Australia and Pakistan top the bill

Australia and Pakistan top the bill in a triangular one-day tournament starting in England on Thursday, leaving the hosts to try to gatecrash their own party.

England batsman Marcus Trescothick, fresh from a century in the second test against Pakistan, said: "Australia and Pakistan both reached the 1999 World Cup final here and that says it all.

"Australia must be ranked one in the world but Pakistan are not far behind. It's a big stepping-stone for us."

Steve Waugh's side will have a clear psychological advantage as they go into the tournament, which starts with England taking on Pakistan at Edgbaston in a day-night fixture.

While England failed to get beyond the first round of the World Cup two years ago, Australia thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets to lift the trophy at Lord's after skittling their opponents for 132.

They followed that early last year by hammering Pakistan in a one-day tournament in Australia, bowling them out for 154 in the first final, then crushing them by 152 in the second after amassing 337 for seven off 50 overs, Australia's second-highest total ever.

Waqar Younis's side, however, will be confident after finally finding their feet in English conditions by levelling the two-test series against England at Old Trafford.

Unlike their two opponents, their one-day team will be almost identical to their test side, with Wasim Akram their most experienced player, having taken 440 wickets in 316 one-dayers.

Waugh, however, is not far behind, with 311 appearances.

England, continuing to rely on one-day specialists for around half their team, have no one to get close to that longevity.

Australia will add such limited-overs exponents as Michael Bevan -- regarded as one of the best players in the world at the shorter discipline -- Ian Harvey and Andrew Symonds to the core of their test squad.

PROLIFIC BEVAN

Bevan, a fine organiser of run chases, has played just 18 tests, in which he averages 29.07, but 159 one-dayers, averaging 57.41 despite often batting well down the order.

He proved his value in Australia's last outing, scoring 87 not out in April to help his side clinch an away one-day series 3-2 against India.

England, who lost 2-1 in Pakistan in their last one-day series at the end of last year, will have to hope that local seaming conditions weigh heavily in their favour.

Alec Stewart's side exploited that advantage last year when winning a one-day event against West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Stewart enjoyed a golden run then, finishing with scores of 74 not out, 101, 100 and 97 in the Lord's final against Zimbabwe.

Trescothick, however, warned against high expectations while suggesting England needed to modernise their approach to the one-day game.

"We haven't done very well in one-dayers in the last six months," he said.

"We have to start winning, as we have done in test matches. We have lost five out of the last six... You have to keep up with all the changes going on in the one-day game, it's changing so fast."

The tournament comprises nine first-round matches before the top two sides play each other in a one-off final at Lord's on June 23.

Squads:

Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain), Michael Bevan, Nathan Bracken, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie, Ian Harvey, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Wade Seccombe, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh.

England: Alec Stewart (captain), Alistair Brown, Andrew Caddick, Paul Collingwood, Dominic Cork, Robert Croft, Mark Ealham, Darren Gough, Ben Hollioake, Nick Knight, Alan Mullally, Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan.

Pakistan: Waqar Younis (captain), Saeed Anwar, Faisal Iqbal, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Abdur Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Saqlain Mushtaq, Azhar Mahmood, Saleem Elahi, Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik.

Mail Cricket Editor