Cricket World Cup Final: Can New Zealand Exploit Australia's Change Bowlers?

The bat has dominated at the 2015 Cricket World Cup but fast-bowlers will be the key to victory for Australia in Sunday's final against New Zealand.

The Aussie big guns have performed consistently throughout the competition, led by the hugely impressive Mitchell Starc.

As potentially dangerous as Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood and/or Pat Cummins are, there are serious question marks about who will bowl the remainder of the overs.

New Zealand's fearless approach means they are likely to go after every Australian bowler, regardless of form or reputation. The weaknesses of the spin and fourth/fifth bowler options are especially ripe for exploitation.

Rob Griffith/Associated Press

Much was made of James Faulkner's all-round talents prior to the World Cup, but his tournament to date has been a touch disappointing. A total of 44 runs and seven wickets does scant justice to his abilities.

Golden arm or not, the Black Caps shouldn't find Glenn Maxwell as troublesome as South African leggie Imran Tahir. Maxwell has picked up five wickets at the World Cup at an average of 36.20, with an economy rate of 5.83. As respectable as those figures are, he doesn't give the ball much of a tweak, and the Kiwis will look to target him.

It's a similar story for Shane Watson. The veteran all-rounder has lacked menace, picking up just two wickets so far. If his job is to tie up an end, he's struggled with that as well, going at 6.72 runs per over.

If the Australian supporting cast shows any sign of weakness, a dangerous New Zealand middle order of Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi are capable of taking full advantage.

Brendon McCullum's biggest failure so far came against Bangladesh, where he was dismissed by left-arm-spinner Shakib Al Hasan for just eight. It's unlikely that Australia will recall Xavier Doherty just to take on the New Zealand skipper. Would Michael Clarke have the bottle to open the bowling himself? It may take something completely unexpected to derail the McCullum express.

With the backup bowlers potentially vulnerable, it looks like the onus will fall on the Australian quicks to deliver the knockout blows. Luckily for home supporters, they seem perfectly capable of doing so.

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WATCH: It'll be Australia v New Zealand in the #CWC15 final as Starc wraps up the Indian innings in style. #AusvInd http://t.co/sSFroiHXpb

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 26, 2015"

Centurion Steve Smith rightly hogged the headlines in the semi-final win over India. A victory target of 329 was always going to be a tough ask, even for a batting lineup boasting the class of India's.

The fact they never came close to chasing down the Australian total is a testament to the fast-bowling firepower at Michael Clarke's disposal.

Even when Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma got India off to a relative flier at 72 without loss in the 13th over, the Aussie quicks didn't panic.

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WATCH:The dangerous Dhawan goes for 45 as Maxwell claims the catch. India 76/1. Live now on Sky Sports World Cup. http://t.co/HPUaV3HF3J

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 26, 2015"

As soon as Hazlewood dismissed Dhawan, Australia put the squeeze on. Virat Kohli has been the big wicket throughout the Australian summer, and Mitchell Johnson, with the help of some astute captaincy from Clark, suffocated India's most fluent batsman.

After 13 deliveries produced a single run, Kohli was put out of his misery by Johnson. Once Sharma and Raina had followed with just 108 on the board, the game was almost done.

Even when Ajinkya Rahane and MS Dhoni were putting on a partnership of 70 for the fifth wicket, the Australians were always firmly in charge. It was a masterclass of controlling an innings. Keep things tight where possible but always hunt for wickets.

That has been the mantra for the Australian fast bowlers throughout the competition.

The hyper-aggressive Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill and the rest of the New Zealand street fighters will, of course, pose a different challenge to the one set by India.

The Australian fast-bowlers will go into the final without any fear, though. Mitchell Starc produced the bowling display of the tournament to get Australia within a whisker of pulling off a staggering comeback in the group game against the Kiwis.

With a trio of bowlers (Johnson, Starc and Pat Cummins) capable of topping 150 km/h on the speed gun, Australia will always pose a threat, regardless of the state of the pitch or the overhead conditions.

Josh Hazlewood is a nice complement to the all out pace assault. Nibbling it around at a decent lick, he should find any movement on offer at the MCG and pose a threat to the dangerous New Zealand top order.

Australia's bowlers have been helped by having a batting lineup that is capable of setting and chasing huge totals. They are likely to face their toughest examination from a confident Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Daniel Vettori.

As former England opener turned pundit Mark Butcher tweeted:

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So despite all of the whinging about big scores, it's the teams with the best bowling attacks that will contest the http://t.co/bszs9PKnc5

— mark butcher (@markbutcher72) March 26, 2015"

The attack that comes out on top on Sunday will determine which side of the Tasman Sea the World Cup trophy will be heading.