Australia overwhelmed New Zealand to win the World Cup for a fifth time at an ecstatic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
New Zealand lost influential captain Brendon McCullum to the fifth ball of the match and were bowled out for 183.
Grant Elliott resisted with 83, while Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner shared eight wickets.
Australia rarely looked troubled, sealing a seven-wicket win in 33.1 overs, with captain Michael Clarke scoring 74 and Steve Smith 56 not out.
Clarke, in his final one-day international, was given a standing ovation by the record 93,000 crowd and welcomed by his team-mates on the boundary when he was bowled by Matt Henry with eight required.
He was part of the Australia team that last lifted the trophy in 2007, with this success extending their record for most World Cups won. No other team has more than two. Australia's win was the second in as many tournaments by a host nation after India's triumph four years ago.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan
"It was a brilliant performance. Australia were the best team in the tournament, fantastically led by Michael Clarke. Today they were just too powerful and strong for New Zealand, who have been great throughout the tournament. They've had everything you'd need in a one-day side, with the left-arm pace of Johnson and Starc. They've got everything covered."
It provided a joyous end to an emotional Australian summer which saw batsman Phillip Hughes die after being struck on the neck by a ball in Sydney in November.
In their first final, after six previous semi-final defeats, New Zealand were blown away.
Their path to Melbourne came with eight successive wins, all on home soil, and most of the pre-match speculation was of how McCullum's men would deal with the change in conditions.
They won what was thought to be a crucial toss, but the life was sucked from their innings almost as soon as it began.
In the end, the best team won the World Cup. Once again, that team was Australia.
At the beginning, we had them as the favourites to win a fourth World Cup in five because of the depth in their squad and the advantage of playing all but one of their matches at home.
It wasn't always easy and they had issues to overcome - talk surrounding the position of Michael Clarke and the fitness of James Faulkner.
But ultimately, a team showing typical Australian belief was celebrating at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after winning a one-sided final against New Zealand.
Their triumph was built on some hostile fast bowling, with captain Michael Clarke identifying that his bowlers won his side the trophy.
One of his pacemen, Mitchell Starc, provided the defining moment of the final when the game was only five deliveries old.
Yes, you can say it was disappointing from Brendon McCullum, who was bowled from the third ball he faced by a Starc yorker after two wild swipes.
I've always said McCullum should play in his ultra-aggressive manner, but today he failed to weigh up the options. If you're going to play like that against the likes of Starc, you are not going to win many.
From there, Starc took complete control, continuing his fine form that resulted in 22 wickets across the competition and the man of the tournament award.
His success is what happens when a bowler gets into a rhythm, when everything clicks. He runs in beautifully and has swung the ball at very high pace.
As a left-armer, Starc naturally takes the ball back into the right-hander, stopping someone like McCullum from freeing his arms. He does that consistently, frequently throwing in those devastating yorkers.
I expect to see him bowling very well against England this summer. Before this tournament, we knew all about Mitchell Johnson, but now we are aware of Starc's threat too.
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| Mitchell Starc ended the tournament with the best ever World Cup bowling average (min 15 wkts): 22 wickets at 10.18 |
They have formed a trio with Josh Hazlewood, a strapping seam bowler who should also be suited to English conditions, and Australia also have the likes of Ryan Harris, James Pattinson and Patrick Cummins in reserve.
It is that depth of fast bowling that has an Englishman quaking in his boots when thinking about what might happen in the Ashes.
Granted, Australia have gaps to fill. There are questions about Clarke's future, about who might open with David Warner and the strength of their spin bowling, but there is a gulf between the two teams.
Not only that, but the England team seem to be rebuilding on constantly shifting sands, while Australia's foundations are rock-steady.
In the next two months, England must get their house in order, but that in itself could hamper their Ashes campaign.
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