Who is the best goalscoring midfielder on Merseyside right now? Clue: he wears a blue shirt not a red one.

Indeed, while Liverpool's Steve Gerrard is yet to regain his mercurial touch after an injury-interrupted season (he has still managed nine goals, mind you), Tim Cahill has played a pivotal role in the Toffees' march up the table after a disastrous start to the season.

Indeed, right now he ranks right alongside Frank Lampard and anyone else you care to mention as the best box-to-box player in England.

The native Sydneysider was again in the thick of the action during Everton's 2-0 win at Manchester City on Wednesday, heading in the opener and playing a clever dummy to open a path to goal for Mikel Arteta to score the second as Roberto Mancini and David Moyes slugged it out on the sidelines.

The win left Everton in eighth place in the Premier League table, still with an outside chance of overhauling its more fancied rivals for the fourth Champions League spot.

Another Europa League berth seems the more likely outcome, however, a decent achievement in itself after the side lost three of its first four matches, including a 6-1 caning by Arsenal on the opening day.

At age 30 and with a dozen seasons in England behind him, Cahill is in the prime of his career.

The man who spent seven seasons at Millwall, leading the London club to an FA Cup final against Manchester United in his early 20s before moving to Everton, is a natural leader.

On the pitch he is the boss at Goodison, with or without the captain's armband that manager Moyes handed him earlier this season when Phil Neville was injured.

He leads by word and example, organising the team and running hard for 90 minutes to cut off opposition attacks and bob up at the other end with uncanny timing to get on the end of a cross. His ability to win aerial contests against much bigger defenders is outstanding.

You can bet Cahill will be the first name on Pim Verbeek's team sheet when Australia opens its World Cup finals campaign against Germany in Durban on June 13.

As was the case in Germany four years ago when he came off the bench to score a double against Japan, his goals will be the most likely path to a place in the knockout rounds.

His goalscoring record for the Socceroos is top notch, better than one every two games. Consider his 19 from 37 internationals to Harry Kewell's 13 from 45 and Mark Viduka's 11 from 43

In Cahill, the Dutchman has a player who can rise to the occasion on the biggest stage. He repeated his Kaiserslautern double with another brace against the Japanese in Melbourne last June to help Australia qualify top of the Asia zone.

And he is the first Everton player since Dixie Dean almost 80 years ago to score in three Merseyside derbies at Anfield.

Cahill has also proved a durable player. Despite his fair share of injuries in recent seasons, he has a knack of bouncing back straight away, often with a goal on his return.

So long as he can stay reasonably healthy, Australian fans can anticipate seeing his trademark boxing kangaroo goal celebrations by the corner flag in South Africa - hopefully on several occasions.