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A dejected Shaun Pollock [Images] said the inability of his champion side to play together as a unit cost the World XI the Super Series cricket championship, which was won convincingly by Australia in Melbourne on Friday.

"At one stage we were in a position to win the match but we did not play together as a group," the World XI skipper said, after Australia handed them a 55-run defeat in the second one-dayer to claim the inaugural championship with one match to go.

Pollock said he believed a target of 329 could be chased given the batsmen-friendly track and the players that he had at his disposal.

"I really had the feeling that we could get the target. The pitch was good and I couldn't have asked for a better team to chase that score.

"(Chris) Gayle and (Kumar) Sangakkara kept the momentum going for us but we kept losing wickets," the South African all-rounder said.

However, he said the team would try to take the positives from the two defeats and hope for a good game in the final one-dayer so that they could go into the Super Test in Sydney with some confidence.

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting [Images] heaped praise on Adam Gilchrist [Images], who was declared man of the match for his blazing 79-ball 103, studded with four sixes and eight fours.

"It was an unbelievable knock, it set the tone for us," he said.

"We showed what sort of cricket we are capable of playing... this series was important for us, it was our first chance to express ourselves after the Ashes defeat."