility of Australia’s batting that is likely to see the venue record that Sri Lanka set against the Scots on Wednesday (363) threatened when the teams of contrasting rank and fortunes meet on Saturday.

Warner has identified the return of allrounder Shane Watson, who replaced Mitchell Marsh at number six in the batting order last weekend just days after he was dropped from the first XI in Perth, as a key to the team’s stability and balance.

"Definitely with the team that we have got and the balance that we have got, we showed the other night with the bat (against Sri Lanka) what can happen," Warner said citing last Sunday’s game at the SCG where Watson scored 67 from 41 balls in Australia’s daunting 9-376.

"I think the way Shane played the other day was fantastic, he adopted the approach where he knew he could come in and play his game.

"Because he was out of form, he had the luxury to go in and play the way he wanted to play and I think that’s the message he wanted to send to anyone that he can still play this form of the game.

"No matter where he wants to bat and we have a great balance there at the moment.

"It's obviously how the selectors feel the right balance is, (and) any team that comes up against us and sees myself and Finchy (opener Aaron Finch) at the top with (Steve) Smith and Clarke to come in and anchor the role there.

"And then you see Maxwell, Watson, (James) Faulkner and (Brad) Haddin ... if (we) are two or three for 250 we could finish off really well like we did the other day (against Sri Lanka)."

While Clarke did little other than walk laps of Blundstone Arena during Australia’s lengthy training session today, team officials claimed it was simply part of his recovery program and that he was in no doubt for Saturday’s match against Scotland.

Fast bowler Pat Cummins operated at close to full pace in the nets and showed no signs of the side injury that has kept him out of the past two matches, and he and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood will be pushing to take spinner Xavier Doherty’s place in the starting line-up.

And even though the identity of Australia’s opponent for next Friday’s quarter-final in Adelaide remains unknown, Warner had no hesitation in identifying the teams that he sees as the biggest obstacle to lifting the World Cup at the MCG at month’s end.

“At the moment it would have to be New Zealand,” Warner said when asked which was the form team of the tournament to date.

“But India have been playing fantastic cricket as well.”