South Africa were the better side, but threw away two games that they had all but won. This happens frequently in World Cups. Indeed Pakistan's victory in 1992 was another tournament where the best side did not win. Further, there is an interesting parallel between the victories of Pakistan and Australia. Pakistan won the 1992 tournament principally because of Miandad and Imran, the two Pakistani cricketers who have combined tenacity of character and talent better than any of their compatriots.
Recent success leads naturally to the hyperbole of Australian cricket.
On the contrary, one can argue that this Australian side has a very dark cloud hanging over its claim to be the undisputed champions of test match cricket currently. Ironically, this Australian side has a terrible overseas record. Australia has lost all of the test series it has played in India during the 1990s. Indeed it has lost a test series to Sri Lanka earlier this year. This poor record in South Asia has nothing to do with umpiring.