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World Cup 2015: Australia get Hawke-eyed view

Oxford graduate, Rhodes Scholar, Reserve Bank board member, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and first grade cricketer. Robert James Lee Hawke was all of this. Oh, and yes, he was also the prime minister of Australia and leader of the Labor Party from 1983 to 1991.

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Former Australian PM Robert Hawke (2nd from right) talks to Michael Clarke and other players at the SCG on Monday
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Oxford graduate, Rhodes Scholar, Reserve Bank board member, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and first grade cricketer. Robert James Lee Hawke was all of this. Oh, and yes, he was also the prime minister of Australia and leader of the Labor Party from 1983 to 1991.

But ask him about his biggest achievement, the one that immortalised him, and he'd recall his act of sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds back in 1954. If nothing, the feat earned him a Guinness World Record. More pertinently, Hawke believes it may have contributed to his political success because it endeared him to a voting population with a great beer culture. No wonder he won four straight elections.

On Monday, 'Bob' Hawke made his presence felt at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Frail and armed with a walking stick, the 85-year-old affable statesman made his way to the Australian tent at the practice facility. There, he spoke at length with Michael Clarke and his boys, often evoking peals of laughter with his amazing sense of humour. One such joke caught Shane Watson out of his crease. "How much did you pay the bloke who dropped you?"

Hawke asked the all-rounder. "(Just about) enough," was Watto's reply. Poor Rahat Ali.

One Aussie journo remarked coolly that their team had been spoken to by two of the country's biggest politicians in the last five days. Hawke's one. Who's the other? "Steve Waugh" it seems.

Hawke, who was hit by a bouncer on the eye during a match with the press in 1984, has always been a sports aficionado. After the yacht 'Australia II' won the 1983 America's Cup, Hawke memorably stated, "Any boss who sacks a worker for not turning up today is a bum."

Scheduled to make a trip to China on Tuesday, Hawke made it a point to meet the Australian team because he may not even get to watch Thursday's semifinal on the telly.

"We've got a good side," he said. "Our batting is very good and it's an exciting bowling line-up. Those fast bowlers, what an array of quickies. About 10-foot-tall each of them. I just wished them luck, but I was very impressed by the camaraderie. The relationship between the players seems very good, as good as it's ever been. Captain Michael Clarke, he's not an effusive fella but he has the confidence of his team and he's been absolutely remarkable.

The way he's fought back over his injuries and he's very much respected for that."

For the record, Hawke told Clarke & Co. left with little choice. "They will win on Thursday and they'll win on the weekend," Hawke said. "I told them I expected it."

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