Aussies set for Bangladesh cruise

Bangladesh did superbly well to get through the group stages of the World Cup for the first time but things suddenly get an awful lot tougher for them as they take on two-time defending champions Australia on Saturday.

The Aussies crushed the West Indies in their opening Super Eights match and look well-placed to go all the way again and lift the trophy for the third time in a row.

Bangladesh have already proved themselves to be a decent side but Australia may be tempted to rest one or two of their better players in an attempt to keep them fresh for the more important matches to come.

That's not to say they will be taking this one lightly, though, and bet365 make them 1/50 (1.02) to win it, with Bangladesh 11/1.

The form that Matthew Hayden has been in of late, it's no surprise to see him at the top of the betting to be top Australia runscorer. However, he has to share the honour with opening partner Adam Gilchrist, as both men are 5/2.

Captain Ricky Ponting is 11/4 third favourite, with Michael Clarke, who has been in excellent touch throughout the tournament, at 11/2, and Brad Hodge, Andrew Symonds and Brad Haddin all 8/1.

For Bangladesh, Aftab Ahmed and Shahriar Nafees are joint favourites at 4/1, with T Iqbal 5/1 and Habibul Bashar and Javed Omar 6/1. Again, if Australia make early inroads, then the talented Mohammad Ashraful is a possible bet at 13/2.