Three-time World Cup winner Adam Gilchrist has backed Illawarra product Adam Zampa to play a significant role in the Aussies' title defence later this year.
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The resurgent Australian one-day international team made it eight wins in a row with a 20-run victory over Pakistan in the early hours of Monday morning.
Warilla junior Zampa has enjoyed some strong returns in the 50-over format, including a recent haul of 4/43 against Pakistan.
During a visit to Wollongong, Gilchrist told the Mercury that the leg-spinner would likely play a "huge" role for Australia in the World Cup.
"He looks to me like he's been given pretty much from the start of the summer here, a good run at it," the Test great said.
"I don't know if this is the case, but it certainly seems like someone has said, 'right, you're in the team, you're our No.1 spinner, just relax and go for it'.
"And he's made every post a winner throughout the season and continues to take wickets.
He's made every post a winner throughout the season and continues to take wickets.
- Adam Gilchrist on Adam Zampa
"I think he's going to be a feature for Australia over there in England."
The World Cup will be played in England and Wales from May 30.
Gilchrist also weighed in on the fortunes of fellow Warilla junior Nic Maddinson, who was dumped from the Test side in 2016.
Dubbed by some as the forgotten man of Australian Test cricket and without a contract at the start of the Sheffield Shield season, Maddinson's summer was thwarted by injury, but showed plenty of positive signs.
During his first season for new Shield side Victoria, Maddinson carved out 162 against Western Australia in December, one of three centuries he made during the season.
However, he suffered a broken arm while batting in December in his debut Victorian Shield match, and was also ruled out of the Shield final with a broken thumb.
Gilchrist praised the dashing left-hander for the "bold move" of seeking a new challenge and switching state sides.
When asked if there was a potential pathway back to the national side for Maddinson, Gilchrist said he just needed to stay in the Victorian team and keep scoring runs.
"He's caught everyone's attention by going down there," he said.
"There was that frustrating injury that he picked up at the start when it looked like he was going to have a really big summer.
"So that's pretty much as much as he can do, and hope and wait for an opportunity to come up."
