Battlecruisers instead of a battle fleet

Which nations would gain most from a battlecruiser- and cruiser-centred doctrine instead of investing in battleships before the First World War?

Australia, South Africa, and Spain are suggested, with Germany and the United States as more conditional alternatives shaped by geography and the balance between home defence and global reach.

Australia's trade routes make a cruiser-centred fleet a plausible alternative, with South Africa and Spain also suggested as beneficiaries. Germany could seek to outmanoeuvre the Royal Navy once matching its battle fleet proved unattainable, although its Baltic commitments make that approach difficult. The United States could use a battlecruiser force to exploit the strategic depth of the Atlantic and Pacific and maintain a wider overseas presence. That choice would place greater weight on global reach than on the close defence provided by a conventional battle fleet.