Is James Faulkner the new Michael Bevan? Gone: James Faulkner takes out Robin Peterson at the MCG on Friday night. If James Faulkner's role as Australia's World Cup finisher was in doubt, it shouldn't be any more. Despite not playing the first three games of the one-day series against South Africa, Faulkner has emerged as the man to close out the innings with both bat and ball following his all-round performance in Australia's series-clinching win at the MCG. The Tasmanian's ability for brutal lower order hitting is well known, but with Nathan Coulter-Nile's summer in jeopardy due to a recurring hamstring injury, Faulkner's role as a death bowler is also growing in importance for February's World Cup. Faulkner briefly put the hero of Friday night's victory, Steve Smith, in the shade with a bruising 34 not out from 19 balls to sink the Proteas. "We call him 'Bevo' in the sheds," said Smith, even though his own composure in compiling 104 from 112 balls was probably more reminiscent of the clinical finishing that once made Michael Bevan one of the best one-day batsmen in the world. "He comes in from ball one and looks like he's been out there for about an hour the way he hits them," Smith enthused of Faulkner. Faulkner pulled off miraculous chases against India in Mohali last year and England in Brisbane last summer, but he has been left out of the one-day side twice in the past three months, during the triangular series in Zimbabwe when he was struggling with the ball and then for the first three games against South Africa. On the latter occasion, the selectors preferred him to play a rare Sheffield Shield game for Tasmania while Mitchell Marsh filled the allrounder's role. Faulkner showed in the shield game that he has another gear, saving the game against Western Australia with a stubborn 63 from 109 balls. While the bowling allrounder has slipped behind Marsh in Test calculations since having knee surgery earlier this year - which is partly a result of having so few chances to play with the red ball - the 24-year-old looks set to play a pivotal role at the World Cup. Another allrounder vying for a finishing role is Glenn Maxwell, but his place in the side looks less than certain. Both Allan Border and Mike Hussey have tipped Maxwell as someone who could dominate the World Cup, but since returning from the UAE Test tour he has averaged 11 and was dropped for the game in Canberra. He replaced Xavier Doherty in Melbourne, and his prospects could be helped by the uncertainty over the lead spinner's spot. He clinched an early wicket with his off-spin at the MCG and might be needed in that role if the selectors don't pick a specialist spinner such as Nathan Lyon or Doherty. After the series winds up on Sunday in Sydney, where Australia has a chance to reclaim the No.1 ODI ranking, Maxwell will return to shield duties with Victoria with a chance to return to basics. Smith was treated for hip tightness during his innings, which contained just seven boundaries, but said he hoped to be fit for Sunday's match. Coulter-Nile had scans on his left hamstring and returned to Perth. The results may not be known until Monday but the fact he had surgery to repair the same hamstring in June does not bode well for the emerging fast bowler.