Months after being labeled 'soft ' by one of Australia 's cricket greats and being dropped from Australia 's test XI , Mitchell Starc has been deservedly voted the player of the World Cup . Starc 's worth to the Australian team was never more evident than when he dismissed New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum in the first over of Sunday 's final . The New Zealand innings never fully recovered and Australia went on to claim an emphatic seven-wicket victory . Few could have predicted the impact Starc would make at this tournament back in December when the left-arm swing bowler returned figures of 2-110 in the second Test against India in Brisbane , leading Shane Warne to describe Starc 's body language as 'soft . ' Australia seam bowler Mitchell Starc has been named man of the tournament at the Cricket World Cup . Starc celebrates after taking the wicket of New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum in the final . The Australia team celebrate with the trophy after being crowned world champions in Melbourne . The 25-year-old Starc was subsequently dropped for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , the same venue where on Sunday he was named player of the tournament after using a new-found aggression to snare 22 wickets throughout the World Cup . ' I 've worked really hard at it for a number of months now with ( bowling coach ) Craig McDermott in the background , ' Starc said . ' A few series ago we sat down and found out a little plan and to see that come to fruition has been phenomenal . ' He said his game-changing dismissal of McCullum off just the fifth ball of the final was part luck and part planning . Shane Warne , who had dismissed Starc as 'soft ' before the tournament , poses with captain Michael Clarke . 'There was a lot of luck involved I think , but it was a little plan that Craig and I had going a couple of days ago , ' he said . 'Brendon has been really fantastic through the whole tournament so I think there was a lot of luck involved . I 'm just happy to get that one . ' After a tournament notable for batting performances - including two double centuries , and teams regularly passing 300 runs , it was fitting that one of the few bowlers able to consistently make life difficult for the batsmen to win the coveted award . 'It was an amazing tournament and some outstanding performances , ' Starc said . 'New Zealand has been a great team throughout the tournament and even set the benchmark , but I think we came hard today and ( that ) really led to this performance . ' McCullum shakes hands with Clarke as Australia seal a seven wicket victory against New Zealand .
Australia beat New Zealand by seven wickets to win the World Cup . Left-handed seamer Mitchell Starc was named player of the tournament . Legend Shane Warne had dismissed bowler as 'soft ' before the start .